Facing Pages 2012 (formerly O.K. Festival) – 3 Days of Independent Magazines took place 3 weeks ago in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

This biannual festival about independent magazines again combines a magazine exhibition with lectures, magazine presentations, and a temporary Atheaneum Nieuwscentrum store.

This year I really enjoyed the live review with Michael Bojkowski (Linefeed), a presentation of the German magazine Der Wedding (now I wish I knew German), and lectures by magCulture‘s Jeremy Leslie, Will Hudson of It’s Nice That, and Jaap Biemans of Coverjunkie.

Atheaneum’s shop was, as always, difficult to leave.

Michael Bojkowski:

Axel Völcker’s presentation of Der Wedding magazine:

Interesting animation: Daytime and Wonder Wonder Land – beautiful works by the Polish artist Paulina Sadowska.

This page represents what used to be the quintessence of style to me in circa 1995. I tore it out from a fashion magazine then, and kept it for all these years. Think I’ll frame it. The model is Cordula Reyer.

The Saintbox from Poland – brilliant sound with the amazing vocals of Gaba Kulka. Fresh and dark.

“The Saintbox sprung to life in 2010, when Olo Walicki, composer and double bass player, invited Maciek Szupica (visuals), an Gaba Kulka (voice, lyrics, several small instruments) to cooperate on the project: holding on to a loose outline of themes such as spirituality and ritual, they created new material, and premiered it during the Jazz Jantar Festival in Gdansk (November 2010). The Saintbox was born as a multimedia spectacle in which the visual is as vital as the sound.” – from The Saintbox website.

Cura.magazine is a bilingual (English and Italian) quarterly contemporary arts publication, and a part of the CURA. curatorial project consisting also of a publishing house (cura.books) and a space (project room).

Current issue No. 10 is a great educational read and features articles by international contributors and interviews with artists and curators including, amongst others: No Curator Is an Island – a conversation with Mary Anne Staniszewski, articles presenting the Italian artist Giulio Delvè and the works of Martin Soto Climent, and an interview with Kaat Debo, director of Momu, Antwerp.

Looking forward to the next issue.

In Bloom is a fashion film created for the Polish designer Anna Poniewierska. It received the Best Fashion Film award at the first edition of Warsaw Fashion Film Festival which took place from 6 to 9 March. Nicely done.

Directed by: Aga Wasiak / Cinematography: Ita Zbroniec-Zajt

Blues Before Sunrise is a project by the British artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame) presented by the Stedelijk Museum and taking place in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. The environment has been transformed with all the street lamps emitting blue light instead of white and creating a special atmosphere.

Stedelijk Museum’s director Ann Goldstein: “McQueen’s remarkable Blues Before Sunrise will not only alter our perception of the Vondelpark, it will also heighten our sensation of routine activity and transform a common space into an uncanny, beautiful experience, at once powerfully present and knowingly elusive.”

And so it does.

Blues Before Sunrise – on view until March 25th, 2012

Gorgeous pair: Rick Owens and Michele Lamy in AnOther Magazine’s video portrait A Little Bit Eternal, directed by Danielle Levitt.

The Polish photographer Lukasz Wierzbowski creates some beautiful images. Recently limited edition prints have also become available on his website.

Here is a selection of photographs as presented in this publication from Pogo Books.

Vienna-based fashion label Wendy&Jim present their Underground AW 2011/12 collection in an unconventional and quite refreshing way.