JON WELCH Discarded household objects and prosthetic limbs can be spotted among the exhibits at the Contemporary Art Norwich festival this summer.

JON WELCH

Discarded household objects and prosthetic limbs can be spotted among the exhibits at an art festival in Norwich this summer.

Contemporary Art Norwich 2007 is held every two years at venues across the city to celebrate the depth and breadth of Norwich's expanding cultural scene.

This year's festival will take place from July 14 to August 31.

Exhibitions, performances, screenings, talks and seminars will be hosted at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, East International, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Commissions East, Norwich Arts Centre, Outpost and the Garage.

A solo show by German artist Karsten Bott will fill the exhibition galleries of Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery with discarded household objects, from teapots to a bathroom sink, collected and catalogued over the last two decades to form his Museum of Life.

Norwich Arts Centre shows a retrospective of the work of one of Britain's great eccentrics - Norfolk-based artist, actor, filmmaker, inventor and performer Bruce Lacey whose collaborators have included the Goons, the Beatles, Ivor Cutler and Lenny Bruce.

Work by 27 artists from Europe, North America and Britain, dealing with themes and myths surrounding urban history in painting and film, have been selected for East International at Norwich Gallery by artist and curator Matthew Higgs and co-selector artist Marc Camille Chaimowicz.

Now in its 17th year, the open exhibition is a regular fixture on Norwich's art calendar and has enabled many new artists to emerge onto the national and international stage.

Another exhibition, AfterShock: Conflict, Violence and Resolution in Contemporary Art, at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts has been inspired by Indian artists' responses to religious intolerance, riots, terrorism and the ongoing nuclear stand-off with Pakistan. The exhibition, which is guest curated by Yasmin Canvin in collaboration with the Sainsbury Centre and the University of Hertfordshire Galleries, features 16 inter-national artists who use film, paint and sculpture to explore the images of political and social violence that confront people every day.

The venue also presents Rub Me Up the Wrong Way, an “innovative and explosive” live art event, curated by Richard Dedomenici, and a moving installation of images, videos and sculpture by Iranian artist Zory exploring themes of personal, individual and mass displacement.

Alison McFarlane, festival director, said: “Contemporary Art Norwich 2007 presents an opportunity for Norwich residents and visitors, both those who are new to contemporary art and frequent gallery goers, to experience the rich pool of creative talent to which the east of England is home.”

Andrea Stark, executive director for the Arts Council England (East), said: “Our investment in, and support for, Contemporary Art Norwich 2007 is in recognition of its vision to consolidate Norwich's, and more broadly the east of England's, pioneering role as a showcase for world-class talent and creativity.'

Laura McGillivray, chief executive of Norwich City Council, said: “Contemporary Art Norwich 2007 will put Norwich on the map as a cultural visitor destination and provide an opportunity for the people of the city to celebrate the range of visual arts experiences that are on their doorstep throughout the year.”

For further information on the festival, visit: www.contemporary artnorwich.co.uk