We mourn the loss of David who walked and led the Largactyl Shuffle, campaigned across the disability spectrum and experienced his own mental distress.  Mental health stigma means that those who experience mental distress face greater barriers than people with other forms of disability.

David was a Senior Policy Advisor on Disability to the Mayor of London and had been working with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) as External Access and Inclusion Coordinator. He was passionate about CoolTan Arts Largactyl Shuffle which last week gained an Inspire mark for the Olympics.

CoolTan Arts has opened a wall in our gallery to celebrate David’s achievements.   CoolTan is open for people to come and pay their respects, write poems, leave messages and meet his friends.  The gallery offers full access to the public, Monday to Friday, 10am-5.30pm.

‘Remember Red Jesus and Blue Madonna wigs optional’.  Recipes for food welcome.

David loved the artist Frida Kahlo’s portrait of herself in a wheelchair.

Click here to read David’s blog entry about CoolTan Arts Sponsored Walk 2009

Funeral service 10am to 11am

Thursday 6^th May 2010

The Ecology Centre, Mile End Park, London, E3 5TW

http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgsl/451-500/461_parks/mile_end_park/ecology_park.aspx

Please note that parking is on-street and you need to allow time to find a suitable parking space.

The burial service will be held from 12:30pm – 1:30pm at City of London Cemetery and Cremation, Aldersbrook Road, Manor Park, London, E12 5DQ.

A Red Jesus Event is being held at Graeae Theatre Company, Bradbury Studios, 138 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DY. The event is in celebration of Davids’ life and will be held from 7pm until midnight. It’s an open event of poetry, music and film with food and drinks to bring people together who knew David in whatever capacity to share in celebrating his life. CoolTan participants are welcome to bring their own poetry.

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Alternative adj. relating to activities that depart from or challenge traditional norms

By Martin Walsh

Photograph © See Li Click here for more images

“Scottish weave like we’ve never seen it before”

CoolTan Arts graced the catwalk at the Alternative Fashion Show in Old Spitalfields Market on a promising and sun kissed afternoon, celebrating the alternative and debuting their latest collection, Twisted Tartan.

The Alternative Fashion Show exists for individuals, groups and charities who might usually fall by the wayside in the cut throat and competitive world of fashion. The brain child of Maggie Pinhorn & Amy Dyke-Coomes the Alternative Fashion Show provides a viable and popular platform for individual artists, charities and creative groups to showcase their catalogues and imaginations.

CoolTan Arts are no stranger to the Spitalfields runway; this is the third consecutive year they’ve strutted their fashion alternatives and promoted a true understanding for the need of a healthy alternative. Their designs and ideas grew from a collective of Southwark residents who regularly attend the weekly CoolTan Arts Batik workshop, led by Lydia Honeybone. Their theme this year was tartan, and the theme was twisted with pure ingenuity and craftsmanship.

The presentation of their collection started confidently to a pace perfectly matched and complemented by the live jazz band. Shimmering silk sashes of greens, purples, creams and oranges adorned the austere models, who boasted a great confidence and self assured determination.

Several minutes and models into the Twisted Tartan collection I was cocksure that I’d clocked their angle, style and tempo, and then I was completely bowled over and struck down. Their minimalist and muted style was turned on its head and shaken from its ankles by the hi-octane and vibrant Chief Executive of CoolTan Arts, Michelle Baharier. Baharier exploded in full and fun colour onto the runway commanding an excited applause and a notable increase in flashing and clicking cameras. To close, Cool Tan left the catwalk dancing the Can-Can and laughing amongst themselves, proudly breaking the stiff and tired rules crooned by an old crow flying from an old school.

Twisted Tartan crafted a dynamic that captured the attention and hearts of its audience. Anyone lucky enough to bear witness to this year’s Alternative Fashion Show and its wealth of variety in textures, colours, and creativity will likely never forget it. Contemporary art was perfectly woven into blissfully alternative fashion.

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After making a splash two years running at the Alternative Fashion Week, CoolTan Arts are back for the third time and bring their original hand made, dyed and printed creations to the catwalk once more.

Lydia Honeybone, CoolTan Arts’ batik tutor says about the collection: “This year we’re giving Vivienne Westwood a run for her money! With our ‘Twisted Tartan’ collection. Swathing our models in our take on the Scottish weave like you’ve never seen it before.

Our Spring/Summer collection will be comprised primarily of silk, hand crafted creations made by our students from fabric they batik and dye themselves in our South London based studios. Using the batik wax resist technique to build up vibrant layers of colour in swirly, spiky and twisted tartan designs.”

Being involved in the Alternative Fashion Week these last two years has been one of the most important opportunities our participants have had since CoolTan began in 1990. Following the success of last year’s entry we were asked to stage two more shows as interest grew in our collection. The experience of actually modelling her own piece has been described by one of our students as simply, “fantastic!”

For CoolTan Arts’ Batik class to be not only involved but respected by something as established and renowned as the Alternative Fashion Week gives our participants the confidence to get back into the community through their creativity.

Entrance to the Alternative Fashion Show is free and the show is promising to be spectacular. So get there by 1pm on 20th April 2010 to save disappointment and see the CoolTan Arts models and their unique collection on the catwalk. Visit www.alternativearts.co.uk for more information.

Additional information

The Alternative Fashion Show runs from 19-23 April 2010 and CoolTan Arts’ catwalk will take place on the 20th April 2010 at Spitalfields Traders Market, Crispin Place, Brushfield Street E1 at 1:15pm. Nearest tube and rail stations are Aldgate (Circle and Metropolitan Line) and Aldgate East (District and Hammersmith and City Line). Nearest bus stop is on Bishopsgate where the bus routes 8, 26, 35, 43, 48, 78, 149, 242, 243A stops and 67, which stops at Commercial Street. Car parks are available on Whites Row and Hanbury Street. Spaces would be allocated for wheelchair users throughout the event.

CoolTan Arts believes mental wellbeing is enhanced by the power of creativity. It is a charity run by and for those with mental distress and exists to inspire the wellbeing and creative participation of a diverse range of people through the production of quality art.

Further information about CoolTan Arts and the 2010 collection is available from: Kathrin Kirrmann, Communications Officer, CoolTan Arts, 020 7701 2696 kathrin@cooltanarts.org.uk www.cooltanarts.org.uk

We are proud to have as Patrons: Maggi Hambling, Sokari Douglas Camp, Ali Smith, Clare Allan and Rosemary Shrager

Unit B 237 Walworth Rd LONDON SE17 1RL T: 0207 701 2696 M: 07952 481 566 W: www.cooltanarts.org.uk E: info@cooltanarts.org.uk

CoolTan Arts Registered charity number 1064231   Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales reg. 3244552

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Food has many associations for people, from family sharing to personal expression, from religious significance to the simple comfort it brings.  What’s more, Southwark – with its diverse ethnicity and cultural history – has a fantastic wealth of culinary traditions.  The CoolTan Arts cookbook will therefore celebrate the personal, cultural, creative, local, social and nostalgic qualities of food, cooking and eating – as well as including foods that are known to be good for physical and mental health.

Actually, the FOOD FOR MOOD project is not just for cooks: it’s a project about the way we cook, eat and shop for food. Share your memories, recipes, advice and experiences: no special cooking talents required!!    We will be holding a get-together (with food, of course!) to discuss the project on  Wednesday 2^nd June, at 1pm in the CoolTan Arts Gallery.  Come and find out about upcoming workshops, the book, and the different opportunities to get involved.

Can you contribute? We’re looking for recipe suggestions, food memories, food photos, and recommendations for interesting food shops and restaurants/cafes in Southwark.  If you can give us any of these things, or would like to help with collecting contributions (or funding), please talk to Elizabeth: you can call 07736 411494 or email elizabeth@cooltanarts.org.uk.

You can download a recipe template here and email it to Elizabeth along with photos and any other material relating to food and mood.

convert this post to pdf.]]> http://www.cooltanarts.org.uk/2010/04/cooltan-arts-%e2%80%98food-for-mood%e2%80%99-cookbook/feed/ 0 http://www.cooltanarts.org.uk/2010/03/women-that-inspire/ http://www.cooltanarts.org.uk/2010/03/women-that-inspire/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:15:59 +0000 Susan http://www.cooltanarts.org.uk/?p=3461 Images from CoolTan’s latest exhibition.

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Michael from Cooltan Arts from bassac on Vimeo.

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Two of the films, ‘The Largactyl Shuffle,’ and ‘CoolTan Arts – who we are, what we do and how we do it,’ document CoolTan’s work. ‘In the studio with Maggi Hambling’ chronicles CoolTan’s patron.

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Photography © Melanie Fordham

‘The Largactyl Shuffle’ follows the Largactyl Shuffle midnight walk – a nighttime guided cultural walk from Maudsley Hospital to Denmark Hill which took place in June 2009. Jon Pratty of Disability Arts Online described it as a ‘lively, insightful and informal documentary’.

The films will be shown nationally and internationally at film festivals and cinemas.

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Last week’s episode of All in the Mind on Radio 4 explored some of the more surprising side effects of antipsychotics.  The programme featured a candid interview with Sabita, a 57 year old woman who’d been taking antipsychotics since the early 1980s.  She’d suffered worryingly irregular periods, loss of libido and had recently developed osteoporosis.  Sabita felt let down by doctors who hadn’t warned her of any side effects other than weight gain.

A consultant psychiatrist at the Institute of Psychiatry confirmed Sabita’s experience was typical and quoted research showing high levels of infertility amongst women taking antipsychotics. It turned out that doctors are often aware of these side effects but don’t realise how significant they are to patients.  The psychiatrist was keen to emphasise that people who are worried about the adverse effects of drugs shouldn’t stop taking them and that nowadays there’s the option of switching to more modern drugs which don’t cause hormonal problems.

The programme touched on a number of interesting issues. It highlighted a worrying assumption by professionals that infertility amongst people with schizophrenia may not be too much of a concern.  A sinister echo, perhaps, of the compulsory sterilisation programmes which once existed in many Western countries. Also, maybe understandably, psychiatrists seem to fear that if they reveal too much about the side effects of a drug the patient may stop taking it – with potentially tragic consequences.  For me it reinforced my belief that there’s still too much focus on finding the right drug when a holistic approach to treatment where drugs are only part of the picture can be more effective.

by Susan Todd

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