Grace McCleen's Christian sect novel wins Desmond Elliott prize

From http://www.theguardian.co.uk/
    
Grace McCleen  has won the £10,000 Desmond Elliott prize for her first novel, The Land of Decoration, which draws on her own upbringing in a fundamentalist Christian sect.

The debut, which beat titles including Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson and Patrick McGuinness's The Last Hundred Days to win the award, is narrated by 10-year-old Judith McPherson, a member of the Christian Brotherhood of the Last Days. Bullied at school, Judith finds solace in the model world she creates in her bedroom: "An acorn cup becomes a bowl, toothpaste caps funnels for ocean liners, twigs knees for an ostrich." When she makes it snow in her Land of Decoration, and it snows in reality, she starts to believe she can work miracles.

Like Judith, McCleen grew up in a Christian sect in Wales. "There were happy moment and very difficult moments. I drew on the difficult parts to write The Land of Decoration," she said.

The author was removed from school at the age of 10, and when she returned, a teacher advised her to apply for university. She read English literature at Oxford and did an MA at York. "When I left university I had a breakdown and couldn't stay in the cult any more, and that was my doorway out, but I stayed in religion through university," she said.
When she was 27 she wrote a long novel that "didn't work", so she developed a passage that began "In the beginning there was an empty room..." into The Land of Decoration. She landed an agent within a week.

Pianos in Paris streets

I love this story from http://www.mylittleparis.com/ :

"After Bristol, Londres, Sao Paulo, New-York... the Play Me, I'm Yours project is now in town. The idea : 40 freely available pianos, made-over by artists and set up in the streets of Paris." Projet Play Me, I'm Yours, June 22nd to July 8th

PhotoIreland Festival 2012

PhotoIreland Festival 2012 – Migrations: Diaspora & Cultural Identity
1-31 July 2012 | Celebrating its 3rd edition in 2012, PhotoIreland Festival will explore the theme ‘Migrations: Diaspora & Cultural Identity’, showcasing some of the finest national and international contemporary photography in and around Dublin city from 1–31 July, highlighting the importance of Photography & Image Culture in Ireland. http://2012.photoireland.org/show/

The main exhibitions are:
On Migration Opening day: 6pm Fri 13 Jul-22 Jul, 12-5pm,

Moxie Studios, Lad Lane, off Baggot Street, Dublin 2

     

Living - Leaving Opening day: 6pm Thu 5 Jul-22 Jul, Mon to Sat 10am-5pm Sun 12-5pm

National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2

The Other Side of the Soul Opening day: 6pm Thu 5 Jul-30 Aug, Mon-Thu: 2-7pm,Fri: 10am-2pm
Closed Sat, Sun

Instituto Cervantes, exhibition room,Lincoln Place, Dublin 2

Unsettled Opening day: 6pm Wed 4 Jul-12 Jul, Mon to Fri 10am-6pm Sat 12-4pm

The Copper House Gallery, St Kevin’s Cottages, Synge Street, Dublin 8

Sarah on the Bridge Opening day: 8pm Sat 14 Jul-4 Aug, Mon to Fri 10am-6pm Sat 12-4pm

The Copper House Gallery, St Kevin’s Cottages, Synge Street, Dublin 8

There are 50+ other smaller exhibitions so catch at least one.

Homeless Gallery

What a great idea!

   
"Due to the massive success of last two year’s Homeless Gallery, we are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting the un-curated photography exhibition for a third year now! The event will be a part of the PhotoIreland Festival 2012. This year's Homeless Gallery will run from 1st – 4th July.
The whole idea of the Homeless Gallery is that there are no entry criteria. Homeless Gallery is open to all artists.
The Homeless Gallery will open to the public on Sunday 1st July. This year we will also celebrate BLOW Photo Magazine's 2nd birthday. Along with over 120 artists presenting their work, there will be a Canon portrait wall, portfolios reviews, a vintage cameras exhibition, a darkroom presentation, a special exhibition featuring the work of two of the winners of BLOW Photo magazine’s competition and finally selected DJs playing the finest tunes in Dublin.
The Homeless Gallery is a great idea to enable everybody to show their work publicly, those who for various reasons would have no chance to show their work to the world. It is for those who cannot afford a prestigious gallery, and for those who would never even think of doing so. It is a chance to be noticed for photography students, and those just entering photography. For professionals it is a chance of showing some of their more personal work that never finds its way into their commercial portfolios. For amateurs it is a chance of showing their work to people other than their nearest family and friends. For those who are shy, it is a chance to pull out those photographs hidden away in drawers.
This exhibition is a fantastic opportunity for all photography enthusiasts to congregate and collectively showcase their work without censorship.
The admission for visitors is FREE.http://d-lightstudios.com/news

46 NORTH GREAT
CLARENCE STREET
Dublin 1

Dark Horse

Another movie on at the IFI that sounds good is Dark Horse. With Selma Blair, Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken starring, the review courtesy of Le Cool.
 
"Darkhorse is the long awaited film from Todd Solandz, and with a top-class cast - Mia Farrow making a rare appearance and Selma Blair in a role that compliments her down to the ground - her character is Miranda (made for bitchface) - who marries a bit of a no-hoper because she failed in her academic pursuits. The man to her wife is Abe, unsuccessful thirty-something, gathering dust in his parents' house like baubles in the Christmas box, collecting toy horses. If the image in your mind is now a My Little Pony episode of Jerry Springer/Maury, it's not far from the premise of the film...It is charming, funny and touching, which is enhanced by its quirky, plasticky, candy coated visuals. Christopher Walken is also in it - as proof of this film's comedic quality."

Your Sister's Sister

I like the sound of this film with Emily Blunt on at the IFI at the moment.
Review from Le Cool."Lynn Shelton's low(ish) budget, partly improvised, off kilter rom-com is just the sort of film that people should see on a first date. It's intimate and charming with some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and enough poignancy to warm the heart. The female leads (Emily Blunt and Rosemarie deWitt) provide the eye-candy to balance Mark Duplass' hang-dog beer-bellied 'niche' appeal. It's a classic tale of boy meets dead brother's ex girlfriend, and her lesbian sister. Set in an isolated lakeside house in an attractively rainy north-west USA location, the action centres around the fall out from a drunken sexual encounter, a declaration of love and a possible pregnancy. The scenes featuring the sisters ring especially true, but there is an appealing sympathy between all three actors that make this a very watchable if not especially great film."
Irish Film Institute, 6 Eustace St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2

J P Keating

Le Cool online mag http://lecool.com/ always has really good mini interviews with current artists and photographers. Today's issue has a great photo by J P Keating.

"Tell us more about this cover
It’s a lovely German nun I met in Ballsbridge during the Eucharistic Congress a couple of weeks ago. She was talking to a monk at the time and I was waiting for my friend to finish a sandwich so I went over for a chat. I’ve always wanted to take a nun's portrait and she was a joy. She said she would pray for me but its probably too late to be honest."