I am about to return to the UK, leaving Edmonton, Alberta and Latitude 53’s wonderful hosting of Visualeyez.

It’s been an extraordinary ten days of a hybrid of residency and festival during which I have seen and experienced some remarkable work by artists based here in Canada and had also made three almost entirely new works in response to the thematics of this years Visualeyez - Justice.

The blog written by Shawna Dempsey presents a succint and insightful commentary accompanied by photographs:

http://visualeyez2008.blogspot.com/

Visualeyez 2008

The ninth annual Visualeyez… festival of performance art taking place from July 18-28, 2008 in the downtown core of Edmonton, Alberta with the curatorial theme of Justice.

Focusing upon the broad interpretation of Justice, this theme has deliberately been left wide open to the interpretation of artists and collectives. This will include such aspects as social justice, ecological, racial, economical, retributive justice, distributive justice, justice as virtue, and justice as harmony.

Karen Spencer

Margaret Dragu

David Khang

Alexis O’Hara

Robin Brass

Paul Couillard.

Kira O’Reilly

Visualeyez happens over a period of ten days and all invited artists should be prepared to attend for the entire length of the festival. Artists experience the work of other artists, engage in discussion groups, panels and other activities that enhance the work of individual artists and the performance art community within Canada and beyond.

Visualeyez is supported, in part by Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, Imperial Tobacco Canada Arts Council, The City of Edmonton and Latitude 53.

Please help support this unique artists led event:

Resonate/Obliterate performance/benefit Thurs. July 24, 8:30 p.m. Los Angeles, CA

Solo performances by

Ron Athey

Julie Tolentino

Julianna Snapper

Franko B

All proceeds benefit

PRAXIS Mohave Performance Art Bootcamp

which Athey/Tolentino and Snapper are conducting in Joshua Tree August 2008

*10pm
Then comes the “new-school” after-party: RADIATE/INTOXICATE, hosted by Wu Ingrid Tsang and Zackary Drucker, our Praxis scholarship artists, who are organizing an evening of hi-NRG performance, video, and disco dancing. There’s also a garden, a spiral staircase and valet parking.

If you are unable to be there you can make a donation via Paypal, for details contact:

praxismohave@gmail.com

See The Scientist.

British biologists have received government approval to create the world’s first human stem cells from hybrid embryos, part pig, part human.

The Warwick Medical School team, led by Justin St. John of the Clinical Sciences Research Institute, was granted the country’s third animal-human embryo license from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which goes into effect today (July 1).