This exhibition focuses on a fundamental factor in making and publishing books: format. What size should the pages of a book be given? The question raises all the considerations of publishing. Who will read this work? And where? How will it be made? With what paper? By which printer? On which press? How does it connect to the other books we publish? What is the happiest size for these pictures and this text?
To see it for yourself, head to International Project Space before 8th May, and to catch a talk with typographer, publisher, critic, and author of numerous articles in the field of visual communication and typography, Robin Kinross, get to the exhibition on Wednesday 5 May between 5.30 and 7pm.
They are Frilly and they do community arts across the West Midlands.
Adrienne and Kirsty established Frilly in order to continue to develop and deliver participatory arts programmes that are driven by participants and where the process of making, experiencing and change is as much a part of the art as whatever is produced
All pieces hint at the historic, at first glance there is nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary, though with closer inspection there is something odd about the works. The double take allows this Show of Science to move from a series of simple objects of science to pieces that make you question its use, its reliability as official face and of the make believe.
There’s a preview of the exhibition on Friday 30th April, 6 – 8pm and the exhibition will be open from 30th April – 16th May by appointment. If you want to check it out, contact Charlie or David at TROVE.
Nidhi Gupta left BIAD last year with an MA in Surface Design. Her ‘Undiscovered Waste’ collection is on show in the window of the Created in Birmingham shop until 3 May:
Undiscovered waste is a unique idea based on reusing waste. An Innovative collection where waste meets Indian traditional craft, fused together in such a unique manner which brings out an experience like never before to all its art and craft lovers. To have this experience, step into created in Birmingham anytime till the 3rd of may and have a look at this exclusive collection”
Screen WM’s 2010/11 Investment Fund opens on Tuesday 4 May 2010
The bad news:
Screen WM is also announcing that the UK Film Council has now confirmed a significant reduction of Lottery funding to each of the nine regional screen agencies. They are also reallocating all skills and training funding previously distributed through the regional screen agencies to Skillset. Skillset will now handle all applications for skills and training funding, to apply visit www.skillset.org . Screen WM will continue to work closely with Skillset to ensure a smooth transition of skills funding in the region.
[...] there is a total cut of 25% to Screen WM’s 2010/11 Lottery funding from the UK Film Council
[...] the impact of these cuts mean that inevitably there is an overall reduction in Lottery funding available in our 2010/11 Investment Fund. This means that Screen WM will be funding fewer projects in total in comparison with previous years and the application process this year will undoubtedly be more competitive. As such, Screen WM has taken the decision to be more targeted in approach and provide more specific support to projects
As a result, Screen WM will specifically be investing in:
Film and Media Education ‘Hubs’
Film Festivals
Film Script Development
Regional Film Industry support networks
I’m hoping posts like this don’t become too commonplace. Fuller info over at Audiences Central.
STUDIO4 GALLERY: Chris setting up show
“Just finished setting up Chris Bourkes Storm in a Teacup Exhibition with Chris and his lovely wife Jo. Opening Thursday 29th April and on for a month, lots of very nice new lino prints from the blistered hands of Mr. Bourke, come join us for a beer from 6.30pm”
I’m disappointed I missed a talk by Birmingham Opera Company‘s Graham Vick at the Barber Institute yesterday lunchtime. I need to keep a closer eye on what happens over there (and maybe, y’know, get round to visiting at some point).
The arts in the UK are blighted with fearfulness, conservatism, reactionary ordinariness. Our job is to build a more exciting, bolder future than the past has been. There is no such thing as tradition. The earth never stops moving. Stasis is a delusion. Be open to changeability.
The CBSO‘s summer programme has landed in front of me, so here’s a little round-up of what you might expect to see in the next couple of months. This won’t be comprehensive, so check out the CBSO listings for yourself here for more performances and details.
The Public art gallery in West Bromwich has joined forces with ITV Fixers to present an exhibition of works, including painting, sculpture, photography and short film, by young and up-and-coming artists. Here’s the background:
Fixer Todd Wooton (22) is a young artist. Throughout school and university he has found it almost impossible to get his art seen. So he has become a Fixer to sort it out. With the help of his Young People’s Co-ordinator, Todd has organised for the work of about 17 young aspiring artists to be exhibited at The Public, a community arts space, in West Bromwich. The exhibition will last two weeks from 19th April to 3rd May 2010 and will display pieces by undiscovered Midlands-based artists.
English folk music has never had it so good with Town Hall and Symphony Hall providing an annual showcase for the best traditional folk and contemporary singer-songwriters around in English Originals. This year’s folk weekend is 14-16 May and features the likes of Badly Drawn Boy, Beth Orton, Graham Coxon, Scott Matthews, and more.
Ever wondered how your favourite films get on to the silver screen? How 3D films work? Or even how independent cinemas deal with major film distributors?
The clips have been lovingly crafted by the cinema’s owner and lead guitarist Tom Lawes, and I found myself absorbed by them, so set a few minutes aside to give them a watch. All the videos are on the cinema’s Youtube channel, but as a taster, here’s The Electric’s guide to 35mm projection:
There’s a lot of illustrators getting all collaborative at the moment, what with the Not My Type project and this here news about the new thing from the Love to Print collective. Katie from Supercool has explained things better than I would:
Patterns contains loads of exquisite illustrations from five fantastically talented screenprint artists, who each have very different styles – Karoline Rerrie,Sarah Lynch,Ruth Green,Helen Entwisle,Daisy Whitehouse – and yeah, I did some stuff too. (Though I can’t call myself an artist!)
Love to Print Patterns #1 will be available at The New Art Gallery Walsall’s Artists’ Bookfair on 22-23rd May. If you can’t make it there though, watch this space for other ways of getting your hands on Pattern
Birmingham Book Festival are having an extra one-day festival on 29 May this year. The line-up of events (shamelessly nicked from their website) looks like this:
National Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy returns to Birmingham for another much-anticipated reading.
Novelist Helen Dunmore talks about her new novel Betrayal.
Novelists Amanda Smyth (Black Rock), Aifric Campbell (The Semantics Of Murder, The Loss Adjustor) and Samantha Harvey (The Wilderness) talk about their writing experiences.
Writer, Presenter and Broadcaster Stuart Maconie talks about his Adventures on the High Teas and that elusive ‘middle England’.
Poet Jo Bell and Novelist Jenn Ashworth come together in Too Much Information, ‘wise wicked and witty words from two lively writers’.
Some interesting comments from BIAD‘s Prof Chris O’Neil in the Post regarding how Birmingham’s creative industries could be best supported, including:
it isn’t just about investing in the creative industries, it’s about creating a home where the creative industries want to be. I think it’s about the environment and the infrastructure, creative industry and entrepreneurship – you can’t contain it, you can only create a place where it can flourish
