London-based artist Kitty Finer needs your help!
World-wide Joe Strummer art project, Let’s Go Global A-Go-Go will culminate in an exhibition at the Strummerville 10 year celebration, Strummer of Love Festival in August! Please join in!

When I first launched this blog (back when it was called Tulip Tree Presents), it was my ultimate vision to see what is now Mental Beans! become a hub of creative activity from participants around the world. Slowly but surely, over the past couple of years that has begun to happen in so many ways, from so many directions, and many of which are pleasant surprises. The Mental Beans! network of artists, musicians and other creative types continues to grow day by day through various people I continue to meet, and collaborations blossom all the time. It’s been incredibly exciting to watch things unfold before my own eyes.

A wonderful example of this is a project that came to my attention out of the blue recently. Steve—a very good friend that I originally met years ago along the way during this blog’s earliest days—is a musician, the keen mind behind Amplified Media, and who also happens to be the all around fabulous social media/web guy over at Strummerville: The Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music.

A few weeks ago Steve contacted me to let me know of a Strummerville-affiliated project that recently launched, rightly knowing it was a project right up my alley, and one that celebrates something dear to my heart. He then introduced me to London-based artist and musician Kitty Finer, who is behind the project, so that I could learn more and help spread the word, which brings me to the present.

I am therefore, understandably, very excited and thrilled to be able to share with you Kitty Finer’s project Let’s Go Global-a-Go-Go, a world-wide Strummer fan art collective. I now turn this blog over to her for more about the project, her story, and the origins and meaning of her project, which is meant to pay homage to an incredible soul. Please consider taking part. I know I have met so many of you either directly or indirectly through a shared love of Joe Strummer and everything he stands for.

LET’S GO GLOBAL A-GO-GO

In memory of Joe Strummer, London based artist Kitty Finer is calling out to all corners of the globe as part of a world-wide fan-art initiative - LETS GO GLOBAL-A-GO GO

This summer, Strummerville will be hosting the Joe Strummer 10 year anniversary festival - Strummer Of Love and as part of Jazz Domino Holly’s Handmade Hangout tent, Finer will curate a celebratory shrine.

LETS GO GLOBAL-A-GO-GO is a tribute to the great global treasure, Joe Strummer, who I knew as the father of my beloved childhood friends. I really loved his warmth, enthusiasm and team spirit which I didn’t see within the context of rock and roll, instead I saw how he applied it to encouraging and leading the young.

 On a family holiday in Spain, Joe enthusiastically escorted us kids into town and after encountering a fan or two we asked him “are you famous” he humorously  answered “no i am not famous, i am a legend” we didn’t understand and were all disappointed. But now I know he was right, he was a legend.

It was on this holiday that I began to share his enthusiasm for the kiosks and stalls, these ephemeral structures that appear at fiestas in the summer only to disappear or shut down in the winter. By day, the summer sun illuminates these stalls and the layers of hanging sweets, toys, balloons and garish paraphernalia, by night everything continues to glow under fluorescent lights.

I want to pay homage to Joe by building an installation, a shrine based on these beautifully layered and eternally illuminated stalls.

I am honoured to be part of Jazz Domino Holly’s Handmade Hangout tent and hope that the shrine gathers hand made offerings from all over the world and expands as the festival goes on.

I aim to encourage one and all; children, adults, the unknown and the well known, the emerging to the “established” but most importantly-the fans.

So in the spirit of Joe Strummer she is urging fans to gather together and form collectives to create hand made offerings. Each and every contribution will be individually photographed and added to the on going and expanding shrine installation. The shrine will be designed to look like a stall at a Spanish Feria, a tribute to Joe’s affection for Spain.

Two London meet ups have been organized by the artist and Strummers family and friends. The first meet up was held on the 6th May 2012 at The George Tavern, Stepney.

Put this in your diary and make sure you join in, as in the words of Joe Strummer “Without people you’re nothing.” This project needs you! It is in the hands of the fans!

I know there are many, many Strummer/Clash fans in our network here (I would be remiss not to say in no small part thanks to my friendship and collaborations with Tim, the wonderful mind behind The Clash Blog!), so I will now turn to you for your enthusiasm in helping Kitty with her project. Please, join in by creating something for her to include, and also please help spread the word in any way you can. You visit her site and the Strummerville site for more information and share that information, you can share this post, via emails, tweets, and Facebook posts, any way you can. The more people we reach, the more love that will pour into this amazing project. Big love to Kitty (who I am so happy to have met because of her project!), to Steve, and  to Trish at Strummerville— wishing you all huge success with the Strummer of Love Festival.

For more information:

To find out more, like how to get involved, start a collective or simply contribute a hand made offering contact Kitty.

Let’s Go Global-A-Go-Go
Strummerville: The Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music
Strummer of Love Festival