DOODLE-SESSIONS.

The first Doodle-session was held at the Cornerhouse "Art in the Bar" on 6 June '95 featuring Doodler and recording artist Mr Scruff

At such sessions A1 blackboards are Blu-tacked to walls plus paper tablecloths covering all tables have POSCA marker pens and felt-tips left for all to participate.

Local artists, the likes of Twisted Nerve records' Andy Votel and Dove's maverick graphic artist Rick Myers were invited to doodle on the blackboards over the course of a session combining Live musical jams, DJs, Spoken word and food.

Doodle sessions have detonated on an international scale with Manc. Doodlers, poets, DJs and performers checking with other heads in London, Tokyo and New York spaces. Local artists and a diverse representation of the local public are invited by invites/flyers, stickers, posters, e-mail plus local press to come doodle and share this creative Manc. expression.

Since '99 Doodlebug has curated numerous groundbreaking expos and live-art events at manchester's Contact. Highlights include Session72 featuring Nitin Sawhney and Graham Massey, Contemporary Music Network Tours inc. Ryoja Ikeda & Zoviet France, Japanorama plus Jah Wobble's Solaris. Dazed&Confused's Rankin's Celebritation expo,

International Doodlebug Day detonates annually on the first Saturday in September in Manchester, Tokyo and London venues simmultaneously since '98. 2000's session took place at Manchester's Castlefield Gallery where Doodlers Pete Fowler, Chris Drury , Mark Wigan and direct from Tokyo Ueno"Amore" Hirosuke doodled directly onto the walls of the gallery space.

This was an intergral part of "Appocalypse Now and Next Week"(15 September-29 October '00) which featured a range of artists and designers including the likes of artist David,performance artists Jay Cloth and furniture designers Ferrious. This unique exhibtion was the invited over to Amsterdam's Outline Gallery with all exhibits, performances and doodling with Chris Drury and Barney doing the bizniz directly onto the gallery walls.The exhibition opened on Saturday 16 December until Saturday 27 January 2001.POSCA marker pens were left for doodlers to feel free to add to Chris's and Barney's doodles.

11May-24June 2001 checked in with Doodlebug's highly acclaimed and popular MANGA Survey expo @ Cornerhouse:Oxford rd:Manchester.Over 100 pieces of original Manga artworks were uniquely exhibited in Cornerhouse's three gallery spaces for the first time in the UK. Pink-walled areas were designated for doodling from the likes of Shinichi Pete Fowler, Chris Drury,Inky,Dwayne Bell plus direct from Sapporo,Japan the doodler known as...BAKU.Commissioned manga-soundscapes in each gallery from Fingathing's Peter Parker, Blackflys and Koji(Osaka, Japan) in tune with vdo manga-mash-up courtesy of Wayne Simmonds.

How to follow this?...............June 30: Doodlebug presents... for the first time in Manchester the Japanese avant-garde dance phenomenon known as Butoh.This piece,called Shin Kyodo (meaning small collaboration) was performed by Butoh performer Ken Mai in collaboration with live electronics from Phil Durrant and Paul Hood with video installation by SCOPAC.

2001's International Doodlebug Day activity was on Saturday 01 September @ Arc-Art Annexe,Oldham street, Manchester.

Doodling with POSCA s directly onto this large vacant shop-front window included the likes of Temper, Chu, NANO,Ben Pepper and Yuko Hirosawa . The day followed with a month long Doodlebug celebration featuring expos at venues across Manchester:

Arc-Arts Annexe ( Bigshoe Corp ), Velvet (Dwayne Bell) and at Contact (Temper) ending with a unique screening of Q-Bert's Hip-Hop animation delight....Wave Twisters The Movie at Night&Day, Oldham street.

The year ended with "Doodlebug Presents..." .a world exclusive at Manchester's leading live arts venue Contact .......Carmel plus words from Lemn Sissay and movie shorts from New York's Barnstormers Collective (title; Watching Pant Dry) and Twisted Nerve record's collaboration Dressed To Kill!

2002! London/Tokyo FREE publication Exposure available in Manchester via Doodlebug.

Saturday 02 Feb welcomed Doodlebug driven UK:JAP collab expo GO BACK 2D featuring most of the above artists opening with a preview doodling sesh at the greenroom followed by London expo at Global Cafe:Soho Sq: Monday 04 Feb.The manchester leg of the GoBack2D expos took place at Contact with preview on Thursday 14 March featuring Tokyo Mania DJ Jiro and Sanfrandisco VJs.

June 2002 welcomed the overdue monthly(on the first saturday of each) Interdoodle! sessions at The greenroom:whitworth street west:manchester. Doodlers from all corners of the UK, Europe and Asia alongside the general public were invited to COME DOODLE...COME PLAY... CREATING NEW WORLDS!

After only four sessions we decided to stop the greenroom sessions to concentrate on our interdoodle workhops and our intemately inspiring "Doodlebug Presents..." series at Contact with the odd indescriminate raid (eg Urbis ).This unique live-art quarterly presents culturally diverse words:pictures:conversation:liveness and doodles in a TV chatshow format.

Described as the 21st Century Old Grey Whistle Doodlebug Presents..... awaits its terrestial/cable hook-up.

2002's International Doodlebug Day at Manchester's Cornerhouse welcomed the return of Baku direct from Japan plus the Scrawl and Beat13 collective alongside the likes of Sumit Sarkar.

2003's International Doodlebug Day #6 introduced Urban Art Official to the manc-landscape on Saturday 06 September:2003 at the Cornerhouse and Kro2:Oxford road:Manchester. Featured artists included the likes of Miss Van, Alexone, Kid Acne, Ed Superdead, Xenz, The Beards , Paris and Matt Sewell. The day ended with "Doodlebug Presents..." in the Cornerhouse top floor gallery with liveness from London's Izzy Dunn and puppetry by Mishimou.

Following on from this,there was a key line of street-art based activity along the manc-landscape leading to the Northern Quarter and finally residing at Urbis until the end of October with an expo titled.. ill communication. A street art based exhibition exploring the complexity of this diverse artform.

Doodlebug and Urban Art Official in collab with Urbis flew in leading artists Seak (Cologne), Eltono (Madrid), Sol Crew (Eindhoven), Solo One (London) and finally from the Doodlebug side of life.... The London Police.

On the 'Mean Streets' floor of Urbis's perminent exhibits there remains a large-scale piece by The London Police and Eltono plus a Doodlebug archive DVD of the month's activity. The London Police also created a cheaky trail of characters throughout Urbis on all four floors! Finally the Sol Crew also created a perminent large-scale piece on the walls of the groundfloor cafe bar in Urbis.

Saturday 11 October at Contact in collab with Black History Month and Manchester Poetry Festival Doodlebug Presents... Kin , a renaissance one production featuring Nolan Weakes, Sophie Woolley,Dj Zak and Manchester's Speakeazy's Segun and Sonia Hughes.

2004's been a hot ticket for Doodlebug activities with artists from Spain,Japan,Italy, Holland,USA and Germany residing in Manchester creating fresh works on cows, various city centre sites and high profile expos culminating with IDD#7 rubbing shoulders with the likes of Helena Christensen doodling.

2005 has slipped in with numerous doodlebug activities notably doodlebug at Aukland's Ignite festival plus key expos at Contact including... The Incredible Hull, a ficticious record cover sleeve expo featuring Hull's finest visual twisters led by Pinky, Parishair and Xenze. Another gem xpo has been.... From Soho Rd to the Punjab was a collab with Birmingham's Punch records, a unique photo expo tracing the history of the UK's Bhangra music and culture.

May witnessed a kinda unique live musical excursion at manchester's Zion Arts centre, with The Bays, featuring Richard Barbieri. 'twas a pity guitarist David Torn fell foul of the lurgy resulting with a replacement guitarist. Problem is when you have an audience which include seminal smith's guitarist Johnny Marr...somehow the lack of challengingly splintering guitar explorations was evident. Worth doing.. even to loose money.

Meanwhile on film front doodlebug launched the manc end of the BFI's Blackworld season on thurs 02 june, at the Cornerhouse.A rare blend of folk in attendance to check the launch with Baadasssss! followed with a live musical dot-2-dot of hip-hop... Tru School Antics

On the fashion front, doodlebug, in collab with Manchester Art Gallery presents, the V&A's Black British Style expo, with perhaps the gallery's largest attendance for a preview in recent years. A six date doodlebug photo shoot in the expo space to capture and document the manc experience, live painting- courtesy of Neequaye Dreph, and sounds by tru manc DJ and original Rain City Music member...Tomlin McKinley , ending in the gallery on summer nights,thurs 28 July. expo ends 04 Sept. Finally in the mix was the Arts Council's xtrax decibel performing arts showcase, where doodlebug presents... resided at Zion Arts in collab with numerous artists inc. Frank Chickens founder.. Kazuko Hohki

Check... IDD#8:Viva La Muralists!

VIVA LA MURALISTS! EXPO...SAO PAULO'S STEPHAN DOITSHINOFF...THE CALMA SHOW.MARCH-MAY'06 AT CONTACT.

IDD#9: SAT 02 SEPT'06 LAUNCHED THE FIRST OFFICIAL STREET ART FESTIVAL....

VIVA LA MURALISTS! . NORTHERN QUARTER. MANCHESTER.