the 10th anniversary aiu website giveaway is now closed
This website celebrated its 10th anniversary online by giving away goods with Yoko Ono's autograph.

john lennon featured in "one laptop per child" commercial
Reuters (December 26th 2008): "Through the use of digital technology, the former Beatle urges people across the United States to support a campaign by "One Laptop per Child" to deliver tough, solar-powered XO laptop computers to the world's poorest children. "Imagine every child no matter where in the world they were could access a universe of knowledge. They would have a chance to learn, to dream, to achieve anything they want," a voice and video image of Lennon has been created to say. Ono approved the "One Laptop per Child" commercial, which was launched on Thursday and will be shown on donated broadcast and cable time. It can also be seen at www.youtube.com/olpc "

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit founded to improve education and eradicate poverty for children in developing nations.

a new interview with yoko ono
The Observer (December 21st 2008): "Now I feel like the whole big thing of John is like an umbrella around me, protecting me. I still have emotions and an emotional life. I have decided to love all the people who miss John. A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is a reality."

50 years of yoko ono the artist
The Guardian (December 14th 2008): "Yoko Ono brought love, peace and even a glimpse of death to Tyneside yesterday, with the opening of one of her biggest exhibitions in Europe. Outside the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead was a "coffin car", a hearse in other words. Visitors can hire it for a spin, during which they may contemplate their final passage (in the front seat, curators were keen to point out). Yoko Ono Between the Sky and My Head Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art , Gateshead 5 March 2009 "I do that not to frighten people but to make them understand how precious every day is," Ono told the Guardian. "I do as much complaining as other people but when I think about it I realise how lucky we are to have these days."

An interview with Yoko Ono related to this exhibition: "For Yoko, the glass is always much more than half full"

"it’s worth interacting with yoko"
Evening Chronicle (December 15th 2008): "Like Yoko Ono herself, this wonderfully diverse exhibition (Between the Sky and My Head at the Baltic) is not for the faint-hearted."

Another review by The Times Online, from a different angle

book on imagine peace tower released
IcelandReview (December 15th 2008): "The Iceland Post Company recently published a book on Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower in cooperation with the artist. The 100-page book contains a wealth of information on Ono’s project."

You can buy the book online
"A Peak inside Yoko Ono-John Lennon Book"

chanel cancels mobile art exhibit
The Wall Street Journal (December 19th 2008): "In a further sign that the luxury companies are being squeezed by the recession, Chanel USA confirmed Friday that the French label is pulling the plug on the mobile art exhibition that kicked off in Hong Kong earlier this year and was scheduled to be travel the world over two years before ending up in Paris."

"The exhibition, which included the works of artists such as Yoko Ono (wish tree), went on display in Tokyo and New York this year and was headed for London and Moscow next year."

yoko ono at stanford: passages of light
January 14th 2009 in Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University
Free, tickets available to Stanford community only, not open to the public

From the event press release: “Passages for Light” documents two of Yoko Ono’s current projects involving light: ONOCHORD, a small flashlight used to signal “I love you” by blinking the light at a prescribed frequency, and IMAGINE PEACE TOWER, an installation located off the coast of Reykjavík, Iceland, consisting of a column of light projected 30 meters into the sky. The base of the tower is inscribed with the words “Imagine Peace” in 24 languages. The tower is a tribute to the memory of John Lennon."

alto reed and yoko ono event at hard rock cafe in december
Miami Nightlife Events Examiner (December 14th 2008): "On Thursday December 18th at 9pm the Hard Rock Café at Bayside will bring back LIVE rock and roll blues music to Miami with Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Saxman and founding member Alto Reed to support Yoko Ono’s “WHY-Hunger” charity to end world hunger."

Q&A: yoko ono
The Sunday Times (December 14th 2008): "Q: Are you a romantic, or more of a pragmatist?"

A: "I’m sure my friends think of me as a romantic. Well, yes, I am. But I am pragmatic, too. There’s no reason why you can’t be both."

the third annual lunchbox auction
NY Culture Examiner (December 13th 2008): "The third annual Lunchbox Auction to raise money for the Food Bank for New York City and The Lunchbox Fund of South Africa kicked off this week with a celebrity fundraiser at the Meatpacking District’s Milk Studios. The auction features a number of lunchboxes that were custom designed by such celebrities, artists and fashion designers as Michael Stipe, Yoko Ono, Mike Myers, Eva Mendes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali, the cast of GossipGirl, Diane von Furstenberg, Heatherette and Cynthia Rowley, among others."

yoko ono offers peace message in kyoto university lecture
The Yomiuri Shimbun (December 11th 2008): ""The world situation has gotten worse compared to when John and I staged 'Bed-Ins' [in 1969]...and I think now is the [darkness] before dawn," said 75-year-old Ono, who was invited to give a short performance and lecture to mark the 40th anniversary of Kyoto Seika University in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto. (--) She also encouraged art students at the university to believe in their own ability, even if they feel no one appreciates their work."

"imagine peace, cultivate happiness"
Opednews.com (December 10th 2008): "So now that the green-powered shaft of light has been turned off until next year, I exhort you to not only "Imagine Peace," but also to "Cultivate Happiness," particularly at this strange juncture of great political hope and great economic despair. Today, you are the symbol, the beacon and the focus. To overcome the challenges of achieving economic security, environmental security and energy security, we are going to need not only courage, compassion and clarity of mind, but also an indomitable inner happiness. It is not only attainable, it is actually our natural state, if we just allow ourselves to experience it in the space between our thoughts and graspings."

cuban artists dedicate exhibition to john lennon
acn (December 9th 2008): "The exhibition, named "Project of Freedom" includes paintings by some ten artists with different aesthetic proposals, but all of them share the same content. "Power to the People," an oil painting on handmade paper by Ernesto Blanco, is one of the works displayed at the Arenal exhibition hall in city of Holguin. A series dedicated to Yoko Ono, by young artist Yoxy Velazquez is another highlight of the exhibit."

lennon license plate coming to more us states
AP (December 9th 2008): "Yoko Ono allowed Florida to use Lennon's self-portrait and the word "Imagine" on a specialty plate, with the money raised from its sale going to the Florida Association of Food Banks. (--) The company that helped create the plates, Foundation Consultants, is pushing to get the plate in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Illinois first, then the 17 other states that allow specialty license plates. The plates would help generate funds for food banks in each state."

lennon fans flock to the dakota, strawberry fields
Gothamist (December 8th 2008): "Today the tourists have been taking a break from Times Square and mingling with local John Lennon fans to pay tribute to the musician."

dream power john lennon super live concert in japan on dec 8
Yoko Ono tells BBC why she has chosen Japan as the location for the annual charity concert.

imagine peace: open art workshop on videy island
IcelandReview (November 29th 2008): "Reykjavík Art Museum is organizing an open art workshop in a cozy atmosphere for both children and adults tomorrow between 2 pm and 5 pm at Videyjarstofa museum and restaurant on Videy island, five minutes away from the capital by boat. The workshop’s theme will be Yoko Ono’s peace column, which was erected on the island in October last year, with the words “Imagine Peace” inscribed to the column in 24 different languages. Participants choose the sentence in one language and fasten it to white candles that will be provided. Reykjavík Art Museum recommends the candles then be used on Advent wreaths, which are common in Icelandic homes. Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent. Around 3 pm philosopher Gunnar Hersveinn will drop by the workshop to discuss the concept “Imagine Peace.”"

yoko ono coming to shanghai, china
Shanghaiist (November 17th 2008): "Running alongside the presentation of Ono’s work in the Ke Center gallery spaces, the exhibition events will be spread throughout the city as well. Yoko Ono's 20 FLY billboard ads will be spread throughout the subway system in Shanghai during the month of November, while her Instruction work will be placed in different venues around city in galleries, restaurants, bars, shops, and so on."

yoko ono in china: "the only thing I can do is be myself"
Shanghai Daily (November 28th 2008): "Ono is thankful that "I've never dried up as an artist." She attributes her inspiration to all the difficulties she has been through, including marriage to Lennon. "It (the marriage) was difficult and I think I sacrificed my work a lot, but it was worth it because we really fell in love with each other," says Ono. "And it was also good for my work because it was a challenge. We learn a lot through difficulties. It was an entirely different environment and I started having so many fresh ideas. I kept going into difficult situations."

These days, she is working in the studio in New York on her next album, expected to released early next year."

Art Forum about Yoko Ono's Chinese exhibition

blueprint for a reprise
An interview with Yoko Ono in Evil Monito Issue 23: "I try not to be too rebellious,” she says, “but it seem like the very fact that I am what I am is creating some controversy.” In that case, how has her idea of being fierce changed- as an activist and an artist? “I haven’t changed, you know,” she insists, laughing.” People don’t change so much."

yoko ono in são paulo, brazil
According to Johann Heyss and globo.com, Yoko Ono came for a lecture at the local Museum of Modern Art, but in a very low-profile manner.

carnival of light: mccartney wants the world to hear 'lost' beatles epic
The Observer (November 16th 2008): "For Beatles fans across the world it has gained near mythical status. The 14-minute improvised track called 'Carnival of Light' was recorded in 1967 and played just once in public. It was never released because three of the Fab Four thought it too adventurous. The track, a jumble of shrieks and psychedelic effects, is said to be as far from the melodic ballads that made Sir Paul McCartney famous as it is possible to imagine. But now McCartney has said that the public will have the chance to judge for themselves. 'It does exist,' McCartney says on a BBC Radio 4 arts programme to be broadcast this week. Talking to John Wilson, the presenter of Front Row, the former Beatle confirms that he still has a master tape of the work and says he suspects that 'the time has come for it to get its moment'. 'I like it because it's the Beatles free, going off piste,' he adds."

lennon tribute concert planned in NY in december
East Surrey & Sussex News and Media Ltd. (November 14th 2008): " A free tribute gig to John Lennon will take place in New York's Central Park next month. For The Love Of Lennon, organised by New Arts NYC, will commemorate the life of the music legend on December 7, the eve of the 28th anniversary of his tragic assassination. The two-hour-long concert at the Central Park Bandshell will be led by professional musicians, encouraging fans to sing along to their favourite Beatles songs and pay homage to the icon. "It's about doing something out of love for this city, and in honour of a profound artist and New Yorker who continues to touch the hearts, minds and ears of millions," says the concert's producer Michael Dustin Youree. "It's going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait. Perhaps Lennon himself said it best, "Come together right now, over me."

the US vs. john lennon lays out a government conspiracy against one very famous peace activist
Pasadena Weekly (November 13th 2008): "If rock legend and political activist John Lennon were alive today he would surely be opposed to the war in Iraq, which in many ways is eerily similar to the seemingly endless, widely unpopular war in Vietnam he struggled to bring to an end during the 1970s. On Wednesday, the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church of Pasadena will host a free screening of “The US vs. John Lennon,” a 2006 documentary by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld that details our government’s efforts to spy on the world’s most famous Vietnam opponent in an attempt to deport him and wife Yoko Ono. Following the screening there will be a question and answer session with Jon Weiner, a professor of history at UC Irvine and author of “Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files.”

a look at the real secrets behind the beatles' lyrics
Mail On Sunday (November 13th 2008): "Lennon was obliquely telling the story of an affair with a model who lived in a flat above him and his wife Cynthia in the song Norwegian Wood, with the lines: 'I once had a girl, or should I say she once had me!' He knew what a catch he was. Lennon's Aunt Mimi, who raised him, had instilled in John a love of books, especially of the nonsense verse of Edmund Lear and the surrealistic stories of Lewis Carroll. So it was that The Walrus And The Carpenter became the inspiration for his song I Am The Walrus."

hot topic vs wednesday lupypciw at the ARTery on Nov 21
"Kirsten McCrea completed Hot Topic for her BFA at Concordia University in Montréal. The series, based on the song “Hot Topic” by the band Le Tigre, is a set of 60 portrait paintings of counter-culture icons listed in the lyrics of the song, including Yoko Ono, Nina Simone, Billy Jean King, Cibo Matto, Gertrude Stein and many others who have addressed queer and feminist issues in their work. “Every person walking in will recognize at least one person,” says McCrea, “They’re going to want to know how that person relates to everyone else.”

The ARTery, Edmonton, AB