Mark Gonzalez is down at The Hubb in Sparkbrook on Sunday, with a performance in the evening and some masterclass sessions earlier in the day. Info via muslimwritersawards.org.uk.
Author Archive
Yesterday it was an Invisible City, today it’s a Hidden one:
The Hidden City’s aim is to create a database of stories that have helped shape the community we live and work in today
It’s basically a map with some nicely produced audio slideshows and very nice it is too. You can subscribe to updates via Twitter, the Tumblr or iTunes. Have an explore around. This one’s about The Drum:
The West Midlands Participatory Arts Forum are having a get-together on Friday. They’re planning to set out where the participatory arts sector in the West Midlands is now, and where it goes next.
There’s a flyer and a programme here, but I’m on a train at the moment and Chiltern’s wifi is blocking me from seeing them. What I do know is that there are still a few tickets up for grabs here.
Not yer usual call for artists this one. The Hippodrome are getting Smile to make an iPhone app that’ll be used to showcase live art around the city.
They’re looking to commission regional artists and designers to devise and produce a piece of live art that will be featured inside the iPhone app. It says here that inter-disciplinary collaboration is favourable.
The full brief is here. If you’re interested, you need to submit your idea by 8 Feb (that’s tomorrow). They’re only looking for 200 words and your contact details though, so it’s not too bad.
The flip-side to Digbeth Food Wastage is brumDished from 383 Project.
Voted 19th in the New York Times 45 places to go in 2012, Birmingham has been touted as the UK’s ‘foodiest town’. This site is curated by the good people of Brum, to show the good people of the world exactly what we’re eating.
is an independent film, music and publishing company producing and distributing film, music and books through new media.
There are a few things to discover on their site. From what I gather their main project (at least on the film side of things) is called Ugly and in Love (warning on the strong content), the extract from which was filmed at The Mitre in Stourbridge and features (unless I’ve got my wires crossed) Swampmeat’s Dan Finnemore.
Mapping The Landscape is the:
Day to day blog of Artist Paul Hirst as he creates new work on his art residency at the Bond in Birmingham
- Job listing for Trustee – Audiences Central
“Birmingham Museums Trust is seeking Trustees to take up the challenge of steering this new organisation (a trust to run the city’s nine museums sites) through its first few years and delivering our vision for a national museum in Birmingham” - InterFace 2012
InterFace is a symposium for humanities and technology. In 2012 it is being hosted by Birmingham Institute of Art and Design at Birmingham City University - IdeasTap | Creative Briefs: Fierce Festival Press Gang
If you’re aged 16-19 and fancy some experience in multimedia journalism this may be the gig for you. Not everybody has ‘interviewed a dachshund’ on their CV - Oxygen Rooms
Rehearsal and recording studios in Hockley - Flickr: “wagflickrmeet”
Wolverhampton Art Gallery hosted a Flickrmeet the other weekend. Not sure if there’s a page with more info but all the tagged photos are here - Turning Point West Midlands | Part of the Turning Point Network | Road Trip West Midlands – Artist and Writer wanted
“The commission will fund a visual artist and a creative writing to undertake a road trip in the West Midlands and to produce art work (visual art / creative writing) in response to this experience”
is a series of inspiring working sessions for ANY visual artists, photographers, writers, poets, musicians, filmmakers and any other creatives! Factory Nights is not a discussion event, seminar or workshop. Factory Nights are free sessions that simply provide an opportunity for creative people to come together in an interesting venue and supportive environment to make work or initiate ideas
The organisers are Rednile Projects and they’ve put out a call for “artists and anyone creative” for the next one:
Factory Night @ The Historic JA Crabtree & Co. Ltd. Factory (now the characterful Lyndon House Hotel), on Thursday 16th February 2012, 6-8pm . In collaboration with Multistory and The Crabtree Society
A little while back I linked to a questionnaire about Birmingham’s music scene that was doing the rounds. The report and a series of recommendations are now out.
For a bit of background, there’s this from Cllr Philip Parkin, Chairman of the Leisure, Sport & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee (who were responsible for the report):
Last year’s UK Music report, ‘Destination UK’, was the ‘most comprehensive study ever undertaken on the power of music as a tourist draw’ and the first of its kind to quantify the economic value of ‘music tourism’ to the country’s regions. It also laid down a challenge to public bodies, locally and nationally, to ‘realise the potential of this considerable economic asset’. And the Scrutiny Committee that I chair in Birmingham has responded to that challenge, coming up with a series of recommendations for city council approval – in our scrutiny report ‘Destination Birmingham‘ – that I hope will send out the clear message that we see popular music as being of huge importance to the cultural and economic life of our city.
You can download the Destination Birmingham report (PDF) here.
There are a series of recommendations on pages 8-10. I’ve not read the whole thing yet but will maybe, probably get round to it at some point. A quick flick through seems to suggest there are some interesting bits in there.
Music Birmingham
The recommendation picked up by the Birmingham Post is for the council to have a person able to act as a point of contact for studios, venues, promoters, producers and artists. Someone with:
the ability to bring together different departments and take responsibility for providing advice and support
That sounds like it could be alright. I remember hearing that Soweto Kinch’s Flyover Show (which is happening over in South Africa at the end of March and coming back to Brum on 11 August) stalled for years because of the difficulties with coordinating with so many parts of such a large council.
As a side point, it’s a very different thing, but it kinda reminds me of the discussions a few years back about whether Birmingham needs a Creative Director.
Celebrating our musical heritage
This was the other main recommendation highlighted in the preface:
It is also important that we do more to celebrate Birmingham’s rich musical heritage. Following the success of the Home of Metal exhibition, and in the year that Black Sabbath reform, we should celebrate Birmingham’s role in the origins of heavy metal. We should also be celebrating other music events and genres – bhangra and reggae also have their origins in Birmingham.
And don’t forget Duran Duran.
Thoughts?
If I’ve anything to add from the brief glance I’ve given the thing, it’s that there’s a lot about providing space and resources for archives and heritage and rather less about how conditions might be improved for the current/next generation.
Anyway, if you have a read of the report and Philip Parkin’s blog post I’d be interested in hearing what you think.
An interesting opportunity from Midland Heart:
The Spectacle Works provides affordable live/work accommodation tailor-made for designer makers and people in the creative industries who are starting up or already running their own business. It is based at Hylton Street in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and provides a rolling 3 year tenancy for people and their businesses before they move on to more permanent accommodation.
On the subject, The Lombard Method were advertising available studio space about a month ago.
художник на икониPolarbear was on Channel 4′s Random Acts last week.
Random Acts is a brand new short-form daily arts strand on Channel 4. Over the course of a year, it will showcase 260 specially commissioned three-minute films chosen for their bold and original expressions of creativity.
If you’re interested in spoken word stuff, you could do worse than make sure you’re on Apples & Snakes‘ mailing list.
Black Country Atelier is a 3D prototyping workspace. They also take design and architecture commissions and have just moved to the Jewellery Quarter.
I like the sound of their 3D printing workshops.
- 36 Hours – Birmingham, England – NYTimes.com
“In terms of respect, Birmingham is the undisputed Rodney Dangerfield of British cities”. Thank you? - New Birmingham Jazz Scheme: Stepping Up
Birmingham Jazz have got three £1,000 grants to support the writing, touring or recording of contemporary jazz - Walk of Fame for King’s Heath
“A Walk of Fame is to be created along York Road to celebrate King’s Heath’s musical and comic heritage” - Film and TV productions worth £10 million to Birmingham over just six months
Stephen Poliakoff drama Dancing on the Edge starring actors Matthew Goode and Chiwetel Ejiofor, has just finished filming in the city.
I’m not really one for reprinting press releases that are sent to me but I’ll make an exception. Here follows a message from Pete.
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I’m running a couple of courses which I hope will become regular monthly things.
The first is Matt and Pete’s Photo School (see poster)
Here we’re combining an academic approach to photography with the the practical peer learning of a Flickrmeet. As well as hobbyists we’re also looking to help those who can use photography better in their businesses or as a personal development course.
Through a combination of group teaching, personal goal setting, one-to-one mentoring and peer learning, Matt and Pete can help you become a better photographer, whether it’s for photos of your family or as a valuable business tool.
The first class in on Sunday Feb 6th at The Victoria from 12-5pm. The usual cost is £60 per head but we’re doing an introductory offer of £25 for February.
The second is Social Media Group Therapy (see PDF poster).
This is run with the Moseley Exchange and is aimed at the self-employed and small businesses who are having issues with their online activity. “Group therapy” isn’t just a joke. I think people’s problems, once unpicked, can be best be answered by those facing the same situations.
Social Media Group Therapy avoids the snake oil and magic beans of fly-by-night “experts” with a structured environment of peer learning led by someone who understands the pros and cons of the online world.
This course is on Tuesday March 6th at the Moseley Exchange from 6-8pm and costs £25 per person (£20 for Exchange members).
