Created in Birmingham

Another fashion show here – Nu Century Arts will kick off Black History Month with a fundraiser for Breaking Chains With Knowledge, their expanding cultural education project.  It’ll be on 1 October at Stars Members Club in Erdington.

Evolution Fashion Show and After Party will be:

an innovative fashion experience with rule breaking new designers showcasing example garments from their portfolios. London designers such as GarBell, with unique Birmingham models will be present to showcase their designs. To enjoy the event in the spirit of Black History Month there will also be a movie corner showing black movies and clips.

More info on the Breaking Chains With Knowledge MySpace page.  It seems like the Nu Century Arts site is down at the mo.

Happening on Saturday 27 Sept at the Pavilion Banqueting Suite, Moor Lane, Birmingham, this is:

a fashion design competition for aspiring fashion designers from across the Midlands

More info at Midlands Young Fashion Designers Awards.

Via Spaghetti Gazetti, an invitation to attend:

A community consultation to look at the future structure of the company that organises Birmingham’s St Patrick’s Festival

16th October 2008
8.00pm – 9.30pm
Irish Club, High Street, Digbeth

Come along and share your ideas!
Get involved.

If you cannot make the meeting please email Karen on karenbarry22@yahoo.co.uk before the 23rd October 2008 with your views.

Incidentally, I remember some discussion last year about the merits of the parade’s website and hear that someone’s volunteered (and is now working) to put something different together.

The full site for Hello Digital (23-26 October 2008) is now up with all the event info and other gubbins you’d expect.

It’s been put together by talented localers Made Media, Maverick, Fluid & Stef Lewandowski.

My backlog’s built up a bit so expect a fair few shortish items today/this weekend while I blast through all the good stuff going on.

Before that though (and following a couple of recent-ish conversations) there are a few quick things I should mention.  If these are obvious to you then please skim on.

Subscribe to CiB for free

You don’t contact all your friends daily in case they’ve got something important to tell you – they’ll email or call you if they have news.

Similarly there’s no need to visit CiB in case there’s some new info.  You’re very welcome to, but instead you might like to save time and get a daily email with all the things I’ve written about.  It’s free and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.

There’s also an ‘RSS feed‘.  RSS can be an off-putting term but basically it involves using Google Reader (or another RSS reader) as your ‘website-watcher’.  Tell it what sites you check regularly and it’ll become your time-saving one-stop-shop.  It’s how I keep track of almost 400 sites without going mental and it costs nothing.

Links

Text in pink (or blue and underlined if you get RSS or email updates) is a ‘link’ which will send you to another website for further information.  Finding other sites to send people to is kinda what CiB is all about.  For example, here’s a link to the Film Dash challenge I’m organising (yes, that was also a shameless plug).

Blogging for creatives

There are so many small arts organisations around the West Mids that have zero (or very poor/neglected) web presence who could benefit from a blog.  They’re very cheap, easy to use (if you can use Word you’re most of the way there), versatile and they’re a credible and easily updateable web presence for anyone who needs one.

If you want a hand getting started then don’t ponder about it, just give me a shout or pop down to Pete Ashton’s social media surgery on Thursdays at Rooty’s in the Custard Factory, 4-6pm.

Advertising on Created in Birmingham

Ok, one last thing – apparently £50 for 2 weeks is outrageously cheap for what you get, but hopefully that makes it accessible to the smaller orgs/companies/events/etc.

Hope that was useful to someone.  Most people might take things like links for granted but it seems not everyone knows this stuff.

Some nice pics of the New St revamp have been produced.  Sure, it won’t look quite so glossy once the pigeons have had a go at it but it’ll be a damn site better than the current eyesore.  Hurrah!

Foreign Office Architects are responsible and there’s all sorts of info (well, corporate-speak and aspirational waffle) on the New Street New Start website.

Here’s another thing to make you go ‘oooh’:

There’s a flurry of good film-related stuff going on at the moment and now Screen WM have just launched this year’s digishorts too:

the annual short film production scheme that offers new and emerging filmmaking talent the chance to develop and produce a short film with support and a budget from Screen WM

You’ve got until Monday 10 Nov to get your short film ideas in.  A shortlist of 25 ideas will be developed before the final 6 go to production.  Go to the digishorts website to grab an application form.

There are going to be roadshows about the West Mids with

a spectacular one day event in Birmingham on Saturday 25^th October as part of Hello Digital which will include discussions, screenings and possibly the chance to pitch your project to a panel of industry experts

Which sounds jolly.

*Gratuitous plug alert*

While we’re on the subject of short films, Film Dash is a 48-hour film challenge happening 17-19 October.  I’m running it but it’ll be great, honest, and anyone’s welcome to enter.  Here’s the Film Dash website.

It’s always nice to uncover a seam of activity you’ve not come across before.  I’ve been browsing the Birmingham groups on Meetups.com and came across quite a lot I’d never heard of so, here’s the result of some quick trawling:

The Birmingham Book Club and Popular Culture Meetup Group – next meet is 24 Sept at the Green Room, Arcadian Centre.  Currently reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

The Birmingham Film Meetup Group – next meet is a trip to Stan’s Cafe’s ‘Of All The People In All The World’ on 23 Sept.  “The main purpose of this group is to meet up at various times and on various days of the week to go and see films at a variety of venues across the city”.

The Birmingham Musicians, Singers & Songwriters Meetup – next meet is an open mic night on 21 Sept at the Adam & Eve in Digbeth.  “It’s a group for songwriters, singers and musicians. The aim of the group is to meet for socialising, discussions and playing our own music”.

Birmingham LGBT Book Club – next meet is 6.30pm on 23 Sept for Stans Cafe – ah, same time as the Film Meetup, cool!  Monthly meets with a new book each time and “primarily for the LGBT community but all are welcome”.

Midlands Comedy, Music, Movies, Politics, Walking & Writers – next meet is 3 Oct at The Old Contemptibles near Snow Hill Station in the city centre.  A new group but 40 members already.

Birmingham Psychogeographical Association – another new group with no meets planned yet.  “Meet other local people who are interested in Psychogeography, reading books about psychogeography and using experimental methods to explore urban and rural areas”.

And a little further afield…

The Coventry & Warwickshire Writers Meetups – next meet is on 7 Oct at the Railway Club in Coventry.  “Come to one of these Writers Meetups in Coventry and Warwickshire to review work, trade literary tips, make friends and have fun! All writers and should-be writers are welcome”.

Coventry & Warwickshire Artists Meetup Group – Red Teapot Tuesday is the name of the “drop-in artists’ get-together” at The Cafe at The Herbert, Coventry.  First Tues of the month, the next one being 7 Oct.

The next Animation Forum West Midlands event, Grads On Walls, will be at Concrete on 13 October and will showcase the work of the region’s recent graduates.

I really do recommend these.  Shorts On Walls and Ads On Walls were great, even for someone like me who never got past using the corners of school exercise books as flipbooks.  These screenings are just like a trip to the cinema.  Only free.  And they serve drinks.  The work screened is consistently excellent too.

Of course if you are an animator then it’s a good chance to meet like-minded souls.

If you’d like to go down then RSVP (check the site) to let them know you’re going.

If you’d like to submit work then read this:

Submissions for Grad’s on Walls can include short films, music videos, experimental and commercial pieces. The only requirement for submissions is that animator should either be currently based within the West Midlands, or have graduated from a University within the region. Good quality student work will also be considered for screenings.

then go to the AFWM site for details of where to send a DVD of your work.

News from Eccentric City‘s Harry Palmer, which I hope you’ll forgive me for regurgitating in full:

The Eccentric City newspaper shortly holds it eccentric auction (23rd Sept, Anchor pub, Digbeth, Birmingham - 7.30pm onwards). With much anticipated joy and excitement, British luminary eccentric Mr John Ward www.johnwardinventor.co.uk will be in attendance. This is a unique and wonderful honour that The Eccentric City newspaper team wanted to let people know that something outside the norm of day to day culture continues to gather greatness! A truely eccentric occasion beckons! Please feel free to come along!

BiNS has info about what the auction consists of.

John Ward seems an affable chap – here he is on Pebble Mill at One (a while back) chatting about making creations from rubbish.  According to his website, the late Screaming Lord Sutch officially appointed him Minister of Inventions for the Monster Raving Loony Party.

Brap, the Birmingham equalities charity, has racked up 10 years and is celebrating on Saturday night (20th Sept) at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath.

Performing on the night will be The Special Beat (featuring Neville Staple and Ranking Roger) and ex-Birmingham Poet Laureate Dreadlock Alien.

Doors are at 9pm and tickets are £15 – available on the door or through www.theticketsellers.co.uk.

Among many other things, Brap produce the Speak Out magazine and are looking for submissions for the next issue. The theme is ‘This is Bimingham’:

Outside of London, Birmingham is one of the country’s most ‘diverse’ cities. It is also a city with one of the biggest gaps between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. We want to know what this means to you.

Whether it’s an essay, photograph, poem, or story, this is your chance to tell everyone your perspective on ‘This is Birmingham’

Submissions need to be in by 24 October.

• The big Film Dash logo vote
  Film Dash – the 48-hour film challenge happening in Birmingham on 17-19 October is picking up pace. We need a logo though. A couple have been submitted; please have a look and vote for your fave
• Capsule Blog » The Joyful Bewilderment
  Capsule are involved in a group exhibition at Rough Trade East (in London 2-27 Oct) called The Joyful Bewilderment, along with other West Mids types including members of The Outcrowd Collective, Lucy McLauchlan, Rik Cooper, Stef Grindley, Lee Basford, Ben Javens, Chris Keenan and Lawrence Roper
• Fused – Student Issue
  Fused’s one-off student special has tips from Johnny Foreigner, The Twang, Poppy & The Jezebels, Bigger Than Barry, Bohemian Jukebox and The Editors. Read it online here
• Punch Update Sept 2008
  Lots of news of things and happenings from the Punch crew
• Hello Digital – Calling all artists
  “UKType is looking for typographers, lettering artists, calligraphers and other creatives who would like to participate in a day of filming” for production on Baskerville – The Animated Movie

Bit late notice this one, but tomorrow night at the Library Theatre there’s a night dedicated to Birmingham film maker, Steve Rainbow who recently had a film chosen to appear at Palm Springs International ShortFest.  As the info on the Film Birmingham site says:

come and see a collection of his short work culminating  with a premiere of the very funny ‘Pig in a Poke’ a 20 minute comedy film featuring a very large shark!

A full-length follow-up to this short (which was nominated for the ‘BBC short drama award 1998′ so how this will be a premiere isn’t clear) is currently being produced by his Ruba Productions outfit with all shooting and production taking place in Birmingham.

Attendance is free.

A copy of ‘Forward‘ (the council’s official publication profiling policies, initiatives and events) just plopped through my door.  Let’s see what interesting event info there is and pull together some links.

The Old Rep Theatre, which closed in Feb for renovation, re-opens on 30 Sept.  The first show is ‘Messed Up’ by Small Heath Young Rep.  Then there’s ‘Play On’ in honour of the theatre’s founder, Sir Barry Jackson, which I can’t find any info about online at all.

Incidentally neither show is on the Old Rep’s what’s on page.  The first item on there is ‘Skellig‘ on 7 Oct.

There’s lots of BMAG stuff listed:

• The Birmingham Art Fair at the Gas Hall, 19-21 Sept
• Body & Soul: Sculptures by Juginder Lamba at the Waterhall gallery until 26 Oct
• In The Picture, old and new photos from the Handsworth Photographic Society at Soho House until 2 Nov
• Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite at Gallery 16 until 14 Dec
• Hair at Gallery 20 until 1 March 2009 looking at, well, different hairstyles

Also, Mike Gayle will be talking about his new book, The Life and Soul of the Party at the Library Theatre on 24 September.

Finally there are a few NEC/NIA listings and a mention of the Emirates Beach.

Deborah Mingham is a freelance artist and costume designer/maker.

She graduated from UCE Fine Arts degree course and has gone on to work with Shoi Productions, Friction Arts, the Godiva Carnival (see pic above), Pentabus and Kindle Theatre.

These Punch & Judy costumes, produced for Imagineer Productions and inspired by Rab C Nesbitt and Tony Clifton, are particularly good: