Vesica Blog - Taking museum and art collections to the cloud

February 15, 2011

Painting Techniques Inspired by Ottoman Textiles

A workshop by Nausheen Sheikh

Introduction

The Traditional Crafts are derived from the intertwining of wisdom (hikmah) and craftsmanship (fann or sinaah). Traditional textiles and costumes enable one to wander through the history of the world, from the rise of civilizations to the fall of empires, with a blend of diverse cultures, legends and religions.

Traditional textiles continue to resonate humble beauty and the substance of art is beauty and this is a Divine quality.

Join Nausheen Sheikh, Director of Research and Documentation – Islamic Art and Textiles at Vesica, for a workshop that will take you on a timeless journey through the history, techniques, symbolism and application of these Traditional textiles.

Traditional textiles are rich in pattern, colour and texture. This workshop will introduce students to the harmony of colours and an understanding of pattern created by Geometry and ‘Islimi’ – also known as the Arabesque – and the textural quality of textiles. This will be achieved through traditional painting techniques.

Expected Outcomes

  • To create a painted paper panel of a textile design inspired by the traditional textiles.
  • Design sketches and colour schemes inspired by traditional textiles.
  • Diary/sketchbook of the design process with stages and thoughts.
  • Textile design panel


Workshop Date, Time and Location

Date: Saturdays from 26 February to 19 March.

Timings: 10:30 am to 4:00 pm

Location: Office of Vesica Limited, 16-24 Underwood Street, London, N1 7JQ

Closest tube station: Old Street

Fees: £250 (materials included)


To Book call Vesica on 020 8133 8050 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm)

December 24, 2010

Season’s Greetings and 2011

Filed under: News — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 3:26 pm

As 2010 is coming to an end, the team at Vesica would like to wish all users and readers happy holidays and a propserous new year.

In 2011, the Vesica gallery is due for launch along with the Vesicapedia platform.  Version 2 of the Vesica platform is also set to be released in Q1 of 2011. The new platform features extensive art management and art marketing functionality in addition to the current documentation platform. In addition, the new interface will result in an enhanced user experience with much faster response times.

Release dates for the above platforms will be announced in January, 2011.

November 1, 2010

Plans Announced for Vesica Institute

Filed under: News — Tags: , , — vesica-press-releases @ 12:10 am

The Vesica Board today announced plans to start working towards launching the Vesica Institute of Traditional Arts. Whilst the company has yet to announce any more details, the Vesica Institute will focus on offering courses in Traditional Arts and Crafts – a field that very few art schools are willing to explore. A plan is being prepared to get administrative, financial and legal paperwork in place for next year.

“Whilst we have talked about the Vesica Institute of Traditional Arts before, it is still in the very early stages of planning. At this point, all I can say is that the Vesica Institute will, like the Vesica software platform, strive to excel and will offer the best in terms of traditional education,” said Asif Nawaz, Director and Chief Software Architect at Vesica Limited.

We anticipate that the management team will make more information available in the first quarter of 2011, potentially offering courses to students in the second or third quarter of 2011.

October 22, 2010

Dedicated Support System Released

Filed under: News,Using Vesica — Tags: , , , , — vesica-press-releases @ 1:03 pm

As the Vesica user base grows, we’ve received support requests from users like yourself with questions about their accounts and how to use various aspects of the software via email and live support. Many of you also mentioned your hesitation in using the forum for support because there were details about your collection you did not want to share.

We’ve listened – Vesica now has a dedicated support system in place. Using the support system is easy – a link is availble from the Help and Support page on https://vesica.ws/support/. To access the support system, you must be signed in to your Vesica account. Once you’re there, you can create new support tickets or respond to existing ones you may have created before.

It’s easy to use – here’s what it looks like:

Vesica Support System

Vesica Support System

The Vesica Support System allows you to submit and track support requests specific to your account, 24 hours a day. In addition, whilst the Live Chat team is not available outside UK business hours, the Support System is monitored and support tickets are dealt with 24 hours a day.

It’s all part of our plan to improve Vesica and make customer service our number one priority.

September 23, 2010

Free online art shop revolutionises student art shows

Filed under: For Art's Sake,News — Tags: , , — vesica-press-releases @ 10:05 am

Vesica, a revolutionary new art management software, is set to transform the ability of art students to promote their work, by offering them a free web-based platform to show and sell their art.

The system, which has recently completed beta testing, has been designed to help art collectors, galleries, museums and artists themselves manage their art collections and share information around the globe. Vesica’s document – manage – market model is unique globally in the art world.

A key part of Vesica’s capabilities is the way it provides an online art gallery, enabling artists to show their work – and offer it for sale. The Vesica online gallery enables anyone, from a collector to a student, to list up to three pieces of art for sale in the online gallery, free of charge. Additional items may be listed for a modest charge, and Vesica’s commission structure for sales is set well below comparative costs for traditional galleries.

“By allowing artists and collectors alike to have a free listing of their art, we are revolutionising the way art can be shared, experienced and purchased around the globe,” says Asif Nawaz of software development firm VAFTA, who developed Vesica. “For the first time, students can list their pieces and expose them to a worldwide audience, without charge.”

Vesica was developed in response to a specific request for a system that would allow an art collection to be effectively catalogued and documented. For the first time ever, its online system allows a collection to be fully documented and managed, with the system retaining a high level of information and photographs.

Galleries and photographers can make use of Vesica’s online shop facility to list art for sale, making it visible to a worldwide audience. And for museums, galleries and private collectors, there is the opportunity to share highly detailed information on a discretionary basis with other professionals around the world; making the loaning of artwork and the staging of special exhibitions easier.

Vesica’s software format is universal. Developed as an online software system, it has a simple monthly subscription and is accessed via the internet, making it easy to use whatever computer a subscriber has. Updates and support are available immediately and a growing discussion forum will enable art topics to be discussed by interested individuals globally.

Vesica is also a carbon neutral system, hosted using solar powered servers located in California.

For further information, please contact the Vesica office on +44 (0) 20 8133 8050 or .

Vesica R&D Director to Teach Traditional Textiles Courses

Filed under: News — Tags: , , , — vesica-press-releases @ 7:03 am

Nausheen Sheikh, Research and Design Director at Vesica, will be teaching Traditional Textiles Courses at the Nour Festival of Arts at Leighton House Museum in London, UK.

The courses will include hands on explorations of traditional Middle Eastern textiles. Participants will be tutored to create their own textiles in a course that explores the following areas:
  • Colour combinations in traditional textiles from primary and secondary resource materials;
  • How to achieve harmony and balance in the colouration of patterns;
  • What is ‘texture’ and how it is created;
  • Introduction to the Biomorphic forms, ‘Islimi’ motifs and their application to geometric patterns;
  • Exploring various embellishment techniques.

Workshops run from October 6 to October 27 and at £45 for each session. Advanced booking is required. Please call 020 7471 9153 to book.

For more details, please visit http://www.nausheensheikh.com/index.php?page=13.

September 22, 2010

Galleries go online without tears using Vesica

Filed under: News — Tags: , , — vesica-press-releases @ 9:00 am

Vesica, a revolutionary new art management software, is set to transform the way art galleries use the internet to drive additional gallery sales.

The system, which has recently completed beta testing, has been designed to help collectorsmuseums, sellers,galleries and artists themselves manage their art collections and share information around the globe. Vesica’s document – manage – market model is unique globally in the art world.

A key part of Vesica’s capabilities is the way it provides an online art gallery, and allows individual subscribers to develop and manage their own online shops. Vesica enables anyone to manage up to three pieces of art and  list them for sale in the online gallery, free of charge. Additional items may be added for a modest charge. For those wanting to get more directly involved in promoting the contents of their gallery, Vesica has facilities to establish a simple, online shop branded in the gallery’s own name and accessed via their own website. In addition to their own galleries, clients can list their items in the soon to come and highly marketed, comprehensive online Vesica Gallery.

“The internet is growing ever more powerful as a marketing and selling tool worldwide,” says Asif Nawaz of software development firm VAFTA, who developed Vesica. “Yet the art world is largely missing out. Of more than 800 galleries in the UK, less than ten per cent have an effective online presence. Vesica gives them an easy and very cost-effective way to promote online, and drive extra sales.”

Vesica was developed in response to a specific request for a system that would allow an art collection to be effectively catalogued and documented. For the first time ever, its online system allows a collection to be fully documented and managed, with the system retaining a high level of information and photographs.

Galleries and photographers can make use of Vesica’s online shop facility to list art for sale, making it visible to a worldwide audience. And for museums, galleries and private collectors, there is the opportunity to share highly detailed information on a discretionary basis with other professionals around the world; making the loaning of artwork and the staging of special exhibitions easier.

Vesica’s software format is universal. Developed as an online software system, it has a simple monthly subscription and is accessed via the internet, making it easy to use whatever computer a subscriber has. Updates and support are available immediately and a growing discussion forum will enable art topics to be discussed by interested individuals globally.

Vesica is also a carbon neutral system, hosted using solar powered servers located in California.

For further information, please contact the Vesica office on +44 (0) 20 8133 8050 or .

September 21, 2010

Vesica moves out of Beta

Filed under: News — Tags: , , , — vesica-press-releases @ 11:14 am

Vesica – the world’s first online art documentation platform built for collectors, galleries, museums and artists was moved out of beta on Monday, September 20, 2010. Having released the comprehensive platform, Vesica’s focus now moves on to adding additional features based on the feedback received from private and general beta phases.

In addition, the company is starting to focus on helping art collectors based in the Middle East, Europe and the Americas focus on research and documentation work for their art collections. “(For many collections) there’s very little known information about the history of a particular piece of art, it’s symbolism, the techniques that went into creating it, why it was created or who created it,” says Asif Nawaz, Director at Vesica. “We aim to help collectors and museums discover, document and share this information, so that the world can be educated in the history and symbolical importance of these pieces. As future generations move away from traditional, handmade arts and crafts, Vesica aims to help build a platform that will preserve the sanctity of art and help prolong the importance of and present this information to future generations in digital formats and media that they are more familiar with.”

Vesica is a carbon neutral, solar powered and hosted on demand art management software delivered as a service that helps collectors, museums, galleries and artists document, manage, market, share and monetize their art collections. The software has been developed by London, UK based Vesica Ltd.

For further information, please contact the Vesica office on +44 (0) 20 8133 8050 or .

September 3, 2010

The Upgraded Vesica Dashboard

Filed under: News,Upcoming Features,Using Vesica — Tags: , , , — Asif N @ 12:52 pm
Upgraded Vesica Dashboard

The Upgraded Vesica Dashboard

Vesica now has a new account dashboard. The new dashboard gives you an overview of the latest news, your account details, a breakdown of the various objects / pieces in your art collection as well as a comprehensive search facility.In addition to the dashboard, a new search and filtering facility also available on piece / object listing to quickly sort and filter collections by any criteria.

The new dashboard, released last week, will become a powerfool tool for collectors, museums and galleries looking to manage and document their art collection portfolios.

More information on Vesica’s comprehensive documentation platform and it’s new eCommerce features, user galleries and the master Vesica gallery is coming soon as we get ready to move the software out of beta and share some of amazing pieces of antique art already documented in Vesica.

May 11, 2010

Vesica – Released into General Beta

Filed under: News — Tags: , , — admin @ 5:29 pm

Vesica was today (May 11, 2010) released into general beta. Whilst the private beta release in January gave us some insight into how to make the interface effective, we also walked away with a huge list of feature requests from our first set of users. As we work towards all of those projects, we’ve packaged the basic functionality of the application and launched the software in general beta. This should give collectors, gallery owners and everyone involved in the art industry great insight into the potential that Vesica can and does offer. The Vesica blog, coming in the next couple of weeks, will contain regular updates and preview of the latest features that are currently being developed.

April 19, 2010

Vesica and Museum Technologies Sign Landmark Deal

Filed under: News — Tags: , , , — admin @ 5:25 pm

Vesica today signed a deal with Museum Technologies to become the official collection and item management software provider to museums who work with Museum Technologies. In addition to providing the software at an enterprise scale for larger Museums and Galleries, this deal opens up huge possibilities for Vesica customers to be able to market their products and opens up avenues and growth channels for Vesica

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