The project is being documented over on the Post-Industrial Revolution blog, introducing the artists involved and the research they’ve been doing. They also have a few events coming up in association with the final exhibition;
Artists’ Talk
Thursday 17 February 2011, 6.30 – 8pm
Eastside Projects, 86 Heath Mill Lane, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AR
For further information visit http://www.extraspecialpeople.org
Preview
Friday 18 February 2011, 6-9pm
The Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR
Admission free
Exhibition
Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 February 2011
Open Thursday – Sunday from 11am -6pm
The Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR
Admission free
Parent & Children Workshop
Sunday 27 February 2011, 11am-12.30pm*
The Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR
For more information, also check out their website.
This bronze sculpture of Sir Jacob Epstien’s 15 year old daughter has inspired the latest exhibition at The New Art Gallery Walsall, The Life of the Mind: Love, Sorrow and Obsession.
The exhibition opened last Friday, and is open until 20 March, curated by artists Bob and Roberta Smith, featuring an eclectic group of historic, modern and contemporary artists including Vincent van Gogh, Tracey Emin, Louise Bourgeois, Theodore Garman, Chris Ofili and Helen Chadwick.
…The Life of the Mind seeks to expose the myth of the great male artist who has special insight into the minds of his more frail female subjects… Each artist resists easy interpretation and in Bob’s word, “sticks a sharp pair of scissors into the soft underbelly of male hegemony”.
On 26 February at 2pm, Bob and Roberta Smith will also be in conversation, joined by artist Bobby Baker to discuss the ideas explored within the exhibition.
2011 will be welcoming Polish artists to Birmingham as they collaborate with British artists on Post-Industrial Revolution, a residency exchange project between industrial districts in Birmingham and Gdansk, Poland.
The project is in collaboration with the Lombard Method (Digbeth) and Wyspa Institute of Art (Gdansk, Poland), where the artist residencies and exhibitions will take place.
An exhibition from Polish artists, Kamila Szejnoch and MASH/HER/DIP, will take place at the Lombard Method from 18 February. The exhibition will showcase new work directly responding to the district of Digbeth, its historical and social context, produced during their month long residency from 15 January.
The comparisons between Digbeth and the Gdansk Shipyard as post industrial sites are of significance, each city has at some stage been deeply affected by the demise of industry, its movement abroad, and more recently the development of cultural and leisure industries in these former industrial areas.
The call for British artists will be announced in the new year, so keep an eye on their website and blog for more information and updates.
Fluid Space Arts launch a new exhibition, SEEN, on 17 December, in their new Jewellery Quarter residence at 32-35 Water Street Birmingham B3 1H.
Aiming to expose upcoming artists and designers, with the opportunity to network with local artists and share talent, the launch also offers an opportunity to buy original art pieces at their first artist market which takes place from 4pm – 8pm.
The official launch will take place from 6pm – 8pm, with a live art performance by Tru-Street Dance.
Gecko Arts and Media recently opened a new gallery in the Custard Factory’s Zellig building, specialising in the promotion and sales of Latin American art.
Their current exhibition showcases the work of Peru born artist Janet Mclelland, whose art portrays her upbringing and views of daily life, in search for a representation of motherhood.
On 16 December, Gecko are inviting visitors to the gallery to celebrate Janet’s work over some festive refreshments, from 6pm – 8pm.
The exhibition runs until 30 December and is open Monday – Saturday from 10am – 6pm. For regular updates take a look at their Facebook page.
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.
‘Language‘ is the latest offering from VIVID, opening on 2 December. The exhibition and events programme will explore the constructs of language and meaning from far reaching cultural perspectives.
The international selection of moving image, exhibition, discussion and print includes work from John Adams, William Burroughs, Barbad Golshiri, Gary Hill, Valerie Mréjen, Aura Satz, Guy Sherwin, Margaret Tait, and Olivier Zabat.
…the works cover four decades, spanning films which reflect the post-Structuralist theories of the 1970’s to documented actions and contemporary works newly commissioned by VIVID.
There’s a range of associated events including film screenings and performances within the programme, which can be viewed on VIVID’s site.
The exhibition is open until 18 December, when they’ll also be ending the season with a bang, hosting ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’. The “warped line up of winter horror, creepy electronica and spectral pop”, will include DJ sets from COLOUR, John Napier and Dan Le Trap.
Remember when we mentioned those huge birds painted on the side of Central Library? Well artist Lucy McLauchlan has been busy yet again, out in the cold with a group of volunteers jazzing up another part of the city, this time in Moseley.
The project is a result of both EC-Arts objectives to utilise redevelopments within transitional periods, and artist Lucy McLauchlan’s ongoing desire to create a positive impact with her work in the public realm.
Lucy has created ‘Come together’ a theme inspired by the Digbeth community. Her infamous bird murals depict ‘community’ to counterbalance the wasteland the site envelops.
As part of Inhabit‘s pop up arts and tearooms, Curator5 presents b-ART-er. Opening on 25 November, they’re taking over an empty shop in the Pavillions to showcase an exhibition with artists Michael Bold, Chris Clinton, Alex Lockett, Adam Radley, Lisa Roffey and Tim Stock.
The space will be filled with contemporary art including video, action, installation, and graffiti, used to represent the recent recession, revealing the fragility of the current economic system.
The project will ask how the economy can emerge stronger and work more sustainably, and see if there’s an economic utopia we can aspire to.
b-ART-er will be open to the public on Thursday 25 at 5pm – 7pm / Friday 26 & Saturday 27 at 9am – 6pm / Sunday 28 at 10:30am – 4:30pm.
Launching on 23 November is Ikon’s latest exhibition, a retrospective collection of work by Len Lye, featuring film, sculpture, painting and drawing.
Lye’s philosophy of ‘Individual Happiness Now’ – a belief in the possibility of ‘the best in human experience’ for all – is embodied by this exhibition; a testament to the simple joys that inspired him.
The launch evening on 23 November starts at 6pm, and includes a performance from Birmingham Conservatoire’s Percussion Ensemble at 8.15pm.
The following night on 24 November, Ikon will be holding a talk from 6-7pm with Len Lye Foundation curator, Tyler Cann, who’ll be discussing Lye’s work from animation to kinetic sculpture. Tickets for this are £3 and can be bought from the Ikon shop or by calling 0121 248 0711.
‘The Body Electric’ will be on display until 13 Febuary 2011 at Ikon Gallery, Brindley Place, which is open Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 6pm.
Since waving goodbye to Jennifer Tee, Eastside Projects now welcome the debut of ‘Memento Park’ from Carey Young. Launching on 26 November, the exhibition runs until 29 January.
Commissioned in conjunction with Cornerhouse, Manchester and mima, Middlesbrough, the exhibition surveys a decade of the artist’s practice, which focuses on the interconnections between economic systems, legal language and contemporary culture.
Transforming the Eastside space into three cinemas, Young’s videos Memento Park (2010), Uncertain Contract (2009) and Product Recall (2007) will be screened alongside further monitor based video works, a series of cameraless photographs, and three further text works which will complete the exhibition.
This new collection of work by Birmingham based artist Louis Sidoli, inspired by Andy Warhol, has taken the mugshots of twelve of the most notorious and iconic bad boys from popular culture.
The collection includes the likes of rock legends Mick Jagger and Kurt Kobain, Hollywood stars Frank Sinatra and Al Picino, plus gangster Al Capone.
A homage to 1960′s silkscreen portraits, Sidoli call the collection as “…a bit like Andy Warhol on steroids”.
Painter Carolyn Blake‘s latest exhibition Sense of Place/ Sense of Space is currently on display at Cornwall Street Chambers until 25 February 2011.
Curated by Jessica Farnham, the exhibition looks for new ways of rendering the everyday experience, from time spent traveling to work to working in the garden or sightseeing; each situation is imagined according to the artist’s own vision.
This booklet/ poster has also been produced to accompany the exhibition, which is an interesting read…
Sample 2 is the second exhibition from Sample, due to launch on 19 November at Zellig, and will be on display until 26 November.
The exhibition will feature artists from multiple disciplines, with each piece unified by a circular format.
The circular form shapes our very existence. From the atoms and cells which craft our being, to the huge globe we live on which orbits an enormous ball of fire. This cycle of life is the perfect example of design. Seamless. Unrelenting. Absolute. Complete.
