THE NEW ART COLUMN:

By Faye Morrison

After White Night’s celebration of all things artistic marked the end of October, November looks set to be yet another month packed with events to reflect our most creative of cities!

Good news if arty fairs are your thing as this month Brighton is home to two of them. The Phoenix Gallery hosts ‘Art Junky’ on the weekend of the 5^th and 6^th; a quirky collection of 50 stalls selling various art, crafts, music and fashion items. Or, for the more discerning customer, ‘MADE 11’ will return to The Corn Exchange between Friday 18^th and Sunday 20^th to provide over 100 local designers the opportunity to showcase their textiles, jewellery, furniture, ceramics and more.

Brighton’s galleries will be offering the usual diversity of exhibitions this month, including London-based artist Melanie Manchot’s ‘Gathering’; on show at Fabrica until Sunday 27^th. The exhibition, which constitutes two film works of crowds in public spaces, displays Manchot’s interest in the notion of group portraiture as a performative event, and the role of the individual within mass collective identity.

For something more traditional head down to Brighton Museum & Art Gallery where, throughout the whole month, you’ll find a beautiful collection of Indian miniature paintings on show as part of the museum’s ‘Ragamala’ exhibition. Inspired by music and verse, Ragamala painting was one of the most popular Indian artistic genres between the 15^th and 19^th centuries. This unique exhibition brings together a selection of these evocative works and relates them to their poetic and musical origins.

Indulge your inner geek this month with a visit to ‘Robot Invasion!’, on display at Hove Museum right through till February. You’ll find an impressive collection of vintage robots, rockets and ray guns as part of an unusual exhibition of iconic science fiction toys.

The Phoenix gallery is staging Brighton Photo Fringe’s ‘Open 11’ between Wednesday 9^th and Sunday 18^th; bringing together an international range of artists and curators to engage with issues from within contemporary photographic practice. Or, for something a little bit different, head down to the Beaconsfield Studios which, between Thursday 10^th and Sunday 13^th, is showing a multi-sensory exhibition of the work of a number of cross-discipline artists and their response to the title ‘Off Beige’.

So wrap up warm and venture out to sample the many artistic treats November has to offer, we know BN1 will be!

Image: Robot Invasion! By Sussex artist and illustrator Chris McEwan  - Hove Museum until Feb