Created 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”

• 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.

• Twitter / @TheCBSO: Big congratulations to our …
  Congrats to Paul Keene from THSH who won Concert Hall Manager of the Year at the Association of British Orchestras Awards
• Dine Birmingham survey
  A quick survey for Dine Birmingham with the chance to win £30 off a Valentine’s Day meal
• Poets’ Place
  “an informal gathering of poets, writers and performers. An opportunity to meet like-minded people, give and solicit feedback, or just sit in a corner and write for two hours. Organised by Birmingham Libraries and Apples & Snakes”
• The Hidden City – Networking Launch – 1 Feb 2012
  “The interactive map of Birmingham highlights a database of stories, past or present, that are hidden away within our community – these can be related to Music, Arts, Culture, Science… anything!”

• John Madin, RIP
  “John Madin, the architect behind Birmingham’s Central Library and many more buildings in the city, has died”
• IdoXinY
  Mark Steadman’s made a lightweight freelance directory. If you do [x] in [y] and are available for hire then maybe add your details (think you’ll need a Twitter account to do so)
• What do we do with all these Brummies? – London Evening Standard
  Glad this is online – I was reading it over someone’s shoulder on the tube the other day. Quite funny.
• Traditional pantos pack in audiences
  Interesting to see some of the figures behind the pantos. Includes quotes from Birmingham Hippodrome (you’ll need to register to read it)
• Marseille + Hang Fire | The Roadhouse Birmingham
  I don’t usually give touring bands a mention but I’ll make an exception. Neil Buchanan (from Art Attack) is a guitarist in a heavy metal band called Marseille. They’re playing at The Roadhouse at the end of March
• CBSO collaboration with Sir Anthony Hopkins released on CD
  “Sir Anthony joined the orchestra on stage during the summer to introduce a performance of his original compositions and scores from some of his best-known films”. The CD’s coming out via Classic FM
• Digital R&D Fund for Arts and Culture, analysis of applications – Chris Unitt’s blog
  Lots of applications to this fund from around Birmingham/West Mids. None successful

• Eastside Projects Hosting: What is Art? Charity event at St Basils 13/01/12
  Organised by ESP member Kartal Uppal, this evening will look at and debate the question; What makes something Art? With contributions from Gavin Wade (Director, Eastside Projects), Tyler Cann (Curator, Ikon Gallery) and Cathy Wade (Artist and Lecturer)
• Things Team Fierce looks forward to in 2012. . . | Fierce Festival
  Lots of good stuff, with plenty happening around Birmingham
• Sarah Ray illustration: Screenprinting workshops
  Learn to make your own cards, posters or whatever. Silkscreen printing always looks to me like being a very satisfying process
• Flatpack Festival founder: Ian Francis
  A decent little interview
• Follow the Dancing for the Games projects online
  Loads of links to the projects that are part of the Dancing for the Games programme
• Aga | Luthien Photography
  Kamila’s been shooting around Digbeth (via Digbeth is Good)
• Birmingham NYE 2012 fireworks
  Sounds like things went a little wrong. If you’d read our New Year events round-up you’d have known to expect ‘low level pyrotechnics’

• Bread&Circus
  “Bread & Circus is a distraction of two Birmingham based designers. Posting travel, design, fashion, music and food.” Claire Hartley (who helped make CiB look like it does) and Gavin Auty got a blog
• Meet DANANANANAYKROYD | THE FLAPPER | BIRMINGHAM, UK
  I missed this back in July, but Vice recorded some live footage at The Flapper and some interviews at Star City
• Fish Fight Included in App Store Rewind 2011 – ‘The Best of the Year’ | Clusta
  Good stuff from Clusta

This’ll be the last post of 2011. See you in the new year for more fun and japes.

• Tributes to former Birmingham Repertory Theatre chairman Andy Allan
  A former chairman of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre who guided the venue through the controversial staging of a play which led to riots in 2004, has died at the age of 68.
• Briefing Document « Stan’s Cafe Theatre Company
  From: ACE Dance and Music, Big Brum, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Birmingham Arts Partnership , Birmingham Jazz, Punch, Sound It Out, Stan’s Cafe, Women and Theatre. To: Birmingham City Council
• Gil Heron
  Gil Scott Heron’s dad played for Kidderminster Harriers. That nugget from John Mostyn, via Sam Slater
• Introducing this year’s patron saint : Flatpack Festival
  “he appeared in more Laurel and Hardy films than anyone else, as well as writing gags, building sets and working with the likes of Abbot and Costello, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. He grew up in Ward End, Birmingham”
• Straina – 21st Century Fox
  This video was filmed around Birmingham and the German markets at the beginning of December
• Poorly Collected Works 2010-11 eBook: Jon Bounds: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
  A collection of writing by Jon Bounds from various sources
• Opportunity for new studio members at The Lombard Method
  “We have 3 studio spaces available to rent at The Lombard Method” Only £80/month

• Shared Creative Studio Space Birmingham
  “A small digital agency are currently looking at subletting desk space to like-minded individuals, or a small team.” Based in Fazeley Studios and sharing with good people
• Business case for the £5m Creative Industries Fund
  This is the FBC from BCC for the CIF that’ll complement the BLF and EF, with shout-outs to FB, the CAF, LEP and ERDF (via Dave Harte)

• Make Your Voice Heard – City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – “What have the cuts meant to the CBSO? […] to balance the budget this year, we had to cut staff and costs, reduce education activity and remodel our concerts”. After the open letter from the MAC, here’s the CBSO
• The Other Way Works – We are recruiting Board Members | The Other Way Works
  “The Other Way Works is currently recruiting Non-Executive (voluntary) Directors to join its Board of Directors.” Not sure if I should disclose that I’m on their board, but I will just in case. There are some great plans coming up for 2012
• Beside the B-side: The Lilac Time: ‘Street Corner’
  “Street Corner is what it was like to grow up in the West Midlands in the 70s”.
• The Old Wharf Closes. | Digbeth is Good
  “after five years Dave & Michelle have sadly taken the difficult decision to leave.  Finer hosts of the old school variety you couldn’t wish to meet”. Midge’s send-off to The Old Wharf
• Massive Attack vs Burial – Paradise Circus
  I can’t see this soundtracking the proposed redevelopment so well
• Network Music Festival « A hi-tech musical weekender // 27-29 January 2012
  A weekend of hi-tech musical performances, installations, workshops and talks where networking is central to the aesthetics, creation or performance practice of the work.

• Urban Buildings • Redevelopment, Redesign, Rediscovery
  A site covering the construction works going on in Birmingham (and further) also looking at old/derilict buildings
• Galleries Night – On the Art Bus
  Art, bus, art, bus, art, bus, etc. With bonus wine and mince pies. This is tonight and features the Barber Institute, Mac, Ikon, Eastside Projects and RBSA galleries
• P110HD’s Channel – YouTube
  “Specialising in urban media. Based in Birmingham”
• Birmingham Loves Photographers
  BLP have a shiny new website
• Connecting Innovation
  A report by Steve Harding which addresses these themes of cross innovation and that kind of thing in the context of Birmingham. One for the policy heads.

• @kismetkotch
  “A new arts hub based in Eastside, at club PST”. Don’t know much else about this one just yet
• My kind of town: Birmingham | Travel | The Guardian
  “Who better than an underground club promoter to sniff out the best shopping, food, bars and parties in Birmingham?” Odd that the photo caption says ‘outside Rooty Frooty’
• TEDxBrum – The Next Revolution
  As we draw closer to the big day, this page will be where you can find information of the days schedule, where we’ll be and what to look forward to
• Gay Village Guide Birmingham
  There’s one of those little Area guide things for the Southside/Gay Village area
• Hello Culture 2011
  Pics, slides audio and video from last week’s event
• 166 photographic jobs go as Doubletake Studios in Birmingham city centre collapses
  The 166 workers, including make-up artists and photographers, were based at the studios in Mary Ann Street, off St Paul’s Square
• Identity Drama School Annual Showcase
  Identity Drama School Birmingham presents a powerful collection of hard-hitting, yet often humorous monologues, duologues and original plays drawing inspiration from a wide portfolio of contemporary playwrights, performed by Identity Drama School actors at The Drum Theatre in Birmingham
• Sculpture Commission opportunity
  We are seeking expressions of interest from artists or designers with experience of public art projects, ideally with experience of working in healthcare settings and with at least three years of graduate experience
• 5 Books for Birmingham history, heritage and architecture buffs « Birmingham Conservation Trust
  “Over the last couple of years some of our volunteers have highlighted and reviewed a range of books that might make great presents for heritage enthusiasts”
• Nude show where naked dancers sit in lap of audience to spearhead Birmingham International Dance Festival
  Fairly tragic piece by the Sunday Mercury but then this is the kind of publicity that means the show’ll sell out, so good on them (kinda). And anyway, they clearly haven’t heard the half of it
• Eastside Projects Public Evaluation Event
  “From 27 to 29 October, Eastside Projects in Birmingham, UK held a three day symposium to analyse and evaluate three years of an artist run space as public gallery”. The videos are online, I just wish they had titles
• Open File
  Open File is a curatorial conversation between artist Jack Brindley and curator Tim Dixon. The project began as a blog in February 2011. Launching at Grand Union this November 18th, the project will exist as an on-going series of live events, an open and expanding cumulative publication, and a new web-based archive and resource

• Yam Big Richard
  Richard’s DJing, hacks, collages and write-ups from events
• Warwick Bar
  A website for Minerva Works, the small industrial estate in Digbeth currently home to Grand Union Studios, Fazeley Park, Street Print and Clifton Steel
• Fast Forward – 6.8 million items in our collections! Phew « Museum Network Warwickshire
  Fast Forward 2010, the 6th bi-annual survey of West Midlands museums. In all, 170 of you participated, 79% of all our museums! Covering organisational health, collections, and users, it is a wide-ranging and detailed picture of museum provision throughout the West Midlands in 2010
• The Event, Various venues, Birmingham – Reviews
  A review of The Event in the Independent
• BASS FESTIVAL 2012- Commissions NOW OPEN!
  To mark the 50th anniversary of Jamaican Independence and to welcome the Jamaican Olympic team to Birmingham BASS will have JAMAICA as its theme in 2012
• Dancing for the Games | Blog | Moving Earth open workshops
  sampad‘s Dancing for the Games project Moving Earth is holding open workshops in Birmingham on Saturday 26 November.
• Michael’s Animation blog
  Michael Price is studying animation at BCU
• BBC Performing Arts Funds announce fellowships
  The BBC Performing Arts Fund announced recently that 13 dance organisations across the UK had been awarded a grant as part of its Dance Fellowships scheme, including ACE Dance and Music and Warwick Arts Centre’s Boys Dancing
• “Long-Eared Furry Things” – blog – frilly
  Bunnies, generally
• Eastside Projects Public Evaluation Event
  “From 27 to 29 October, Eastside Projects in Birmingham, UK held a three day symposium to analyse and evaluate three years of an artist run space as public gallery”. The videos are online, I just wish they had titles
• Open File
  Open File is a curatorial conversation between artist Jack Brindley and curator Tim Dixon. The project began as a blog in February 2011. Launching at Grand Union this November 18th, the project will exist as an on-going series of live events, an open and expanding cumulative publication, and a new web-based archive and resource

• Autumn Glory reviews « Birmingham Royal Ballet’s tour blog
  This is good – an even-looking spread of reviews from BRB’s recent tour (from both big newspapers and individual tweets) with links through to the source
• Open Studio at Birmingham Printmakers
  “At Birmingham Printmakers we are holding an Open Studio on Saturday 26th November from 10am to 4pm”
• Living Books Wanted! for Fierce Festival 2012
  We are looking for people to take part in a unique performance project that will involve the step-by-step memorisation of an entire book. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a memory expert and no performance experience is necessary, but you will need a passion for stories and an interest in developing performing skills
• Birmingham’s Theatre-ish Christmas Party – 14 December « mid * point
  “Everyone connected with the wider world of theatre in Birmingham and beyond is invited to share a night together. Cheap bar and dancing…Chill out room and conversation…Cabaret stage and laughter…Basic food and sophisticated company!
  This event is being organised collaboratively. If you wish to contribute, please tell us. If you plan on coming and bringing people, an RSVP would help.” Details via the link
• More detail on the BBC Birmingham losses « D’log
  More details on the losses at BBC Birmingham. I had no idea all those shows are/were made here.
• Television Drama Studio Campaign – Equity
  Equity are campaigning to save BBC Birmingham and establish another large television studio in the region. If you use the form letter you may want to use a spellchecker.
• Arts Council condemned for spending millions on The Public, in West Bromwich
  “The Public is a clear example of a project where the execution did not reflect the original vision.”
• Moseley Record Fair in its Twelfth Edition – Domestic City
  This is from Ross Cotton’s blog
• Fashiny blogger mingle | Fashiny
  Fashiny (a fashion-related tech start-up based at Birmingham Science Park) recently held a get-together for some local fashion bloggers
• Notes from Producer Discussions and Forums during First Bite « mid * point
  I was saying the other day how the West Mids theatre lot seem to have got their online act together recently. I’ve certainly hearing about more about that kind of thing recently.

• An Announcement from Audiences Central – Audiences Central
  “It is with great sadness that the Board of Audiences Central announces that Audiences Central will cease trading on 31 March 2012.” A victim of the cuts
• Anna Mairi; writing for writing.
  Anna is an English Lit student UoB English Lit student, among other things. This is her blog.
• Online survey for bands/musicians/DJs
  “This is a survey to support the conceptualisation of a local music platform. It is a student project of mine within the Music Industries course at BCU”
• Lots Of Things To See And Do In The West Midlands – November 2011
  From Rihanna to the Supreme Show of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy and everything in between
• The Cult of Quatermass | Sponsume
  AAS are doing the crowdfunding thing
• Jaskirt Dhaliwal’s Blog | photographer and visual artist – still thinking of a good title…
  This is Jaskirt’s blog with, amongst other things, a load of photos from The Event, including Curate Me Out, which may have been recorded. If the video goes up anywhere, please let me know
• Birmingham Printmakers: New work by Jo Ruth and Sue Halstead
  At Number 8 Community Arts Centre from 17 November
• News: Birmingham Opera Company
  “You’re invited to join us and find out more about the company and how to get involved in our next production Life is a Dream which will premiere in Birmingham in 2012.”
• Autumn Glory reviews « Birmingham Royal Ballet’s tour blog
  This is good – an even-looking spread of reviews from BRB’s recent tour (from both big newspapers and individual tweets) with links through to the source
• Open Studio at Birmingham Printmakers
  “At Birmingham Printmakers we are holding an Open Studio on Saturday 26th November from 10am to 4pm”

• New BBC sitcom Citizen Khan: Set in Birmingham, filmed in Manchester
  The Radio 4 show was pretty funny, nice to see this continued
• Tourism tax could help pay for Birmingham’s Creative City
  There’s been a lot of ‘could’ around this week and a distinct lack of ‘will’. No wonder people are losing faith/patience/respect
• Launch: Black Country Cinemas & Black Country Theatres
  “These two books describe every cinema and theatre that has existed in the Black Country and surrounding area. They are illustrated and cover the architectural and “human” aspects of every venue.” With forewords by Ken Dodd and Julie Walters.
• Fibre Flurry Event
  Fibre Flurry is a fibre and hand-craft event held at St Nicolas Place, a 15th Century building on Kings Norton Green, South Birmingham
• Animating Digbeth: a student project | Digbeth is Good
  There’s a lot of interesting stuff in this post
• A Digbeth “palimpsest” | Digbeth is Good
  “an auditory site survey for the complex and characterful area of canals in Digbeth, Birmingham”