Some of you may already be aware of Inhabit and their temporary, traveling tea shops. They held a small shop in Ladywood for ten weeks, but have since moved on to their next venture in Handsworth, which is due to open on 9 November.
The new shop will be located at 27 Grove Lane, and will have a string of free creative participatory events and the opportunity to work with commissioned artists on their projects set in the local community.
They’ll also be inviting local residents to drop by for tea and cake. Informal drop-in sessions will be held weekly on Tuesdays 11am – 2pm and Fridays 2pm – 6pm.
Look out for more info on Inhabit, as they’ll be setting up camp in other key wards around the city, along with the Pavillions towards the end of November.
For more information on the project, email Karen Meng or call 0121 236 1669
There’s a couple of poetry events coming up which may be of interest to those of you who like to get creative with words.
On 18 November the next Rhymes event, Meet the Laureate’s, is taking place at Margarett Rose Abri Cafe, Digbeth from 8pm.
Poets at this months event will be Roy McFarlane in one of his first outings as Birmingham’s new Poet Laureate and Jordan Westcarr, Birmingham’s phenomenally talented new Young Poet Laureate. Joining them will be Fatima Al Matar, Sean Colletti, and Andy Cook.
Take a look at their Youtube channel for an idea of what Rhymes is all about, tickets for this event are £5.
On 20 November the Spoken Word All Stars national tour is hitting Birmingham’s mac after launching earlier in the year at Latitude Festival.
Poet in the City and Apples & Snakes present a ‘spectacular evening of wall-to-wall words with an unflagging backbeat’, with the following selected All Star Cast…
Kate Tempest – Hellfiery powerhouse of socio-poetry
El Crisis – combines a hypnotic mixture of rap, spoken word, song and chant.
OneNess – Spoken-word Soulsista from Grenada
Kat Francois – Slamtastic, superphysical storyteller
Ventriloquist – Wordsmith wizard from the West
Jason Yarde – the King of improv Sax.
Tickets for this event are £9/ £6 and can be booked online.
International Project Space have launched a new programme of moving-image exhibitions beginning on 10 November and running through until 17 December. Curated by a selection of three invited curators, each has proposed a programme that draws on aspects of their current research.
ITWAN: curated by Jay Sanders
10 – 20 November (Opening reception 10 November)
a film document of an evening performance event at New York’s Sculpture Center collectively titled Inchoative Listening & Centerless Portrayal, featuring artists and musicians including Yuji Agematsu, Mother Earth, Tom Kovachevich, Tom Thayer and Circuit Des Yeux.
CRIPPLED SYMMETRY: curated by Christoph Gallois
24 November – 4 December (Opening reception 24 November)
Crippled Symmetry, borrows its title from a text by composer Morton Feldman in which he draws parallels between the form of his own musical approach and the dissymmetry found in woven carpets from the Middle East in which complex arrangements of space unfold.
EXODUS: curated by David Bussel
8 – 17 December (Opening reception 8 December)
Exodus brings together works by several artists and collectives who ‘investigate the meanings of and relations between (artistic) labour, thought and praxis.’
All Fired Arts is a new shop opening on 9 November in Kings Heath, selling locally produced artwork and commissioned pottery.
They’ll also be letting visitors get in on the action with ‘paint your own pottery’ drop in sessions, where they’ll provide you with all you need to paint, glaze and fire you own pieces of pottery in their 2 hour workshops. Sounds like great way to spend a miserable winter afternoon!
They’re holding taster demonstrations on 11 November at 3pm – 5.30pm and 13 November from 12pm – 4pm.
Capital‘s first Festival of New Writing is taking place at The Old Joint Stock between 22 – 27 November, bringing writers, actors and theatre makers together to celebrate developing work.
The festival will use the current political climate as a backdrop, offering an informal platform for participants to explore new work, ideas and audiences. They have also launched a competition asking ‘What’s your take on Cameron’s “Big Society”? Have you been affected by any of the issues raised?’, urging playwrights to create small plays about a big society.
To enter, take a look at the full details, and send your entry to catherine@capitalplays.co.uk by 5pm on Friday 12th November 2010.
For further information on events happening throughout the Festival, visit the Capital website.
Punch in collaboration with Apples and Snakes, present Tuned On, a development session for performance poets. The event will take place at mac on 20 November from 4 – 6pm.
Artists confirmed to appear on the panel are Kat Francois, OneNess, El Crisis and Chris Redmond, who will be led by Rob Taylor, discussing the creative business side of spoken word, along with their artistic journey and making a living as spoken word poets, before opening the floor to questions.
This will be a great opportunity to meet other members of the West Midland’s spoken word community, set up collaborations and find out about events and performance opportunities.
Tuned On is free to attend, RSVP to bohdan@applesandsnakes.org.uk
The Spotted Dog in Digbeth will be screening ‘Dawn’ by local filmmaker Lizzy Piffany on Thursday 4 November at 8pm.
Lizzy says;
Dawn is my Dorothy journey: the story of my adventure through danger and disappointment to realise my own magic, and find my way forwards to a new understanding of “home”.
Watch the trailer for ‘Dawn’ here.
On 8 November Turning Point West Midlands will be hosting Voice Your Vision at The New Art Gallery Walsall from 10am – 4pm.
With the opportunity to discuss and debate the future of visual arts in the West Midlands, this event aims to find and prioritize ways of strengthening the visual arts in light of recent cuts to the sector.
In these challenging times it is important that we play to our strengths that those in visual arts come together as a collective voice. Artists are at the heart of Turning Point West Midlands and we hope you, along with arts organisations – studios, galleries and museums, come together to discuss and steer the way forward for the visual arts strategy within the region.
The event is free and refreshments will be served. To confirm your attendance email: jane.morrow@bcu.ac.uk
Birmingham based artist Rubina Bibi will be exhibiting a collection of her new work in Central Library as of today, until 18 December.
She’ll be raising money for The Pakistan Floods Appeal, and will be around for discussions on 11 December from 2 – 4pm.
Women & Theatre are currently recruiting a community cast for The Palace of Wasted Dreams, set to take place at mac in the spring of 2011. This participatory musical theatre project explores women’s relationship with alcohol, and is the culmination of a two-year project called Wasted.
Women & Theatre are holding a development weekend on 6 and 7 November at mac from 11am – 4pm, where you can find out more about the project. After previewing some of the scenes and songs you’ll have the opportunity to sign up as part of the cast. It’s not an audition, and you don’t need to have any previous experience – a perfect chance to try something new for 2011 perhaps?
All they ask is that you can dedicate the time and commit to rehearsal and performance dates, which can be found over on their website.
If you’d like to get involved in the production, both on stage or back stage, contact Pippa Frith on 0121 440 4203 or email pippafrith@womenandtheatre.co.uk
This is a bit of a late mention, but if you fancy getting your hands on some local artwork, The White Horse pub in Harborne are hosting this charity auction event, Cold ‘Arted, from 6pm tonight in aid of Shelter.
They’ll be displaying artwork which will be for sale, along with the live auction from 7.30pm, followed by music from Blue Illusion at 9pm.
