Dear all,

We wanted to update you and to ask for your help.

As many of you will know Peacock’s major new arts centre in Union Terrace Gardens is under threat from Sir Ian Wood’s plan to build over Aberdeen’s only city centre park.

Sir Ian wants to create a street-level square and underground real estate at the cost of at least £50 million to the public purse.

Meanwhile, Peacock’s funding is attached to our original scheme, which was designed to be sympathetic to Union Terrace Gardens, retaining the green space and as many of the trees as possible.

Since Sir Ian Wood’s plan involves filling in the Gardens in their entirety there is no place in it for Peacock’s scheme.

In short, if his goes ahead Peacock loses it’s funding and Aberdeen loses the art centre.

In spite of this, our funders at the Scottish Arts Council agreed to ring-fence Peacock’s money for 12 months until December 2009 to allow the viability of Wood’s proposal to be investigated.

This deadline is now fast approaching. Without a positive decision by the end of this year Peacock will lose its money and be forced to abandon the Arts Centre. Aberdeen will risk ending up with nothing.

We have only a few weeks to convince the City that the people of Aberdeen do not want to lose the Gardens as a beautiful piece of our environmental heritage, and Peacock as a vital part of our cultural future.

PLEASE sign the petition now and pass on to your friends.

Going forward, ACSEF (Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future) is planning to run a public consultation that will decide the fate of the Gardens. Whilst ACSEF have been vocal supporters of Sir Ian’s scheme, we remain hopeful that a sensible option might still be pursued; one that uses Peacock’s money and planning permission to deliver a new arts centre in the Gardens as a first phase of a wider redevelopment of the area. This inclusive option could, we believe, give the city a win-win.

If you are interested there is more information on our website http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/new-building/

We will be in touch as soon as we know more.

Thanks, as ever, for all your support.

Elly and the Peacock Team.

Elly Rothnie
Campaign Director

P E A C O C K visual arts
21 Castle Street (off Castlegate)
ABERDEEN
AB11 5BQ

t: 01224 652996
f: 01224 627094
e: elly@peacockvisualarts.co.uk

At the New Pitsligo Visual Arts Exhibition last week both Anthony Tees and Ian Watt won a prize for their work: Anthony for his painted ceramics and Ian for his painting of Gamrie.

The New Pitsligo Visual Arts Exhibition runs this Saturday and Sunday (26 & 27th September 2009) at the village hall on the main street.

The event runs from 10am to 5pm each day and exhibits in painting, drawing, 3D work, craft, photography and transparencies will be featured, with various prizes up for grabs.

Forecourt Art Group Secretary, Ian Watt, has had two pieces accepted, both acrylics. One is a painting of the woods at Glentanar. The other is a scene of Gamrie (Gardenstown) Village looking towards Crovie.

Both pieces are shown on the gallery on Ian’s profile page.

I noticed today that the Lidl stores now have a range of canvases in stock, but this will only be for a short run. Each pack is £3.99. According to LIDL’s website they are:

• Pre-stretched 100% cotton canvas on wooden frame
• Pre-primed white and ready to use
• Choose from:
• - 1 x size (cm): 50 x 70
• - 2 x size (cm): 40 x 40
• - 3 x size (cm): 25 x 30
• Price per item/set

They also have A2 portfolios for £7.99 and tabletop easels for £9.99 (although I didn’t see these in the Mastrick, Aberdeen, shop today.

Peacock visual arts have announced a range of new print-making classes in Lithography, Screen printing, etching, and kids classes.

See http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/printmaking/printmaking/print-facilities for more details.

Paintings of Aberdeen produced by George Mackie in the 1970s, recently donated to the Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums.

This exhibition is on at Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Ship Row Aberdeen until 10th October 2009.

Monday 7th to Friday 11th of September (10am-4pm daily).  Evening showings on Tues and Thurs also (7.30pm-9pm)

A variety of art for sale from local artists in the Cove, Kincorth, Portlethen, Peterculter and Ferryhill areas of Aberdeen.  Many attend a weekly class at Cove (Loirston Annexe) on Wednesday mornings.

A commission on sales goes to the church funds to cover heating and lighting. Thank you to Bella Adam and Karl Brown for organising this event.

Free Entry.

Tea’s / Coffees / Biscuit- £ 1.50

In a new 90 minute documentary, A Portrait of Scotland, Peter Capaldi explores the story of Scotland’s art.

Capaldi himself attended Glasgow School of Art, but soon after graduating became an actor.

Capaldi spends time with the paintings and the artists that have made Scottish art special. He sketches some of the most important Scottish portraits, and  shows how Scotland’s art has reflected the changing face of the nation.

I believe that this is repeated later in the week if you miss the first showing which goes out immediately after the Michael Palin programme on the Scottish Colourists.

The first of two art programmes airs tonight on BBC4 at 8pm (BST).

Michael Palin on the Scottish Colourists explores the lives and paintings of four Scottish artists known as the Scottish Colourists: John Duncan Fergusson, George Leslie Hunter, Samuel John Peploe and Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell.

One not to miss!

Olga Ferguson, Assistant Keeper (Fine Art) gives a half-hour talk at Aberdeen Art Gallery on Wednesday 9th September 2009 at 12.30pm.

See Aberdeen City Council’s website for more details.