Arts & Business prize

On Wednesday Sam and I went over to the Arts & Business Awards ceremony in Portsmouth. At the door of the new Aspex Gallery we were greeted by a saxophonist who was able to play in the rain while standing on top of a tall pair of stilts, which I felt must be worthy of some kind of arts award in itself. Inside, there were lots of guests milling around, examining an exhibition of tiny cut-out birds and light-sensitive cuckoo clocks.

Because the project to put poems on buses and at bus stops isn't complete, I hadn't expected it to win anything, but to my delight it was given the Arts & Business Community Award. Really, the trophy belongs to Southern Vectis, but we've got it for the moment. I talked to the artist who made it and she warned me not to put it in the sun as some others of hers have exploded. This makes it even more exciting to have won it while at the same time feeling like a good reason to pass it on.