I came really close to missing this, even though the guy lives round the corner from me.
Willard Wigan carves sculptures from dust particles, sugar crystals and grains of sand. Many of those sculptures are smaller than this full stop. Yes, that one.
Now, this isn’t like those guys who’ll write your name on a grain of rice or something; Willard’s work is a whole step beyond. So incredible, in fact, that there’s a Snopes entry about it. For your viewing pleasure here he is on This Morning and on ABC.
He’s been touring his exhibition around the country for a while now and it’s currently at Debenhams in the Bull Ring. Only until tomorrow (5 June) though so get in quick.
Entry is £3 (£2 for kiddies) and opening hours are 10.30a to 7.30pm.
From 1930 to 1960 Bearwood Snooker Hall was a cinema, then a variety theatre and finally a rep theatre. Since then the building has been used as an ice rink and, in its present incarnation, a snooker hall.
Parts of the old theatre space remain and Nikki Pugh was recently invited by the people of Crowd6 to have an explore. There’s information on her blog and plenty of photos too.
A couple of good things from the Ikon. Firstly, every Wednesday over the summer the gallery and bookshop will be open until 8pm (cafe until 11pm).
Coinciding with the late openings is a series of talks called ‘These are a few of my favourite things’ which will be
loosely based on Desert Island Discs where speakers will present their eight most memorable artistic experiences illustrated by a slide show
The schedule for those is:
The talks start at 6.30pm and places are free, although they need to be booked in advance on 0121 248 0708.
The Emergent Game starts in earnest on 5 June although it’s been warming up for a little while now.
In case you’ve not been following it, it’s an ‘alternate reality game’ (although I prefer their description of ‘a framework for exploring your surroundings’) and is part of the New Generation Arts Festival.
Explaining what The Game involves is a little tricky but its main component is playfulness, which is hopefully enough to get you interested.
There’s still plenty of time to take part though and even a couple of workshops to help you on the way:
- Workshop 1 is at Rooty’s in the Custard Factory tonight (2 June). Drop in any time between 4.30pm and 7pm.
- Workshop 2 will be at BCU’s Dept of Fine Art on Margaret Street (just behind the BM&AG) between 2pm and 4pm on Friday 6 June.
There’ll be a sackful of toys and assorted items/materials for customising your new Luden. You can also get involved in devising the street games that will be played later in the month.
If you’re an existing player then don’t bring your avatar, whatever you do.
If none of this makes the slightest bit of sense then all will be revealed on the Emergent Game website. Well, some will be revealed.
