Animation Forum WM have teamed up with Dice Productions and Flip Festival to bring three separate programmes of screenings of the best UK animated films of 2010 and 2011 to Birmingham. The shorts will be screened on Thursday 9th, Friday 10th, and Saturday 11th February from 7pm each night at The Custard Factory Theatre and you can vote to help determine the Public Choice winners.
New Year’s Eve. You either either love it or you hate it. Or you watch Jools Holland. Either way, there’s a lot going on in Birmingham to see in the new year, so here’s a NYE selection.
Not to be outdone, Birmingham City Council are putting on “low level pyrotechnics” in Victoria Square while the Big Screen will show the BBC One New Year Celebrations between 10pm and 12.30am.
The film was commissioned by THSH, with the support of the DMC McDonald Foundation, and was created by animator Chris Randall at Second Home Studios to a poem by Symphony Hall’s poet-in-residence Julie Boden.
Meanwhile, FAKE magaine‘s crowdfunding campaign to produce its second issue has just been extended until 13 October. You can donate to help them get it made on their Crowdfunder campaign page.
Here’s photographer Jonathan Cherry on his recent trip to Rohini, India:
I was in India for only two weeks & the majority of that time was spent in the 30-year-old sub city of Delhi called Rohini. It was a fascinating place to stay & apart from feeling a little out of place Rohini offers a beautiful sense of community. I was drawn into photographing the people of Rohini because of their openness. One wet and humid afternoon I walked to the nearest park where I watched some local boys play cricket. Within 5 minutes of being sat on a bench I was surrounded by 20 boys wanting to know where I had come from and what my name was. It was an interesting scenario because after these two questions we sat in silence for many minutes simply looking at each other. Experiencing their intrigue from my point of view was something I decided to use within my photography. By pointing my Hasselblad at people I no longer became the focus but my subject was drawn into the spotlight. It was an interesting dynamic and I plan to explore it further.
Tony Graffiti presents Keep Graffiti Real, Smoke Crack, Sign On… a graffiti exhibition at Green Street Arts. The exhibition launches on 14 October and will run through to 23 October.
…a house band, DJ Boogie Dave, Drop Beats Not Bombs along side DJ Rosko, as well as Emjay Ladie, DJ Punk N Ska with Justin Bond from Boogie Down Brum playing early rave and britpop.
I could never draw much more than a stick man on an Etch-a-Sketch but as part of The Big Draw, mac have been inviting people to show off their knob-twizzling skills and produce Etch-a-Sketch artwork for Re:sketch.
And the creativity hasn’t been restricted to the classic etch-a-sketch picture, as artists have been actively encouraged to paint and take apart their red framed tablets to create something new.
All of the artworks will be displayed in a public exhibition between 1-16 October and the deadline for submissions is 5pm, 27 September 2011, so there’s still time to get etching. For details on how to get involved, contact learning@macarts.co.uk.
It’s with a great deal of sadness that we have to announce BOXXED ceased trading on Monday the 19th Sept 2011. We’ve had fun and we hope everyone that experienced our unique space did too, but it’s time for us to bow out.
Massive thanks go to everyone that was part of our project, particularly Dave Checkley, Ksmk Neil, all the graff guys that painted our walls just for the love of it (especially Hoaks & Fluid), The Project Pigeon Crew and everyone that volunteered their time to help us out. You know who you are.
According to Digbeth is Good (hat-tip for posting about this originally), Project Pigeon, which is based on Boxxed’s Custard Factory grounds, will be unaffected for now and there will be a couple of closing parties at the venue to see it off in style. Inquiries should be directed to the Boxxed team on 07826 523 650.
Participants in the treasure trail will be given a set of starting co-ordinates to find using a mobile internet service or sat nav for a location with historic significance in Birmingham City Centre. When they go to the spot, they will find a costumed character with a historic link to the venue who will give them the location of the second clue and so on, until they have found four different re-enactors, each representing different periods of English history.
If you’re following the trail to find the fourth re-enactor, you’ll be entered into draws throughout the day to win family tickets to the Festival of History, which will feature re-enactments and things like a replica World WarI trench, a medieval joust, and a Victorian travelling show.
The trail will be open for one day only, this Saturday 9th July, and the starting co-ordinates for the trail are 52.479433, -1.906933.
This morning I attended a meeting about the BBC Big Screen ‘Live Sites’. The idea was that we’d have an opportunity to discuss with Arts Council and the gathered digital, media and cultural organisations how to use Birmingham’s Big Screen – currently situated in Victoria Square – in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games.
The main thrust of conversation was around how the screen can be used to engage people passing by as well as using it as a focal point for streaming live events or supporting live performances.
The first point to note is that the screen won’t simply be used as a big telly. As well as being able to screen video content, the screens are able to be used interactively using custom software and mounted cameras. This interactive content has included games such as cricket and quirkier ideas such as mapping animated masks onto the faces of passers by. Here’s an example:
As well as for use locally, content for the screens can be relayed around the other Live Sites in other areas of the country and can even be used for competitive interactive games and events between cities. Several ideas came out of the discussion included:
highlighting local cultural events with interactive performances
creating interactive games to be played nationally and internationally
and making innovative film content to showcase
Of particular note is the focus on dance in this region through the Arts Council’s Cultural Olympiad programme, predominantly the People Dancing strand of activities. This was an area in which creative projects using the screens would be welcomed, and although no direct funding is available from the Live Sites programme, ideas that used them and linked with Cultural Olympiad aims would be of interest.
Other points made included the upcoming dates of note, such as the Olympic torch relays in the region and the possibilities of events occuring during the Cultural Olympiad’s Open Weekend on 22-24 July this year, and how local organisations can get involved and contribute to the events.
So, in general, the big screen will be used for more than just BBC News 24. Let’s hope that our Live Site produces some especially creative content and showcases some of the region’s cultural highlights.
We’ve got a pair of tickets to see acclaimed comic and Fringe favourite Paul Sinha at Town Hall on Tuesday 23rd November up for grabs.
Here’s a little more about Paul:
Paul Sinha has spent much of the previous decade garnering rave reviews for his self-deprecating tales of his life as a GP, lovelorn gay bachelor, quiz fanatic and social coward. This year, he doesn’t want to discuss turning forty, because he has bigger fish to fry. A racist called him a racist. Paul would like to fight back.
‘Superbly crafted and erudite stand-up… highly recommended.’ ***** Scotsgay
‘This is one of the best written shows in Edinburgh right now.’ ***** The Skinny
‘Mesmerising… entertaining and thought provoking’ **** The Scotsman
‘Alluring mix of quick wit, self-deprecation and fierce intelligence’ **** Fest
‘Impressive… a breathless polemic relieved by sharp jokes.’ **** Chortle
‘Intelligent and bitingly radical… genuinely funny… enjoyable and uplifting.’ **** Broadway Baby
‘Fast-paced, surprising twists and laugh-out-loud punchlines’ **** Hairline
‘Paul Sinha is a star.’ **** Edinburghisfunny
‘A triumph…explosive punchlines and laser guided political asides.’ Independent On Sunday
‘Reassuringly intelligent and very funny’ Observer
To win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your name and we’ll pick one winner at random at 12noon tomorrow.
Graffiti artist Temper is exhibiting in Birmingham city centre from today with a collection called ‘Cut From A Different Cloth’. The exhibition was commissioned as part of Style Birmingham Live and features five of the world’s most famous fashion icons. Here’s some more info:
The collection, ‘Cut From A Different Cloth’ is being unveiled in Birmingham city centre on 30th June, as part of a commission by Retail Birmingham. The collection celebrates the world’s most famous fashion icons including Lee Alexandra McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Tom Ford and Coco Chanel and will be in place for three months throughout the summer.
A sixth portrait will be completed over the summer following a public poll on the Style Birmingham website, where visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite fashion designer of all time which will then be painted by Temper.
Just had word of a hip hop and b-boy dance double bill at mac on Friday. It’s part of BASS Festival and features UK hip hop dance champions Smash Bro’z and Miami’s Rudi Goblen. Here’s some blurb about the performers and performances:
Smash Bro’z new dance piece Fresh Genes depicts the journey and discovery of a young scientist who is on a mission to find a cure for the misrepresentation of Hip Hop in the UK. The scientists then discover a new gene – the ‘Hip Hop’ gene. West Midlands based Hip Hop dance collective Smash Bro’z recently won first prize in the 2010 UK Hip Hop Dance Championships.
Insanity Isn’t, written & Performed by US based Rudi Goblen tells the story of Acey who, whilst trying to sleep through the American dream instead wakes to an American nightmare. He finds himself plagued by financial burdens, media propaganda, religious beliefs, keeping up with the Jones’, and apocalyptic prophecies. B-Boy movements, rhyme, beat box and live music weave together his journey back to insane sanity.
Notable among the early posts is the gallery’s Summer Exhibition which will run until 7 July. The second part of the exhibition launched on Friday 11 June featuring artists Stuart Free, Cameron Galt, and Stephen Earl Rogers, and the final stage will showcase the sculptures of Laurence Broderick?, the artist responsible for ‘The Birmingham Bull’. who is also making limited edition bronzes of The Bull available for the first time in Birmingham at the gallery.
