If you are unable to make it to the Launch Night on the 31st May then be sure to pop along to the Historic Dockyards and say hello. We will have a living room all set up for you to come and hang out between performances and enjoy a drink with us.

A Hundred Seas Rising is part of RELAY: Contemporary art in the South East of England commissioned in response to London 2012. A partnership project between: aspex, Portsmouth; Space, Creative and Cultural Industries Faculty, University of Portsmouth; and Quay Arts, Isle of Wight.

You don’t need an invite to get in, entry is open to all….and the Aspex Cafe Bar will be open which means you can grab a drink after looking at the new installation!

The exhibition will run until 2 September 2012.

You can find out more information about the exhibition on the Aspex website.

With a big band, a jazz trio, a comedian, guest singers and a cast of actors who will mingle with the audience to give the night an authentic vintage feel, the Guildhall will never have seen anything like it before… at least not since the 1940s!

“It’s going to be ge a fantastic night,” says Three Belles singe Anneka Wass. “There will be a dance floor, you have the chance to buy food with a 1940s theme – and there will be lots of dashing young men in uniform. It’s really going to evoke the 40s.”

The cast have all been briefed to maintain their characters for the whole night, which starts at 7.30 and goes right the way through to midnight, and there might even be an air raid….

“We’ll also be releasing our new single of original tracks, alongside a book starring The Three Belles,” says Sally Taylor. “We are really excited about it.”

“Don’t worry about getting uniforms – if you can’t do it, you can’t do it,” says Belle Sally Taylor. “A shirt and trousers or a skirt will do just as well. It’s entering into the spirit of the night that’s at the heart of it all. And being where the fun tomorrow night is the most important thing!”

If you haven’t got your ticket yet, you can order yours from Portsmouth Guildhall online HERE or you can call the Box Office on 023 92 824355.

The April 2013 page of the calendar will feature a selection of your contributions sent to us for the Strong Island PRIMARY exhibition.

To find out how you can get involved click here. There is no limit to the amount of photo’s you can submit over the year.

To see the previous winners that will be included in the calendar check out our Strong Island Facebook page here.

Paul Thurlow – Paul’s Flickr

Luke O’Brien – Luke’s Flickr

The April 2013 page of the calendar will feature a selection of your contributions sent to us for the Strong Island PRIMARY exhibition.

We are now accepting your contributions for the May 2013 page. The theme for this month is going to be buildings and structures around Portsmouth. This is open to interpretation, your images could be the inside or outside of a building/structure.

You can send your images to calendar@strongisland.co.uk. Email myself personally at stuart@strong-island.co.uk if you have any problems or questions. I look forward to receiving your contributions!

With a musical style leaning towards the 80’s electro sound that has enjoyed a renaissance over the past few years, the range of influences on the band is diverse. Think Two Door Cinema Club having a scrap with Ultravox and Spandau Ballet and you’re somewhere close to the sound these boys make! Drums, guitars, synths and live brass, with the addition of digital samples and computer backing tracks, make the musical possibilities for these New Wave pioneers seemingly endless.

Several months of writing and rehearsals were followed by a debut live performance at the Edge of the Wedge, Portsmouth, in May 2011 in support of the Retrospective Soundtrack Players. The show was a chance for the band to test out their creations on a friendly home crowd, and the fantastic reception they received spurred them to produce their first collection of recorded work. BEATAMAX spent the latter half of 2011 recording with music producer The BW Sound, and have now completed their self titled EP. The five track EP is available now on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify, you can find out how to get hold of a copy on the band’s website www.beatamax.co.uk.

BEATAMAX will be playing the Hong Kong Gardeners Club venue at Southsea Fest on 15th Sept. To keep up to date on BEATAMAX new join them on Facebook, Twitter or on SoundCloud.