Arty facts: News from the art world

Jonathan Lemalu
Jonathan Lemalu
• Lemalu in San Francisco
Dunedin bass-baritone Jonathan Lemalu sings in "Project San Francisco - El Nino" next week, in the city of the title. The concert in San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall spotlights the work of American composer and conductor John Adams. It runs for three nights, from December 2-4.

• Writers' fellowships
Creative New Zealand is calling for applications for the Michael King Fellowship and the Berlin Writers' Residency, which aim to provide writers with the chance to spend a dedicated period of time working on specific projects.

The Michael King Fellowship, valued at $100,000, will be awarded for a project that will take two years or more to complete and is open to established authors of any literary genre who have already published a significant body of work.

The $40,000 Berlin residency offers a New Zealand writer the opportunity to live and write in Berlin for a period of up to 11 months.

Applications close at 5pm on Friday, February 25, 2011. For further information, check the website www.creativenz.govt.nz.

<i>Beehive</i>, by Andy McCready.
Beehive, by Andy McCready.
• Hairdos brought to life
A hair-raising art experience will play out at Dunedin's Rocda Gallery when artist Andy McCready's 2-D bouffants come alive.

McCready and fellow Dunedin artist Sam Ovens are staging the exhibition "Belligerence and Bubblegum" from Monday to Saturday next week, showing their prints and paintings.

"I have a series of works called `Habitat Hairdos' which depict girls with animals living in their hair," explains McCready. "I thought it would be fun to bring some of these images to life, so I approached Aart on St Andrew hair salon, who have been really enthusiastic and will be creating masterpieces on the heads of my three lovely models."

The models will include two familiar faces - Nellie and Elza Jenkins, the Dunedin twins from television show New Zealand's Next Top Model.

• Christmas vignettes
The Southern Consort of Voices' Christmas concert next Friday, December 3, will include three Christmas settings by John Ritchie.

For 50 years, Mr Ritchie sent a new Christmas composition with his Christmas cards to friends all over the world. The consort will perform three snippets from 1955, 1983 and 1993.

Music director Daniel Kelly says Ritchie has a playful style in these little Christmas vignettes.