The focus of the evening is the Big City Plan – the new masterplan that’s being developed for the city centre. Want to know how it’ll affect you/your business? Well this event is for you.
The format for the evening will be:
5.45 for 6pm – Arrival
6.00-6.10pm – Welcome and introduction by Mark Ball (one of the original board members of Creative Republic)
6.10-6-30pm – Cllr Mike Whitby, Leader, Birmingham City Council
6.30-6.45pm – Jerry Blackett, Chief Executive Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
6.45-7.15pm – Questions and answers session
7.15-8pm – Refreshments and networking
If that sort of thing tickles your fancy and floats your boat then head over to the event page on the Creative Republic website for more info and to sign up to their charter.
Last weekend Rhubarb Rhubarb presented the ninth Rhubarb Review:
A very exhausted yet happy Rhubarb team would like to say a very big “Thank You” to everyone who took part this year. You all helped to make it one of the most successful Rhubarb events ever. We’re back in the office and planning the tenth Rhubarb already. Watch this space and check your e-mails for updates. Later this year we’re holding another Cultivate event – dates and venue to be announced soon.
Digbeth Is Good – Digbeth Flickrmeet This Sunday
“‘There’s no restrictions, just bring a camera… new people are always welcome!’ You don’t need any more invitation than that. People are meeting in The Coffee Lounge, Navigation Street at 2pm this Sunday.”
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The REP explains RSS feeds. Like they say, they’re very straightforward. If you use the internet but you don’t use RSS yet then you’re probably wasting a whole heap of time and effort
Any wax fondlers out there (or fans thereof) might be interested in this DJ competition, running into it’s third year and with the Midlands heats taking place at the Custard Factory.
The first heat is on Saturday 9 August, which it might be a bit late to register/practice for (worth getting in touch maybe). The second heat is on Saturday 6 September.
Tamar Whyte has been diagnosed with both Bipolar and Borderline Personality Disorder. Tamar’s art:
explores the emotional extremes of the condition, and this is an excellent opportunity to see the changes in style that have resulted in the years that have passed from pre diagnosis through to gradual acceptance of the condition
Moseley’s Pottery and Pieces is hosting an exhibition of her work (with all pieces available to buy) until 31 August.
Her work has received many awards including a Broadcast Designers Association Silver Award and an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Design and Animation
Eight Eyed Sea Bass’s blog has news of the company’s work on a few films. Firstly they’ve authored the DVD for a feature film called The Mandrake Root from Simon Wood (ex-UB40 manager and founder of Brumiewood)’s European Drama Network.
They also mention that they’re working on a couple of feature films in preference to companies from London, although details of the projects can’t be divulged just now.
So yes, that’s all well and good. However my favourite thing on their blog is a short entry for a computer animation competition – you can read about the background to it on the blog and watch it here:
Dave Gaskarth, or Gas, is a Birmingham-based illustrator and designer and part of the Cyrk collective and he’s just put up a new portfolio website.
Over the past couple of years he’s amassed an impressive client list that includes 7 Inch Cinema, Flat Pack Festival, Supersonic, Birmingham Uni, Jibbering, Moseley Folk Festival, New Art Gallery Walsall and others.
As well as traditional design and illustration he’s also designed DVD interfaces, built websites and sold his own original artwork. You can see some examples on the Dave Gaskarth website and including these portraits, from a set of 12 produced for 7 Inch Cinema’s showing of Gangsters last year:
I have no real intention of following the interminable shenanigans surrounding the new library. However, I reckon it’s worth announcing that the contract to design the new building has been given to Mecanoo (whose buildings had better be more attractive and useable than their website).
The new library, which at the rate things seem to be going won’t be built in any of our lifetimes (although 2013 has been mooted), is to be built in Centenary Square and will incorporate The REP, who have been quick to report on the appointment.
Plenty more information has come out since my last post about Birmingham Opera Company‘s forthcoming production of Mozart’s King Idomeneo.
Firstly, the first performance will be on 12 August but there’s a free dress rehearsal taking place on Sunday 10 August at 7pm. If you’d like to go down to that then email boxoffice@birminghamopera.org.uk to reserve your place.
The production will be a walkabout affair allowing the audience to ‘move with the action around the performance space’. Comfy shoes are recommended because it’s a 3 hour performance (with interval).
The venue is an abandoned rubber factory just off Ladywood Middleway (directions are here). Here’s what the place looked like a little while ago:
The Birmingham Opera Design Trust blog has profiles of the people involved in bringing this production to life as well as the odd tidbit about how things are coming together and is worth a read.
Bass Festival 2008 highlights video
With interviews with Ammo himself, Faith 47 & Ursula Rucker and footage from the opening party at Woom Gallery and MCs For Life at the Custard Factory.
Crowded Gallery – An Update…
Last year Craig Holmes won the photography contract to market Birmingham. He’s just started the contract to market the whole of the West Midlands region to an international market
Jibbering have a podcast
This was recorded live at Jibbering Sessions at the Hare and Hounds and features a blinding set from the Sheffield Ska monsters, Bison
Typical. I write a post about the Fierce Earth blog and what happens? A few hours later Helga Henry, managing director of Fierce Earth, uses that same blog to make a couple of key announcements – the biggest of which is that:
at present I think it’s fair to say that there will not be a Fierce Festival in 2009 but that we will aim to produce 2-3 large scale ambitious public projects throughout ‘09, one of which may be at the festival time. Our partners too, may still want to programme audacious and risky work in May and June, and we will certainly be working with them as usual to promote performances if they do.
We’d like to deliver a bigger, more ambitious programme, and it may take some time to sort that out.
So it’s not all bad and a reflection of their ambitions more than anything. It’s worth reading the whole post for more about the whys and wherefores but, as Helga says, watch the blog for developments.
There’s also information about Fierce’s Creative Learning work and the announcement that:
We’re considering announcing a call for projects and inviting ideas for innovative and exciting creative learning projects with people who would be willing to partner Fierce Earth
So if that sounds like something you’d be interested in then that’s another reason to watch that space.
It’s nice to see the peeps at the Ikon making more use of audio and video on their website. The latest offering is a video documentary on the installation process and work of Shahzia Sikander whose exhibition, ‘Intimate Ambivalence‘ will be at the Ikon Gallery until 14 September.
Chris Keenan (Prime Objective) produced the video and talks about it on the Prime Objective blog. You can see the video itself as the first part of a slideshow on the Ikon Gallery site.
Like I say, it’s good to see this sort of thing but personally I’d like to see a little more (demanding sod that I am). In case anyone from the gallery is reading, here’s a cheeky wishlist:
Videos to be uploaded somewhere like Vimeo or YouTube so they can be embedded on other sites (like this one). It’s free and I guarantee you’d get more viewers.
A media section with all your audio/video in one place – I found searching for past items (like the ‘In Conversation’ recordings) far too tricky.
Actually is anything happening with the ‘These Are A Few Of My Favourtite Things’ audio? I was at Ian Francis (7 Inch Cinema)’s talk and saw it being recorded. Why not use these sorts of things to make a podcast that people could subscribe to?
Which makes me very pleased indeed. Gemma’s posts over at My Fierce Placement have given a great insight into the breadth of work that Fierce Earth are involved with so it’ll be interesting to see what’s posted on the Fierce Earth blog.
As well as producing the Fierce Festival, Fierce Earth provide training via Metapod (for start-up creatives) and Momentum (for producers/curators). They also offer consultancy services, having recently worked with Birmingham Jazz (amongst several others) and are soon to start working with Tindal Street Press.
It looks like they’ll also be using the blog to spread the word about interesting opportunities that they come across. Worth keeping an eye on.
Gaynor Arnold has been nominated for the Booker Prize longlist for her book ‘Girl in a Blue Dress’ which will be released by Tindal Street Press in November.
This sort of thing’s getting to be old hat for Tindal Street Press, who had Catherine O’Flynn’s ‘What Was Lost’ longlisted last year. Gaynor Arnold, on the other hand, has spent the past 40 years or so working as a social worker in Birmingham and took five years to write the novel.
