SouthseaScene

The Guildhall is hosting a free event to celebrate the cultural and creative industries in the city on Thursday 31 January from 8:30am-1pm at Guildhall Studio, Portsmouth Guildhall. At the event, Cllr Steve Pitt,Cabinet Member for Culture Leisure and Sport at Portsmouth City Council, will talk about the importance of cultural and creative industries for the region's economic growth while Professor Trevor Keeble from the Faculty of Culture and Creative Industries at the University of Portsmouth will talk about employment and enterprise in the UK Creative Industries and in Portsmouth. There will also be key note speakers from successful international creative film, design and music industries who will be sharing their experiences, discussing future challenges and how we shape future growth in the city. Cllr Steve Pitt said: "There's a huge amount of creativity in the city and many cultural and creative industries to celebrate including literature, film and music, art, ...

Saturday is chores day, but I cannot miss the Created in Portsmouth arts and crafts trail, which saw local artists and crafters opening their studios to the public. I had very little time so briskly made my way to Darlington Road, where bookmaker and paper artist Adrian Munday was opening his front room to showcase some of the fabulous books he has made. The photographs of the books were enticing enough, but to actually feel the books yourself was quite something. I know I have a thing about stationary, but these books were exquisite! Adrian's mother Shirley also had her crafts on display and she was an amazing woman who has a passion of beading and embroidery. You cannot miss her enthusiasm for the crafts and she couldn't avoid infecting me with her delight in crafting. Safe to say that I could not walk away without purchasing one of her beautifully crafted beaded bracelet. Having had such an inspiring visit with these two I thought it would be churlish to skip the st...