No, it's not a headline about a grave misdemeanour in a public space but rather this is all about a special event held last night in London to promote the North West of England as the hotbed of artistic talent that it undoubtedly is.

A selection of the work of ten of today's leading exponents was on display - Chris Ofili (exhibiting 3 never-before-seen watercolours), Peter Saville (3 pieces exhibited, one of which was apparently hung upside down), Kevin Cummins (a reprise for the Arca First XI) amongst them. Messrs Saville and Cummins were in attendance, as were Anthony Wilson and Yvette Livesey before they dashed off to do an interview somewhere else.

Among the events and art spaces being promoted were the inaugural Manchester International Festival coming in 2007, the Liverpool Biennial, The Lowry and Tate Liverpool.

On a smaller scale, one of the artists, Rachel Goodyear, was exhibiting her work in association with International 3, a new space on Fairfield Street in the bowels of Manchester Piccadilly railway station. Rachel's finely detailed pencil drawings ripped out of her sketch book were one of the highlights of an entertaining evening all round.

Labels: Kevin_Cummins

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