The Swish Life Magazine » Events

Green houses – good for the earth and the eyes

Andrew — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:30:21 +0000

A new exhibition at the Yale School of Architecture features building green houses and the know-how needed.

“The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design,” presents what living and being green means to different architects.

The group takes photos and models of twenty green houses worldwide, among them the United States, Australia, the Netherlands.

Each piece is accompanied by descriptions of their eco-features, such as earth-insulation and natural environments.

The exhibition is designed to evoke thought that green architecture can also be aesthetically pleasing. Studies are showing the energy efficient buildings often fail to function as they claim; this means that green architecture can be expensive and eco-features are dropped to save money.

This group of architects, then, are focusing on the successes of the industry.

“The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design,” through Oct. 16 at the Yale School of Architecture, 180 York Street, New Haven; (203) 432-2288 or www.architecture.yale.edu/arch_gallery. Admission is free.

Image courtesy of architecture.yale.edu . Northeast Heavy Construction Academy and CEO Brian Stolar.

Symphony Splash a success

Andrew — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:46:33 +0000

The Victoria Symphony Splash played its way into its third decade on Sunday night, as thousands of folks attended the community concert filled with classical repertoire.

This year, the event saluted the Centennial of the Royal Canadian Navy in both music and activities, along with outdoor concerts performed by the Victoria Symphony.

The concerts included “Heart of Oak” by Boyce, “Guadalcanal March” from Victory at Sea, by Rodgers, as well as movie favourites from Jaws and Titanic. The outdoor concerts were housed at notable Victoria and surrounding area landmarks, such as Butchart Gardens, Beacon Hill Park, Market Square, Centennial Square, and the Inner Harbour.

Other activities included ship tours of HMCS Nanaimo and HMCS Edmonton, and interactive family activities from the Victoria Children’s Museum and VS Instrument Petting Zoo.

Rob Gialloreto, CEO and President of Tourism Victoria, also announced a new fundraising initiative, Victoria Symphony Splash Band of Heroes, which was launched by the Victoria Symphony to help this year’s Symphony Splash. It was a huge success with 47 Heroes each giving $1,000 or more in support of Splash with a total of $52,000 raised to date.

The event wrapped with two talented musicians: the Splash Young Soloists. Sixteen-year-old pianist Grace Ma, performed Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto and eighteen-year-old Phillip Manning performed the 2nd movement from Bruch’s Violin Concerto no. 1.

The final concert concluded with Victoria Symphony’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, accompanied by fireworks and two crews of four executing 50 calibre brass shells into rifled guns.

To all who had the opportunity to experience the event, it was an amazing show.

“This kind of concert, I have never seen anywhere else,” Jan Bouillard of Belgium told the Vancouver Sun.

www.victoriasymphony.ca

The GreenShows EcoLux

Andrew — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:43:04 +0000

The GreenShows Eco Fashion Week has announced the launch of the first The GreenShows EcoLux, an exclusive pop-up boutique that features sustainable, eco-friendly fashion and accessories from designers worldwide.

Timely, too, with Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary, and highlighted at Earth Day New York’s EarthFair exhibit in Grand Central Terminal.

“It is an exciting time in fashion to see the transition from runway to retail! We are making eco-fashion more accessible to consumers by taking the garments presented at The GreenShows runway shows, as well as other eco-fashion designers, and offering a selection from their collections for purchase in an eco luxury retail environment,” explained Eric Dorfman, Founder of The GreenShows Eco Fashion Wee in the press release.

Featured designers:

In addition to the great designers and planet-friendly promotion, Divine Chocolate will be there highlighting their Fair Trade chocolate and Sambazon is providing complimentary sustainable and certified organic açaí smoothies and juice.

The GreenShows EcoLux is produced alongside Harvey Russack, Founder of NY’s world famous UCW Unique Clothing Warehouse 1973-1992.

For more information, visit www.thegreenshows.com.

The GreenShows EcoLux

Earth Day New York’s Annual EarthFair
Monday, April 19 through Saturday, April 24, 2010
10:00am to 7:00 pm
Located in Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall, 42nd Street and Park Avenue

Image courtesy of recojeans.com

“We are pleased to host EcoLux in Grand Central Terminal to present the most stylish and sustainable clothing designers to New Yorkers and commuters alike. Our “Be the E” campaign encourages everyone to do their part to protect the environment. These designers will make it easy to do the right thing when purchasing apparel and look great at the same time.” said Pamela Lippe, Executive Director of Earth Day New York.

Featured designers include Samantha Pleet, House of Organic, Bahar Shahpar, deux fm, STUDY by Tara St James, Ajna, Allison Parris, c. marchuska, Auralis Herrero Lugo, Willian, Joann Berman, Nixxi, H Fredriksson, reco jeans, among others, and accessory designers Redhanded Bags, Tomate Depingles, DLC Brooklyn, Wired, Real Jewels, Rebecka Froberg and more!

Dex New York Cosmetics will also have a retail presence at The GreenShows EcoLux and will offer complimentary consultation and beauty makeovers, along with IMAGINE Skincare Organics and Nima Nyima.

Divine Chocolate will be offering fair trade chocolate and Sambazon will provide complimentary sustainable and certified organic açaí smoothies and juice.

The GreenShows EcoLux is produced in collaboration with Harvey Russack, Founder of NY’s world famous UCW Unique Clothing Warehouse 1973-1992, and will be a bi-annual event with a second pop-up retail location to open on Fashion’s Night Out during New York Fashion Week this coming September.

The GreenShows Eco Fashion Week, which debuted in September 2009, is the only premiere fashion event exclusively committed to eco-friendly, ethically sound, fair-trade fashion. The GreenShows Eco Fashion Week is a unique platform dedicated to helping eco-conscious fashion designers who have been given the opportunity, support and resources to show their runway collections under one roof.

For more information, visit www.thegreenshows.com.

For media inquiries, interview opportunities and accreditation to attend the shows, please contact State Public Relations at 646.714.2520.

About Eric Dorfman, producer and creator, The GreenShows Eric Dorfman is the founder of EdMedia Inc. EdMedia has created some of the most interactive, ambient and innovative marketing events for leading national and international brands. EdMedia has worked extensively with top fashion brands on a variety of projects, and was involved in the launch of “Project Global Tradeshow,” Supima Pop-Store, and the Filativa Fashion Show. In addition, EdMedia helped to launch the leading magazine titles Nylon, Swindle and America, and creatively produced the ultimate in Oscar Week luxury – Flaunt House.

About Harvey Russack Harvey Russack, entrepreneur, inventor, and businessman with over forty years of experience in manufacturing and retailing of fashionable, cutting edge and sustainable consumer products is the undisputable original street fashion guy from LowBro (Lower Broadway), NYC. He is the founder of the world famous UCW Unique Clothing Warehouse and in 1977 changed the way clothing was designed and sold by opening alternative life-style clothing departments within department stores and specialty stores all over the world. Recently, Harvey has made a deep commitment to the sustainable fashion business. He is currently collaborating with Eric Dorfman of The GreenShows and is planning to open NYC’s first entirely sustainable fashion department store.

About Earth Day New York Earth Day New York (EDNY) was founded in late 1989 by a broad coalition of environmental groups to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day in New York City. In 1990, Earth Day New York mobilized two million people to attend Earth Day’s 20th Anniversary events – the Earth Rising Ceremony in Times Square hosted by Mayor Dinkins, the Environmental Exposition and Cultural Festival on Sixth Avenue and a major concert in Central Park featuring the B-52s, speeches by Governor Cuomo and Mayor Dinkins among many others. For the 25th Anniversary in 1995, they organized diverse arts and educational events including The Parade for the Planet, The Giant Earth Projections, The International Poster Exhibition and The New York Team Clean and Green. For the 30th Anniversary of Earth Day, a vast environmental festival was organized in three different venues (Battery Park, Battery Park City and the World Trade Center.) Exhibits included over 100 local, national and global environmental organizations. For the past seven years Earth Day New York has hosted EarthFair at Grand Central, a two-day festival of art, music and the environment on Van¬derbilt Avenue and inside the majestic Beaux-Arts Terminal.

Picasso: Themes and Variations – coming to the MoMA

Andrew — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 19:59:47 +0000

With over one hundred works, the upcoming exhibit Picasso: Themes and Variations explores the great art master’s creative process through printmaking. Starting in the early years of the twentieth century forward, Pablo Picasso’s lesser known works are featured at the Museum of Modern Art starting next week.

The collection traces his development of circus performers in his Blue and Rose periods and moves forward to Cubism.

It follows his culmination of experimentation, including etching, lithography, and linoleum cut. Each technique displays his inspiration at different levels, as he explores specific themes of imagery and innovation. The show includes the famous Bull series, which delivers viewers a step-by-step progression moving from realism to abstraction.

The upcoming exhibit at the New York Museum of Modern Art will launch in conjunction with a major online project that features its collection of over one thousand etchings, lithographs, and linoleum cuts by Picasso… So if you can’t make it down to the MoMA, you an check out the digital images of these prints – some of which are accompanied by interpretive texts.

Picasso: Themes and Variations

Running March 28th –September 6th, 2010

At the New York Museum of Modern Art
The Paul J. Sachs Prints and Illustrated Books Galleries
second floor

Four favourites from CES

Andrew — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:59:12 +0000

The recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) launched a slew of exciting new bits and pieces of technology, all of which we anticipate over the next year to getting our hands on.

Here are our favourites from this year’s highlights. Check out more at www.cesweb.org.

Sony Bloggie

Sony’s new pocket-sized camcorder steps above the rest, with 1080p HD quality, and 5-megapixel still photos. Featuring 30 frames per second and 4x zoom, it rounded itself out with image stabilization and face detection. We also love that its equipped with a 270-degree swivel lens for self portraits and supports both SD cards and Memory Sticks – a Sony first.

Panasonic’s 152-inch TV

Yep, it’s just that big. Panasonic’s 152-inch plasma display is complete with full HD 3D video (1920 x 1080 pixels per eye). It’s really, really big.

Project Natal

Xbox 360 gamers will be giddy with glee with Microsoft’s new hardware that allows easy digital world interaction. Controllers are replaced with bodies and voice, revolutionizing computer and non-gaming possibilities in the near future.

Lenovo IdeaPad U1

With tablets becoming all the rage, this one is no exception. The new computer from Lenovo appears to be a regular laptop, but unlike others, the 11.6-inch screen can be removed and used as a separate tablet. Convenient and, frankly, cool.

London Design Festival: an eclectic event

Andrew — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:04:04 +0000

The London Design Festival has launched, ready to provide an avenue for creative talent to shine. With over 200 events and activities, it’s world-class design at its best.

The Festival is the UK’s biggest annual celebration of design, featuring many disciplines supported by government, the design sector, and leading businesses.

Eclectic and amazing, the series of creations are far beyond just creative.

Take Corn Craft, for example, from Gallery GUMI and Faye Toogood, transforming corn from inexpensive raw material to refined, sustainable design.

Or what about Heritage Boy with its immaculate detail, Size + Matter causing a double look at every day objects, and Study O Portable, with their series “On Rooftops” ,combining architecture and social environment.

If you can’t see it in person, definitely check out the website at londondesignfestival.com

The Festival runs until September 27th.

Image: Size + Matter, courtesy of londondesignfestival.com

London Fashion Week features ageless runway

Andrew — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:04:40 +0000

London Fashion Week has begun, and all eyes are focused on the All Walks Beyond The Catwalk show, filled with women of all ages, shapes and sizes.

Among them to take the runway is the oldest woman ever to model at London Fashion Week. Valerie Pain remains timeless at a fresh sixty-five, having been modeling since the 1960s.

Pain is among the models of many ages and sizes represented by Close Models in London, and strongly believes in designers becoming more open-minded about developing creations for older women.

Pain joins seven other women to showcase their clothes from new, emerging designers, specifically geared towards assisting the national eating disorders charity Beat.

Pulp Fiction surpasses the need for a gallery

Andrew — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:18:58 +0000

A new exhibition featuring 14 emerging and new artists at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art examines works that bypass traditional thought.Their work transcends the space and systems from Canada’s established institutions, focusing on the feel of an artist-run community.

It sees the gallery or museum as a place to observe, document and make history, seeing art in all its forms and evolving to another. Pulp Fiction delivers an example of culture that is a part of the market, regardless of its museum status.

Pulp Fiction continues at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, 952 Queen St. W., Toronto, until Aug. 23. For more information, call (416) 395-0067 and visit mocca.ca/exhibitions/current-exhibitions.

Featuring:

Marc Bell, Tasha Brotherton, Mark DeLong, Barry Doupe, Shayne Ehman, Liz Garlicki, James Kirkpatrick, Amy Lockhart, Jason McLean, Jennie O’Keefe, Seth Scriver, The Lions, Peter Thompson

June 27 – August 23, 2009

Organized by Museum | London
Curated by Corinna Ghaznavi

Edward Steichen exhibit at the AGO

Andrew — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 01:08:44 +0000

The Art Gallery of Ontario will be featuring celebrated American fashion photographer Edward Steichen, in an exhibit with images from the 1920s and ’30s.Set to launch September 26th, Steichen’s exhibit will run until early January.

As the chief photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair, he defined glamour, through highlighting leading fashion houses, among them Poiret, Chanel, Lanvin and Schiaparelli.

This show includes many of the images he also captured of various writers, artists, politicians and actors, including George Bernard Shaw, Martha Graham, Amelia Earhart, Charlie Chaplin, and Joan Crawford. It includes 200 gelatin silver prints in total.

Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, the Conde Nast Years, 1923-1937

Organized by the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography in Minneapolis and the Musee de l’Elysee in Lausanne, in collaboration with the AGO
September 26th, 2009 to January 3rd, 2010
Visit ago.net for more information

da Vinci drawings debut in Italy

Andrew — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:32:10 +0000

Milan, Italy will be soon housing an enormous collection of writings and drawings by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. These 24 separate exhibitions will go on public display in September at the Palazzo Marino.

The collection, called The Codex Atlanticus, is home to a large portion of his work, including studies of bird flight to sketches of complex machinery. The name is an allusion to an atlas due to its large size, is currently kept in the city’s Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

The collection contains 1,119 pages in twelve volumes from between 1478 and 1518. Fifty pages are to be featured at each exhibition for three months. Two drawings are featured ahead of time until August 31st; the rest begins on September 10th, with the final exhibition taking place in 2015.