Over the last few months I've occasionally stumbled into a strange and boarded-up looking place in the Northern Quarter called Nexus. They run a "night cafe" providing hot drinks, snacks, taxis home and friendly conversation after midnight on Saturdays. Now with the boards removed the cafe has re-launched with expanded daytime opening hours, new pies and a launch party to kick it off last Thursday.
Did I say there was art everywhere? A call went out some months ago for artworks to fill the very large basement space that the cafe occupies on the theme "Fallen Utopia". Clearly word got round and had the desired effect with almost no bit of wall or dark corner without some piece or installation or tent. As a viewer coming in to the space it did feel rather overwhelming but I suppose everyone gets ten out of ten for effort. Come to think of it, busy, disperate and overwhelming is perhaps the order of the day if the New Contemporaries at the Cornerhouse (which I might write about in a few days) is anything to go by. Out of the Nexus art crop I think my favourites were the little landscapes entitled "Earth Under Mars" and the three big portraits of children. I really hope that with time the cafe can attract some good stuff from local artists in a nice, sustainable, accessible kind of way. And plenty of new punters for the cafe too.
