Kate Risker's blog

Secret Garden Party :: Wind in the Willows

After organizing two themed parties that were packed to the rafters with smiley, happy people, Secret Garden Party tapped into our party throwing talent and asked us to programme a stage at the boutique music festival. We happily obliged and ran the Thursday night in the ‘Come and Play’ area hosted by Eco Arcadia.

The theme for the evening was ‘Wind in the Willows’ – a childhood favorite about the eccentric animals Toad, Ratty, Badger and Mole. The theme was inspired by the setting at the site in Cambridgeshire- based over and around a stunning lake.

"It's never the wrong time to call on Toad. Early or late he's always the same fellow. Always good-tempered, always glad to see you, always sorry when you go!" Toad- Kenneth Grahame

I searched the land high and low for bands that fitted the traditional earthy feel of Wind in the Willows, combined with high-octane grooves to evoke the animals in people. First up were The Ratfinks providing ska-rap tunage straight from the West country, then Kid Id that rocked the dance floor, setting the party alight. To finish the night we were over the moon to present the PRS award winning band The Fontanas- who performed with musicians from Amy Winehouses band and Basement Jaxx. The evening was hosted by comedian Matt Reed, who kept the crowds a chuckle throughout the night.

Lisa Devaney from the Hai Media Group set the scene for the evening with a skit poets version of Wind in the Willows. The skit interspersed comical performances, along with some fun poetry readings by Toad, and hilarious antics from the cast of characters, along with dancing and singing, including audience interaction to all to join in on sing-a-long moments. The skit took place around a lavishly dressed banquet table, kindly dressed by set designer Amanda Birch.

This event was run on ZERO budget, so big up to all for being involved…

:: VJ Social :: Late at Tate ::

This months Late at Tate Britain showcased a vibrant audiovisual collective NE1CO. NE1CO is a freshly squeezed group of audiovisual artists, specially selected by VJ Anyone, to meet the growing demands in moving-image production from the music, arts and entertainment industries. NE1CO presented a brilliant audiovisual event, the “AV Social”, including installations, performances and screenings from some of Europe's finest VJ’s and audiovisual artists.

 

I was blown away by Rod Maclachlan and Jem Noble’s installations from Black Out Arts who performed live audiovisual works projecting shadow images from a plant, chopsticks and sawdust- simply amazing! Blackout Arts are apparently playful, serious and open to suggestion! After speaking to Rod it seems that they are well up for collaboration with promoters, aiming to produce new and unique effects at events. This makes me a very excited about approaching them to work together in the future. They are also part of the Venn Festival/Bristol crew which strengthens our engagement.  I was also mesmerized by Bopa and Bruno Tait’s collaborative video installation that used moving head video projections and video works from artist Hiraki Sawa- check out the beautiful videos of the white busts and grandfather clock-esque projections.

Another fab themed party "The Human Zoo"

Put together a trapeze arist, zookeeper, sinister ring leader, and a pair of Zebras and you could be at the hedonistic themed party the Human Zoo. Creatively fusing performance art, music, magic and other surprising quirks, this one-off event saw a tremendous crowd of 250 fun loving party goers!

Musically The Gentle Mystics brought a powerfully psychedelic dose of Gyp-Hop- imagine circus freak show era Tom Waits on ecstasy and peyote. The Bohemianauts demonstrated new standards and squeezebox revivalism with gypsy jazz, songs about vodka and daring stunts. In addition to this Ophelia Blitz performed alongside the band, playing the washboard and divulging in sick cabaret, setting herself on fire!

Kid iD rocked the place with their original and upbeat performance, playing music from folk to funk and ska to drum'n'bass. I highlight for me was the point where Ian (one of the lead dudes) had to get his trousers gaffer taped up onstage as they were falling down- hilarious! Testimonial from the band;

"Absolutely tiptop. Quirky, fresh, fun and friendly. One of the best nights we've played in London town!" Ian Dudfield, Kid iD

Big thanks also go out to our DJ’s who took a wrapping by the venue manager for there apparent “strictly roots” music policy!! Symmetrik, Chin Suppressor, Spin-K, Burn Bros and Hungry Man took good care of the decks.

Standnotamazed were also a fantastic addition to the evening, creating a sexy and interactive element that is soooo important at our events. Watching the gents jaws drop wide when Lucy performed ‘The Rope’ on stage was a memory for me! The performance collective create work fusing contemporary magic with movement based theatre. Established by movement director Lucy Cullingford and contemporary magician John van der Put, the company seeks to create groundbreaking theatre blurring the line between the real and the imagined.

We very much missed the fabulous Lisa Devaney, our resident spit poet performer who was away jet-setting for the event. However, she has created a new show over the past few months that I’m excited to see at Madame Jo Jo’s for the Finger in the Pie festival this week end. Watch out for my business partner the fabulous Simon Harris performing as an American transvestite, hola hola!

Video footage of the night is in production and will be posted up on this site and the facebook event. Please add yourself to the guest list if you would like to keep informed about up and coming interactive puddings.

The only problem now is thinking up an original, quirky business name to put to our themed parties. Watch this space for our own next summer masterpiece, already in progress- think country mansion, think interactive, think summer sun…

Bloc Weekend

I’ve just got back from running the production office and artist liaison at Bloc Weekend. Bloc weekend is held just East from Norwich, three hours away from London and is in my opinion the best festival for innovative electronic music in the UK. Headline acts were Karl Bartos (Kraftwerk), Joey Beltram and Red Snapper. The artists sets that I most enjoyed were sets by Milanese, Amon Tobin, Mr Velcro Fastner, Ed Chamberlain, Radioactive Man and Ntype- all varying experimental electronics including electronica, techno, dubstep and electro. There were also some quality visual artists, providing projections in the Bass Bloc and two amazing lazers that were run throughout the weekend in the Tech Bloc.

:: The Human Zoo ::

Human Zoo Logo

“Dance as if no one is watching;                                                          
love as if you can't be hurt.
Sing tho' no one is listening;
live as if it's heaven on earth.”
Author Unknown

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls. It’s feeding time at the Human Zoo. Come feast on the spoils of a millennia of civilization. The meek shall inherit the earth but the freaks will rule the night. Allow the Human Zoo to coax you from your cage to enjoy an evening of ‘dark beyond the fringes’ fun.

The team that brought you the Nativity Hoedown have joined forces with Standnotamazed, who provide the finest contemporary cabaret and magic. Expect another unforgettable night of rabble rousing bands and alternative entertainment. The Human Zoo is a celebration of the age of rubbernecking and an opportunity for all of you to get down and just show off. Expect the sounds of ska, klezmer, dub and folk.

Dress code : As inspired
£8 entry

March 29th at Passing Clouds 440 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London E8

PLEASE RSVP FOR COMPULSORY GUEST LIST- either by facebook or missrisk@gmail.com

www.standnotamazed.com

Valentines Feast at River Cottage HQ!

What can I say other than the best Valentines experience that I’ve ever had- by far! My partner and I normally avoid over capitalising on trashy Valentines Day activities, but this year was different when I accidentally on purpose booked the feast two weeks ago.

 
We arrived at the River Cottage and were asked to wait for the next tractor and trailer to pick us up and take us down to the farm. We waited in excitement around burning oil drums and bantered with other couples who were attending the event. On arrival at the venue we entered a reception area - a cosy, modern yurt - and delighted in sipping rhubarb Bellini’s and munching canapés.

 
After a brief introduction by Steve Smith, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s right hand man, we were asked to be seated at the two huge banqueting tables. The tables were rustically decorated with red rose petals and fragrant herbs, rosemary and bay. Waiting for us at the table was a chilled bottle of champagne and many introductions from friendly couples. Below is the fantastic menu which used nothing but locally sourced ingredients- each guest having every single dish!

 
Chicken liver parfait on digestives
Confit pork belly, date and honey puree
Fresh organic trout tartare, rye toast
Cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup, chestnut and parsley pesto
Devon rock oysters
Paprikash of lamb's heart and tongue, mint yoghurt, toasted sourdough, herb salad
Poached pear, air dried ham and Dorset blue vinny salad with honey and thyme
Roast rump and loin of Park farm Lamb, slow cooked shoulder, parsnip puree, green herb sauce
Bramley apple parfait, cinnamon shortbread
Vanilla yoghurt pannacotta, poached rhubarb, ginger and cider brandy snaps
Coffee
Petits fours

We really enjoyed the variety of simple, delicious and locally sourced food. Additional to the food we were also entertained by a live pianist and had a lot of fun and laughter with the other couples at the event. Nothing against my loved one, but here’s to sharing future Valentines events! I would totally recommend this to any couple that are looking for an alternative Valentines experience.

The River Cottage is 3½ hours from London by car and is an excellent location for special events. The venue can entertain groups of 10–200 at the farm, nestled in the Axe Valley, Dorset. Celebrate tying the knot or a host a party with a local, seasonal feast, and dance the night away in the converted 17th century barn.  After booking our Valentines feast I would recommend them as a professional events team and can vouch that they are capable of tailoring a specific package for your time spent at River Cottage HQ.

Madame Tussards- Eurotrash Party

What a hilarious party! I was randomly invited to a Madame Tussard’s promotional evening to attend their Eurotrash party in London. I hadn’t been to the venue before so I was interested in investigating and checking out the kind of vibe that it could offer for a  corporate party. I attended with Justine Potter of Thomson Financial services, as seen in the photographs.

After a forty-five minute entrance to the event- yes forty-five minutes of experiencing the horror of ‘Chamber Live’ and the full Madame Tussard’s experience we arrived at the bar. There were two main rooms scattered with celebrity wax works, from famous inventors to the royal family. The food was European themed and was pretty average and other entertainment was also just that. Not a place where I would plan a party, but would be recommended for the mainstream event manager as a mediocre, but fun venue steeped in British culture.

Mesh Minds Launch Party

I attended the launch of a new networking group Mesh Minds at the weekend, at the Adam Street private members club. I was accompanied by the wonderful Sarah Platt co-founder of Kinura a company that offers live web streaming, flash streaming and Web TV services. Kinura is also the home to the Speakolascope an interactive video installation for events, please check out the video footage on the above link for a demonstration.

Mesh is a new social networking group that aims to connect arts and business professionals with like-minded people so you can share contacts and creative interests, generate ideas and potentially collaborate on creative projects.  The social group functions online, but they also host networking parties. T he website is still in beta phase and membership is by approval.

All in all my feedback was generally positive about the evening. I was quite impressed by the choice of venue and the DJ although it was pretty loud for a networking event. I also thought it was great to introduce some additional entertainment in the Adam Street gallery to create a talking point amongst guests. The comedy sketches ‘London Bites’ were part of the Standupdrama group.

Over the next few months, Mesh will be rolling out a programme of intimate themed events, starting in London, aimed at helping Mesh members to develop, produce and market their creativity to potential investors and collaborators. I'll be interesting to see what’s in store for these more edgy networking events.

London Art Fair

I was delighted to be invited to the preview evening of the London Art Fair by Carla Judge the Entertainment Sales Manager of the K-West Boutique hotel. The fair took place last week at the Business Design Centre, London. In my opinion below are some of the best galleries and artists that exhibited at the fair.

Ocontemporary Gallery
Ocontemporary has been rated as one of the UK’s top modern galleries by the Observer and it’s certainly been added to my list of things to do in the future. Artists that I particulary liked from the gallery were Tinho and John Simpson.

My favourite artistic discovery of the night was work by Tinho the urban art genius, from Brazil. Tinho works in oil and spray paint and produces dramatic, hard-hitting paintings that have captured my imagination. See the pictures to the left of this text and tons more on the above links. Brazilian street art is widely regarded as one of the most significant urban art scenes, rich in Brazil's colourful culture and boasting an unprecedented array of talent.

Byard Art Gallery
After a few glasses of champers in the corporate hospitality area, by suprise I noticed a Predator-esque installation glaring at me from the upstairs gallery- I went to investigate. Robert Bradford produces large sculptures out of plastic, wood and fire and it was one of his installations that had caught my eye. On speaking to the artist it seems he has produced numerous art installations for events, both on the interactive and festival front. His work has been commissioned for special events, such as, fire sculptures that are produced out of wood and then brought to life by a vivid Pyrotechnics display. Other work that earned my respect were the innovative works by Chris Woods a glass artist. The artist uses coloured glass and cleverly it’s reflections to produce beautiful wall hangings and installations.

Woolff Gallery
The Woolff Gallery has a range of exhibits from fine to pop art and I was informed that they have a new central London gallery opening soon. See below for Fiona Morley’s untitled piece that amazingly uses wire and paint on canvas to produce a really special effect. I also liked works by Victoria Rose and David Wheeler.

Another major contemporary art event that’ll be going in my diary is the ARTfutures exhibition in March at the Bloomberg SPACE. Expect a feast for the eyes and see works that you can buy and take home with you!

 

Radar Awards

A bunch of friends and I attended the Radar Awards at the Institute of Contemporary Arts last night. The short film music awards were part of the 5th London Short Film Festival that has been running the last week or so, more specifically as part of the annual Radar Festival. The Radar Festival was set up to discover and promote new music video director talent. They believe music videos are an inspiration and that they represent a unique opportunity to encourage creativity and self expression in the world.

A selection of from this year’s finalists, including videos for Kylie Minogue, The Heavy and Just Jack can be seen here. My favorite video selections were in my opinion: best for graphics Encargardo- Just Jack, tasty illustration Ross Philips- The Heavy and the highly entertaining Terry Duthu and Ross Philips- Kylie.