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[Invitation] Stories from the Streets of Berlin - Kovacs & Dyberg's Album Release Concert

Kamilla Kovacs and Mia Dyberg

Do you already had any planes for the big Friday Culture Night (Kulturnatten) in Copenhagen? No?! Come to a CD release concert in JazzHouse!

Kamilla Kovacs and Mia Dyberg

Danish/Hungarian vocalist Kamilla Kovacs and Danish/Swedish saxophonist Mia Dyberg are releasing their brand new album called "Stories". The album is dedicated to the Capital of Germany, where both artists lived.

Kamilla Kovacs and Mia Dyberg

"After living in Berlin, we felt a need to express the moods, stories, and the special energy the city gives us. We have composed songs dedicated to different places and streets in Berlin that meant something special to us or inspired us. Among others there is a song to the Ghanaian pushers in Görlitzer Park (Kreuzberg) one to the lost love in Neukölln and improvisations dedicated to the ghostlike mood on Nalepastraße (Rummelsburg)", said Mia.

Where & When: JazzHouse, Friday 10th October 2014 at 23:00

Check out their Facebook event.



Kamilla Kovacs and Mia Dyberg

All pictures are from Kovacs & Dyberg's last concert in the Café Det Vide Hus

PhotoTalks: Irene Vidal [Illustrator and Creative Advertiser]



Photo shooting and interviewing a Spanish diva, Irene Vidal, who happened to live in Copenhagen.

What brought you to Denmark?
I had always wanted to have an international experience. I visited Copenhagen two years ago, and it really shocked me. I felt that the city was completely different from others, and I loved many of its values, like its relaxed atmosphere and green areas, ubiquitous Nordic design, the fact that bikes are prioritize over cars, and the way how Danish enjoy their free time... Last summer I had the feeling that I have to go back to discover more about this culture. And then an opportunity came and I moved here.



When did you start drawing?
Like most of us, I started drawing when I was child and went to school. I used to design characters with quirky clothes and create short graphic stories that began with a simple dot. Some of these drawings are awful, haha.... :), but I still keep them.

However, I had stopped drawing for several years because I was very busy working and felt that I had no time for this minor thing. Eventually, I returned to it. It is my “happiness therapy”. Illustration relaxes me, makes me happy and makes me listening to myself... and these are not minor things. So now, I try to save some daily time to draw. Simply said drawing means to me the same as for example practising yoga or watching football means to other people.



What are you currently working on? Any interesting project?
I have different projects in mind. I moved from Barcelona to Copenhagen few months ago, so I am experiencing all sort of situations. New places, new people, new weather, new culture and so on. I feel like I am turning this into visual stuff, such as illustrations, collages, and digital designs. These days, I am playing with different type of materials, pencils, watercolours... My after summer goal is to leave my comfort area, get my hands dirty and see how far I can go with new techniques.

Where does your creative inspiration come from?
Inspiration can come to you, but many times you must go out to look for it. I have noticed that inspiration is coming to me when I make changes in my life. With changes I mean both things like finding a new working space in a new good café where you can enjoy endless breakfasts, discovering a park, or experiencing more transcendental feelings like newness, unexpectedness, the sense of danger... These experience make me sit at the table and draw for hours. I also find children really inspiring, especially, their innocence and creativity and the way how they express themselves and how they move.

Sunday Trip to [Karlstrup Kalkgrav] and its surroundings



I am just sentimentally sharing pictures from my last sunny Sunday bicycle trip to Karsltrup Kalkgrav that took place 14 days ago.





Karlstrup Kalkgrav is an old flooded limestone quarry located southeast of Copenhagen, in Solrød kommune. The place with crystal clear water and rich wildlife, known only to locals, is one of the real gems of Danish nature.





The place is family and picnic friendly. There is one main path that winds around the lake and makes it possible to reach the edge of the lake and jump subsequently into the water (if the Danish weather is hot enough to bath :).



If the weather is just normal, cold and greyish, sit on your bike again and make a round trip through the Karlstrup forest ( Karlstrup skov). The landscape is nicely flat. There are several farms with lazy cows and grazing horses in the area. You can go up to Karlstrup beach (which is probably the most windy beach I have every been to) and check out the magic forest Trylleskoven with its gnarled trees.















And now you probably ask: how to go there?
We took S-tog A to Sølrød Stranden and then we biked approx. 10 minutes to the limestone quarry. For more info you can also check the web page of Solrød kommune or The Danish Ministry of the Environment (Danish only).

Sunday Trip to [Trekroner Fort]

Trekroner Fort














The Trekroner Fort is just a stone's throw from Copenhagen and this fact makes it a great spot for a Sunday trip.

The sea fort stands on one of three artificial island that were created to defend the entrance to Copenhagen's harbour. It was built in 18th century and was part of the fortifications of Copenhagen until after the World War I.


Trekroner Fort





































There are no soldiers nowadays. :) The main building is quiet dilapidated, yet it invites to exploring. And the view from the top of the building is  just amazing!

Trekroner Fort

Trekroner Fort

Trekroner Fort














The island is easily accessible by boat. The company Canal Tours Copenhagen offers a 50-minute tour from May to October and their boats are leaving from Nyhavn every hour. Don't forget your swimming suits and picnic basket! :)

Trekroner Fort

PhotoTalks: Gitte Valentiner-Branth [Painter]



Gitte Valentiner-Branth is a Danish artist living just few kilometres from the City of Copenhagen, in Gentofte, and creating ART WITH ATTITUDE.

I saw her works on the collective exhibition Byens Lys in March this year for the first time. She exhibited three softly grey and pinkish, a bit geometrical and a bit surreal paintings. I spent long minutes exploring carefully these images enjoying Gitte's play with different perspectives and slowly digesting her unique way of capturing difference between cities and the nature. I felt like this artist has a lot to say and wished to meet her in person.






So I was very happy and excited when Gitte agreed on a interview. Drinking green tea in her colourful apartment/art studio, I asked her few questions:

When did you start painting?
I started to paint approximately 7 years ago. I've been drawing since I was young. When I went to school I drew every day. I have always loved colours, always been very attracted to paintings, home decoration, styling, design, art and so on... I had a coach lesson many years ago where I told my coach how much I want to make my own art painting and she said: "So get started!” So I did, and I have done it ever since. It is such at big part of me and my life and I cannot live without.



What are you currently working on?
Currently, I am working on a small series called " Large and small accidents for practitioners". It will be five small artworks in a limited number of soft colours.



What inspires you to paint/draw?
I get inspired everywhere – on the street, in the nature. Buildings, colours, patterns, fashion and design inspire me too. I also think a lot about the environment, the earth, the climate, animals and about the contrast between nature and our hi-tech way of life.  


Thank you for the interview, Gitte.


Meet [29 Local Artists] in Their Studios. Now!

The Danish weather hasn't been very pleasant for last few days and the weekend won't be better. This calls for an indoor activity!

29 gifted and incredible creative artists from Gentofte will open their studios and workshops to the public for the next couple of hours and during this weekend. So you have a chance to meet them and get inspired.

WHERE: more then 20 places in the Gentofte Kommune.

WHEN: Friday 5th May from 14:00 to 18:00, Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th from 12:00 to 18:00.

MORE INFO: Åben Døre (in Danish)

PhotoTalks: OJAM [Painter]

Dreamy landscapes, subtle figures and colour contrast are three things that come to mind when I think about the French painter OJAM OJAM. She has been living in Copenhagen more than ten years. She's always busy - working for a Scandinavian company, travelling, and taking care of her children, yet she's full of elan and creative ideas. It's amazing, how much energy you can feel from her pictures.

When did you start painting, Martine?

I have always liked carpentry and wood carving and I started when I was really young in a creative and not always constructive manner!
In Sweden in the early 2000, I went to 'Upplands Väsby Möbelsnickarskolan' (woodworking school of Upplands Vasby, Sweden) and enjoyed woodworking as much as designing the pieces. A lot of my home furniture results from this activity. After moving to Denmark in 2003, I continued to design some pieces and explored the design aspect further, which I then developed into drawing and painting activities; it was also easier than woodworking activity and equipment when living in an apartment in town.
I very much enjoyed this new interest, which I keep exploring.

What are you currently working on?

I always enjoyed painting in an abstract realism with a restricted colour palette. Today I am investigating this further with a grey-black colour palette, where I am trying to extract real atmosphere, using the essence of the light effect.
Simultaneously I am also working on pencil drawings based on classic sculptures in the Glyptotek Museum in Copenhagen. With this I am hoping to better integrate people into my city atmosphere paintings. Today I just finished an exhibition in Helligåndshuset, Copenhagen from which I got very interesting feedback, and I am currently experimenting new paintings and technics before planning for a next exhibition event.

What inspires you?

I very much like to paint atmosphere, or life experience ambiance, mostly based on real situations. My kids are also a very rich source of inspiration, either from a common situation we experienced or by enjoying the act of painting together, their feedback and participation is always welcome and contributes a lot to my painting. We enjoy traveling together, and these common cultural, architectural, and sporting experiences form an endless base for creativity.
I was fortunate enough over the last ten years to meet excellent painters and teachers such as Karin Court-Payen, Vladimir Voronin, Laurent Auer, and Håkan Nystrom. They have helped broaden my technique and further developed my enthusiasm for painting and drawing.

Thank you for the interview.

Byens Lys [Collective Exhibition]

Byens Lys 2014

There is a great collective exhibition in a church just few steps from the Copenhagen main shopping street Strøget. The exhibition, Byens Lys, features 20 contemporary mostly Danish painters, sculptures and ceramists.

Byens Lys 2014

Byens Lys 2014

My boyfriend and I were at the opening of a collective exhibition on Tuesday. We were impressed by the range of different genres and styles that are presented. You can find there large abstract painting, Indian ink drawings, both impressionistic and expressionistic pictures, cubist style paintings, collages, ceramics masks, vases and much more.

Byens Lys 2014

Byens Lys 2014

The exhibition is open until Sun 30th March. So if you have some of time on weekend, go there. I promise, you won't regret it.
P.S. I am working on an interview with one of the artist. Stay tuned. It is coming soon! ;-)

Byens Lys 2014

Byens Lys 2014

Byens Lys 2014

Byens Lys 2014

Byens Lys 2014

Byens Lys 2014

BYENS LYS [Collective Exhibition]
Valkendorfsgade 36, København K
25/3 - 30/3 2014, 12:00-19:00
Free admission

Artists: Karen Steen Hansen, Berit Faber, Mary Holm Larsen, Lajla Skafte Bang, Mette Rørsted, Lise Juhl, Mona Jahn, Eva Myrdal Linstow, Kamma Kaae, Anne-Marie Nørra Pedersen, Ulla Seityberg, Gitte Valentiner-Branth, Claudia Palmvig, Christian Hemmingsen, Lisbeth Diamant, Lene Berg, Lotte Kirkeby, Ingrid Møller, Nina Tange and Martine Ojam.