I mentioned Dribbble in a talk recently. It’s a site for designers, developers and others to show off small screenshots of the designs and applications they’re working on. Nice idea, terrible name.
Here are the Birmingham people.
Archive for December, 2010
Brightspace in association with mac are holding a two day Creative Careers Festival for 13-18 year olds on 28 & 29 January 2011.
Covering everything from fashion, photography, architecture and design to filmmaking, music, dance and theatre, the festival will allow students and teachers to explore creative careers and the routes into them.
Students will have the option to book into sessions catering specifically to their interests. Through a programme of workshops, demonstrations, seminars, mentoring and networking opportunities, and panel discussions with industry professionals, students will be able to find out what opportunities are available within the creative sector.
The event is free, and booking is now open. Take a look at the sessions running and find out how to book via the Creative Careers website.
They’re also looking for a team of volunteers to help out during the festival. If you’re over 18 and fancy it, find out more and how to apply online.
New design images of the Library of Birmingham have been released, showing the first look at what we can expect from the central rotunda (top) and the outdoor amphitheatre.
Operating as a main focal point of the building, the central rotunda features a breathtaking wall of books across several floors, with the image showing an improved environment with user-friendliness at its core. Wide travelators and escalators provide links between floors, while spacious public areas are flooded with natural light.
The outdoor amphitheatre, meanwhile, promises to become a hugely popular feature of the new building upon completion. Accessible from the music and children’s sections of the Library of Birmingham, the amphitheatre will provide the perfect space for outdoor performance and activity which can be viewed by onlookers in the above Centenary Square.
Due to open in 2013, over the next year the library aims to complete the construction of the concrete frame, the installation glazing, and the application of the distinctive frieze.
The next peak at the Library’s interior will also come in the new year, as a ‘flythrough’ video is to be released, offering the most in depth look so far inside the Library of Birmingham.
RoguePlay are drawing 2010 to a close with “an awkward gathering of the RoguePlay family”, including all their regular events Rhymes, Notes and our Comedy Cabaret troupe, Funbags.
Jingle Bells is taking place on Saturday 11 December from 7pm at New Life Baptist Church, Kings Heath High Street.
Entertainment will be provided by a variety of performers, including music from Irene Aserie, David Sol and Zoidberg, comedy from Lady Josephine Whittle and Darla Daygwar, improvisation from The Funbags Comedy Cabaret and The Young Actors Company, Shakespeare from ElliNoire Midhani and spoken word From Sean Colletti, Andy Cook & Lorna Meehan.
For update announcements and more information on the line-up, visit the Facebook page. The event is free, but donations will be welcomed as part of RoguePlay’s fundraising,
Highstreet stores may be filling their shelves with mass produced Christmas cards at the moment, but some of our favourite Birmingham based designers have been busy bees making their own festive designs.
Claire Hartley‘s hand illustrated cards are priced at £6 for a pack of three different designs.
Abigail Borg‘s letterpress cards – ‘Daphne’s Pinecone’ – are priced at £2.99 each, or £7.99 for a pack of 3.
Stephie Says‘ polar bear and reindeer cards are priced at £4 a pack, or £2 each.
Ruth Green‘s hand printed cards come in packs of 5, and has four designs to choose from. Each pack is £5 each.
Night Owl‘s hand drawn cards include four different designs, and can be be bought separately or as a pack for £4.55.
Emma Hardicker‘s silkscreen printed cards come in a variety of designs and colours, priced at £14 for a pack of 5.
Jo Ruth‘s ‘Spirit of Birmingham’ charity cards are £5 and come in packs of 8.
‘As we dream’ is the latest project to utilise Inhabit‘s Handsworth based tearoom as part of their ‘Vacant Spaces, Vibrant Places’ programme.
The project, by Charis McNelvin, opens today, and explores well being and mental health through a site specific installation featuring found objects, illustrations and moving image.
Charis, together with Hybrid, will be conducting open workshops on 14 and 15 December, creating new work from 10am-3pm with visitors.
The ‘As we dream’ installation will be open Mon – Fri, 10am – 3pm until 16 December. For more information, email charis_mc@hotmail.com
So news of next years Flatpack Festival has arrived, and it looks like there are a few treats in store. Along with their usual eclectic mix of film, animation, prize-winning documentaries, multi-media performance and interactive projections, they’re got a few novelties up their sleves.
The promise of a 22 seater vintage mobile cinema, a Friday night Drive-In, live scores and late night parties sounds like a pretty exciting prospect to me.
Personally i’m looking forward to catching this perfectly restored 1960′s Vintage Mobile Cinema which will be touring the city screening a range of shorts, home-movies and archive clips.
Following the success of this years Invisible Cinema tour of original 1930s art deco Odeons, 2011 will uncover more of Birmingham’s finest cinema heritage, including ex-picturehouses and forgotten celluloid landmarks. They also have an exhibition of images from disused cinemas planned.
Here’s a few other things they’ve got lined up;
Prostitute – on the eve of its re-release, Tony Garnett revisits his 1980 drama Prostitute, partly shot in Balsall Heath, a few years before community action shut down the local red light district.
Loft in Translation – screenings in partnership with MACE’s Full Circle project, which encourages people to retrieve home-movies from their attics.
Archive Revival - Artists and filmmakers who appropriate and repurpose archive material including work by Thom Andersen, Duncan Campbell and Peter Tscherkassky.
Other confirmations – 1992 video diary In Bed With Chris Needham, a vivid snapshot of an adolescent metalhead in Loughborough; the UK premiere of Shadow Shows, an experiment in surreal horror created by Pram and Film Ficciones; and Every Minute Always, an immersive sound piece using headsets in a cinema, inspired by Brief Encounter.
The full programme will be announced in February 2011, so keep an eye on their website and blog for more updates.
White Horse Harborne are holding their second Christmas Bazaar on Thursday 9 December. They’re giving visitors the delight of picking up some locally produced gifts throughout the day and into the night, starting at 12 noon on to 11pm.
They’ll have an array of artwork, photography, craft, fashion and jewellery, along with a Christmas BBQ – perfect for keeping toastie.
If you happen to have work which you’d like to sell or display at the bazaar, get in touch with shelli.graham@gmail.com
After a great year, raising over £9,000, OxjamBrum are ending 2010 on a high by teaming up with Moseley Folk Festival to present a Chrsitmas Ceilidh on 17 December.
The evening will take place at Moseley All Services Club, from 7:30 – 11:30pm, with entertainment provided by Cut The Mustard, who’ll be performing some Ceilidh classics.
Tickets are £4 which can be bought online or on the door. All proceeds of course going to Oxfam.
Here’s your weekly round up of creative jobs and opportunities which have been posted on Jobplot in the past 7 days.
Jobs:
- Talented PHP/MySQL Developer (£20-30K), The Higgs Design Co.
- Arts Promoter, Gecko Programmes
- Media Assistant, Gecko Programmes
- Print and Graphics Assistant, Gecko Programmes
- Graphic Designer, Gecko Programmes
- Admin Assistant, Gecko Programmes
Opportunities:
- Studio share, River Studio
If you’re a film maker, photographer, artist, sound engineer, web designer, writer, radio presenter, arts organisation or whatever then get yourself listed on Jobplot.
The Big Give helps to boost the amount of money given to other charities. They have double-your-donation challenges once in a while and one of those kicks off today (supported by Arts & Business).
Around Birmingham there are a couple of projects to back:
- The MAC are looking for just over £15m to cover building costs
- Birmingham Royal Ballet are after £800,000 for their staging of Cinderella
Actually, neither of these are very clear. Cinderella opened a few days back and is on until 12 December. The MAC seem to be after twice as much as The Big Give made as a whole last year, although you can’t fault the ambition.
Just to widen the net a little to the rest of the West Mids, Ironbridge, The Courtyard and Pentabus all have appeals. Of those with a national focus, Dance Umbrella and The Campaign for Drawing are looking for donations.
UPDATE
The MAC’s own website says they’re after £6k, not £15m.
The winter salon show from the resident artists at The Works, Jubilee Trades Centre opens on 14 December from 6-9pm, with drinks, nibbles and an opportunity to meet the artists. The exhibition will continue to be open from 15 – 19 December.
They’ll have a range of artwork on sale, including paintings, drawings and photography at prices to suit every pocket. For more info on the artists, take a look at The Works Artist Collective.
The gallery is in The Jubilee Trades Centre, 130 Pershore Street, and will be open 12-4pm daily. Weekend visits are by appointment, which can be arranged by calling 07930325358.
Artists in residence at The New Art Gallery Walsall, a.s.s., are inviting you to join them for 1 hour sleeping sessions as they experiment with lucid dreaming in The Cage.
Sessions are taking place at 12 noon and 2pm today, next Sunday 12 December and 14 December, and teams of sleepers will attempt to meet up in The Other Place. They also have a few bits of information on lucid dreaming on The Other Place blog.
During the lucid dream training we will be building on this by attempting to dream collectively, trying out different methods and making notes and drawings based on this. We will be explaining and preparing for lucid dreaming beforehand, and discussing experiences afterwards.
If you’d like to participate, make sure you wear comfortable clothes and arrive half an hour before the session’s due to start. Find out more about a.a.s. events and experiments on the website.
The Electric Cinema are holding another poster sale today from 12 noon – 2pm.
With a selection of quad size posters available, there’s something for all film enthusiasts, ranging from mainstream to more limited releases, with some classic re-release posters available for the memorabilia collectors.
Plus you needn’t feel guilty splashing out on posters, since 50% of the proceeds will be donated to film director Mark Cousins. The money raised will be spent on musical instruments for the Iraqi Children who featured in his documentary The First Movie.
Craftspace‘s mobile exhibition unit, Curious About Crafts, will be visiting Harborne this Saturday, accompanied by Mrs Smith, who’s on the hunt for areas of Harborne that are in need of a little extra love an attention.
Mrs Smith, a keen knitter and sewer, began her interventions whilst out on her daily walks. She started to notice things in the street that looked a little forlorn and in definite need of a bit of a boost.
Armed with woolly hats for the railings, cushions for bus shelters and jolly outfits and accessories for statues, she’s been keeping her neighborhood warm and brightening up everyone’s day by earning herself a reputation as the Banksy of the crafts world.
Now she has plans to spread some of her skills across Harborne, and wants some suggestions of woeful public spaces in need of her attention when she returns next year.
A ballot box will be at the Curious About Craft touring unit parked on Harborne High St, on the corner of St.Johns Rd, next to Sainsbury, where visitors will also have the opportunity to get involved in some crafts on the day.
You can also post you suggestions to the Craftspace Facebook page and Twitter
