The list runs to 114 categories of media including Fibreworks, Fairy Figures and, oh no… Venetian Masks. The ceramic penguins in pointy masks were a (how shall I put it?) memorable highlight of 2005. Are they back?

There’s also a category for “Stationary” art. Is this correct? According to crime reports late last year, not even multi-tonne bronzes by Henry Moore can be relied upon to remain as stationary as the owners would wish.
Quibbles apart, the new searches available here should help those of us who need all the assistance they can get in negotiating what are reported to be over 200 venues exhibiting the work of over 1,000 artists this year. And it’s all free. The Times recently reported on a new service providing escorted visits to galleries in the London ’s East End , which are apparently difficult to access. The service costs £45 per head, or £240 for a chauffeur-driven tour including champagne. The writer reports that she saw painting, sculpture, video installations and “even a room with a grass floor”. Pah, is that all? Last year I saw grass rugs on Brighton walls, never mind anywhere as conventional as the floor. In Brighton I expect to see scores of different media over a cup of tea and without spending a penny. If you see what I mean.

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