Hello and welcome to my blog. As this is my first, here goes with a little bit about me.

I'm press and marketing officer at LIPA, a position I've held since 2009. Prior to that, I was something of a nomad, working across the UK and overseas as a journalist and press officer. While working in Santiago, Chile, I also taught and translated.

I like all types of music, from Mozart to Megadeth, and can knock out a tune on the guitar. In my spare time, among other hobbies, I like reading books in Spanish, partly for pleasure and partly to keep on learning.

Although I'm not a professional snapper, I also like photography and get to do it as part of my job. A few weeks ago I was on Hope Street taking photos of the former Liverpool College of Art building - where John Lennon studied in the 1950s - for LIPA's website.

A FEW visual arts events coming up in Merseyside that you might want to get involved in:

The Liverpool Art Fair

Showcasing a wide range of affordable original art by 50-plus local artists, including a section of specially created work under £100, the Liverpool Art Fair aims to provide a unique insight into the region's creative talent. Whether seasoned collector or first time art buyer, the fair will give everyone the opportunity to own their own piece of the Liverpool art world.

JUST a quick post to welcome our new bloggers on board. They come from a range of different backgrounds - both within the arts sector and without. You can read more about them here.

A big thanks to Roisin, Allan, Paula, Linda, Liverpool's Cultural Champions and the Young Communicators.

If you are interested in becoming an LDP Arts blogger, email me for more details.

Cheers

THESE beautiful pictures were taken by Liverpool photographer Brian Roberts of the Young Everyman Playhouse's De-Lite lighting and projection installation, which took place at Trinity Vaults, in Vauxhall, last night.

It was the turn of the Young Technicians to show off their skills and boy did they do that. A pair of giant hands manipulated the images on the building as if it were an enormous smart phone or tablet. They played a series of digital games, such as thumb wars and jigsaw puzzles, in a show that was both aesthetically attractive and humorous.

TURNER Prize winner Martin Creed made a surprise visit to Tate Liverpool last week to oversee the installation of his Artist Rooms show. The exhibition, in the ground floor Wolfson Gallery, opened to the public last Friday.

Creed has seven works on display, including the neon installation, Work No. 890 (Don't Worry) 2008, a 21-part drawing, Work No. 944 2008, and a recent series of four paintings from 2011.

Here he is at Tate Liverpool:

SOME more pictures that missed the Post Culture deadline but which I can't resist sharing. These ones are by Post photographer Gareth Jones and show the curators installing the Van Gogh and Gauguin self-portraits at the Lady Lever gallery...

ONE of our photographers, Andy Teebay, took these beautiful photographs of Robyn Woolston's art work for the Threshold Festival. Unfortunately it was too late to run them in this week's Post Culture so here they are for your enjoyment instead:

Guest blogger Roisin Hyland reviews Homeland at Wolstenholme Creative Space

LIVERPOOL may have some of the biggest and the best official galleries outside of London but we also have some of the most impressive independent studio lead spaces in the country. Now finally, outside of the London straight jacket Liverpool young bloods have been let loose and they definitely have something to shout about!

This month I will be reviewing Homeland the first in a series of exhibitions of 2012 in the Wolstenholme creative space gallery (WCS). WCS is a not for profit contemporary gallery, venue and artist studio lead space within the city centre. WCS works both individually and with organisations to produce projects, events and exhibitions that platform creative ideas and contribute to Liverpool's creative community.

I CAUGHT up with Wirral-based artist Leo Fitzmaurice at the announcement that he's won the Northern Art Prize (pictured by David Lindsay above) at Leeds City gallery last week. He was, he said, the only one of the four short-listed artists not to have prepared a speech as he hadn't expected to win the £16,500 award.

What does winning mean to him?: Time.

"It will mean maybe nearly two years when I can do exactly what I want as and artist. That's what everyone wants."

Fair enough.

Fitzmaurice's contribution to the art prize exhibition included an interesting reinterpretation of landscapes from the gallery's collection, which he placed at different heights along two walls so that they appeared to share the same horizon. A simple enough idea perhaps but one that makes us re-experience the works from a different perspective.

IT'S all change for the Liverpool Daily Post today as we become a 100pg-plus weekly - The Liverpool Post.

Excitingly, the new paper includes a bumper arts supplement called Post Culture, which focuses mainly on events happening in Merseyside.

Every week there will be a mixture of news, reviews and interviews as well as our columnists Peter Spaull (classical), Jamie Bowman (music - a new addition) and myself.

If you'd like an event included in the listings section you will need to send details to chloe.beesley@liverpool.com. I'll be compiling the exhibition listings myself - send details to laura.davis@liverpool.com

I'll also be expanding this blog to include a range of regular contributors. There's been a lot of interest already but if you think you would like to be involved then drop me an email and I'll be in touch with more details.