Created in Birmingham

• Nirvana – Lithium – Birmingham 1991 – YouTube
  Footage from The Hummingbird (now Birmingham Ballroom). There are a few more here too
• Interactive/film and video artists wanted – The Public
  The Public are currently inviting interactive artists and artists working in film and video to submit work to two unique open exhibitions, taking place early 2012.
• Supersonic Festival picks | I Am Pete Ashton
  Supersonic kicks off today. It all looks good, but if you want recommendations then Pete (and some commenters) have got em. And here’s the non-musical stuff that’s happening
• Play More
  “This is the temporary page for the newly created Birmingham based arts collective Play More; a group of artists who aim to promote play one ridiculous event at a time.”
• Activating Contemporary Circus in the West Midlands « mid * point
  Birmingham Hippodrome invite you to join leading practitioners to explore
  creatively how we can develop a future for contemporary circus in the region
• All together now – AMA Commons
  I thing I wrote for the Arts Marketing Association about online collaboration and mentioning a few Birmingham-based case studies

• Clarendon.
  An occasionally Birmingham-ish photo Tumblr
• CMYKern v2
  New look for the design/print/illustration blog
• All new hippo show
  From Chu: “It documents the beginnings of Walsall Youth Arts, who I ended up working for during the start of my painting career”. You’ve got to watch this
• Construction Manager – Here’s the twist
  “The huge concrete structure that forms Birmingham’s new library, with its spectacular internal atrium, challenged the very rules governing frame design”. Truth be told, I don’t understand much of this article but it’s pretty fascinating all the same
• TMA Regional Networking Meeting « mid * point
  The TMA is holding a free networking event for those involved in professional theatre and the performing arts in the Midlands.

• 7inch October listings
  “a list of interesting things happening around Birmingham over the next 31 days or so”. You should definitely sign up to their newsletter
• Turning Point West Midlands | Visual Art and Craft in the West Midlands
  A run-down of the venues, collections, festivals, schools and artist support programmes, as well as ways of buying the stuff
• Radio Birmingham audio slideshow
  This audio slideshow was produced by Pete Simpkin, and used when he gave talks about the work of Radio Birmingham in the 1970s
• K4 Architects designs £50m Birmingham fire station revamp | News | Building Design
  A big, average-looking tower. Splendid.
• Imperica – Celebrating imperfection
  Interview with Antonio Roberts
• Creative England opens for business
  Congrats to Maverick TV’s Jonnie Turpie on being among the first seven people appointed to the board
• Dub to Jungle Documentary – YouTube
  Video about Punch’s recent tour with an interview with Ammo Talwar (among others)
• Dear Mr Whitby – Raw Data Now : daveharte.com
  “What really got me irritated today is Councillor Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council, bleating on about Birmingham getting marginalised when he could actually do something to help Birmingham become a thriving centre of digital creativity.” Everyone loves a rant
• Department for Culture Media and Sport – lottery grants search
  Related to the previous link (sort of). Oh look, a big list of National Lottery grants given to Birmingham arts projects over the years
• Bank of England to launch new £50 note
  “Inventor James Watt and his financial backer Matthew Boulton to feature on new £50 note, to be issued on 2 November”

• Custard Wednesdays Launch Event – Eventbrite
  “You are invited to come along to the official launch of this exciting new approach to film exhibition and distribution. We’ll be running live film events and screenings every Wednesday from 5th October. Join us as we share our vision for a community-run cinema and find out how you can host your own cinema nights for fun and profit.”
• The Brummie news and blogs
  The Brummie dynamically generates aggregated content from other external website feeds in date and time order

• Dance blogs in the West Midlands
  If you like dance, these are the blogs to follow
• Tindal Street Press’s summer ebook success | Tindal St Press
  “This summer the clear genre appeal of a regional crime novel and a summer beach romance have reached more readers than we could have expected”. Nicely done.
• Iona Waite awarded BBC Dance Fellowship « ACE dance and music
  Congrats to Iona
• Home is where the Art is: Progressive Birmingham
  “‘Birmingham Faces and Places’ is a late nineteenth century publication celebrating the great and the good in Birmingham, people and places. I talked to Dr Andy Green about ‘Faces and Places’ and Birmingham in the late nineteenth century, when it was granted city status, and attempting to define itself as a modern, progressive city.”
• (All) Night at The Museum: 24 hour usage – it could make sense « Museum Network Warwickshire
  BMAG “are opening their Collections Centre for a ‘led’ overnight creative writing session”
• Dramaturgy in Dialogue: James Yarker | Outside Eye
  Michael Pinchbeck is researching the role of the dramaturg for a PhD. Here he interviews Stan’s Cafe’s James Yarker
• THE COMMENTATORS | and
  Speaking of. “The Commentators are delighted to be invited to report on all the action at Egremont Crab and Sports Fair. See them in the flesh or tune in via the widget below for the latest manifestation of this occasional project by theatre company Stan’s Café”
• Self Assembly 2: Pitching Event Thursday 29 September 6.30-8pm Eastside Projects « We Are Eastside | Birmingham
  “If your idea is successful you will be supported by ESP and Eastside Projects as you organise and host your event/s, giving you the opportunity to start conversations, make connections, hear about particular aspects of practice or explore ideas that you are interested in.”
• Winterbourne Call for Artists
  “We are now seeking new artists to exhibit their work in the Edwardian visitor attraction during 2012.” Which is nice. As impressive though is the mention of the £3m redevelopment of the Arts and Crafts house in 2010

• Mark Essen, Gene-George Earl, Sarah Farmer and Cathy Wade – CRASH
  “An experimental season of sonics, moving image, installation and construction stimulated by the vision of J.G. Ballard”
• Growing Our Own Producers « mid * point
  I can’t remember whether I’ve already linked to this or not. Either way: “During the First Bite Festival on Saturday 24th September, there will be a series of events that explore these questions, and offer opportunities for you to expand your network of Artist and Producer contacts and potentially shape a new West Midlands Producers Network”
• Wolverhampton Art Map
  There’s no info on the site about who or what this is but a bit of Google action reveals this: “Project Dandelion is the BSF Public Art programme for the City of Wolverhampton”. So there you am. Watch that space, I guess. I know you won’t.
• Indie Champion Award – The Association of Independent Music
  Lisa & Jenny of Capsule/Supersonic/Home of Metal fame have been nominated for an award. Please go give them a quick vote
• Localise West Midlands – Award winning Eastside cafe under threat
  Not happy to hear this.

• George Noszlopy « D’log
  “It’s sad to hear that George Noszlopy has died. The College Art Association has a fine obituary. He spent more than 40 years teaching art history in Birmingham, latterly based in the School of Theoretical and Historical Studies at BIAD, Birmingham City University”
• Rebecca Short « Area Culture Guide
  “When Lady Gaga’s stylist spotted Rebecca’s designs during graduate fashion week she asked if she could borrow a piece”. That’s a heck of a break to catch
• Happenings in September | Friction Arts
  Espirito Brum, the Wilderness of Manitoba and an Artist’s Salon from Space2develop, all over at The Edge
• SHOUT, Birmingham’s queer cultural festival
  The programme for this year’s festival (running 7 Oct to 30 Nov) is now up online
• Rage Arts – Digital Stories – Crowdfunder
  “This project is part of our Digital Stories appeal which consists of giving one group the opportunity to work with professionals to make their own film.”
• Selfridges Polar Circle
  An interesting shot

• Birmingham Hippodrome – Boys Required For Roles In Oliver!
  “The producers are looking for boys who are aged 7 – 12, under 5 foot tall and have unbroken voices.     All children must live within a 45 mile radius of Birmingham to audition for these roles”
• BIAD : Events Calendar – September 2011
  Info about the BIAD Postgraduate Shows
• Music network night – connect the speedy way
  This has been going a few months from what I can make out. Next one’s on 15 Sept.

икони на светци

• Marc Reeves: Why ‘business as usual’ is a fatal response to Birmingham’s riots
  If you only read one thing in this round-up, make it this
• ACE dancer Letty on new challenges « ACE dance and music
  A nice peek behind the scenes
• Birmingham Hippodrome Autumn Season 2011
  A few musicals (Top Hat, Evita, End of the Rainbow), some dance (plenty of BRB, Some Like It Hip Hop, Burn The Floor), opera (WNO doing Don Giovanni) and acrobatic craziness (Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe of China and Cirque Eloize). All to be squeezed in before the panto
• BCMG Concerts, Workshops and Events Sept 2011 – Jan 2012
  A new season brochure’s out for you to browse if you fancy
• 70-Eight.com
  Or 78. Maybe even Seventy-Eight or 7eventy Eight. The replacement for the Medicine Bar at the Custard Factory opens this weekend
• Bring Out Your Dead
  “We are working with Grand Union, an artist-led studio and exhibition space, that support the development of artists and aim to establish a dialogue between contemporary visual artists and art organisations”
• 7 Inch Cinema – Event – Adventures in freelancing
  “At this free one-day event you can explore what it takes to be a freelancer in the film and moving image industries, getting inspiration and advice from professionals in a huge range of fields – from art to animation, from gaming to graphics.”
• Heritage Lottery Fund workshop | The Moseley Exchange
  “To find out more about Heritage Lottery Fund grant schemes, top tips for filling in the application form and a chance to meet the HLF Development Team come along to a workshop at the exchange on Tuesday 4th October – 10am til 12.30″ You’ll need to register for this.
• Birmingham Ballroom Wall Of Fame Open Day – Saturday 3rd September
  “Following the unrest not only in the second city but throughout the UK, we were very sad to announce that the original date for the Open Day had to be re-scheduled, however we’re very happy to inform you all that the show is now most definitely going on and we will now be opening the venue to you all on Saturday 3rd September to welcome you all back to the bosom of Dale End once more!”
• transmissions from the hub
  “A volunteer based radio venture homed in the Our Place Community Hub, Sutton Coldfield” Volunteers wanted
• News from Writing West Midlands
  Plenty of good stuff in their newsletter
• Home of Metal Black Country Weekender
  On the first week in the Sept the folksters will be in Moseley for the festival, the metalheads will be in the Black Country for this
• Programme Support Scheme Awards 2011/12 « Museum Musings
  Some museums have gone some money for doing some things

• Gamer Camp
  Free iPhone games from Gamer Camp: Nano Trainees. Fill thy boots
• You will never look at them in the same way again: A Return To Blogging
  Lots of stuff from John Garghan
• Sound Engineering Courses at Hare & Hounds
  “For anyone who is interested in sound engineering, we are now running live sound courses in the main room of the Hare & Hounds”
• How a musician and a Sikh TV channel dominated coverage of the Birmingham riots | Online Journalism Blog
  Paul Bradshaw looks at the coverage of the Birmingham riots.
• Birmingham’s IMAX cinema to close and reopen as independent
  “Birmingham’s IMAX cinema is to close down and reopen under a new name as an independent venue offering new state-of-the-art digital technology”
• Knowledge++ (some advice for graduates) | 383 Project
  “This post is aimed towards graduates that are looking to pursue a career as a web developer, with a few pointers to help you along your way.”
• RBSA Raffle 2011 – Win original artworks by RBSA artists!
  “Tickets cost just £1 each and will help to support the 2011 programme of exhibitions, demonstrations, adult and family friendly workshops and our school activities”
• My kind of town: Birmingham
  “Who better than an underground club promoter to sniff out the best shopping, food, bars and parties in Birmingham?”
• Photobook Month comes to Birmingham
  “Respected photographer Steve Gerrard will head up The Birmingham leg at his studio in the Custard Factory on September 14, from 7pm.”
• Young Rogues Auditions
  “the Young Rogues are a group of young people from a variety of backgrounds, who perform on stage and in film and TV. Ages 8-18 years.”
• Opportunity to write for Best Believe
  Amy’s looking for contributors to help turn Best Believe into a group blog on art/style/culture/creativity and all that good stuff. Give her a shout if you’re interested
• Joan shows love and affection for local singer-songwriters
  “Joan Armatrading is offering local musicians the opportunity of a life-time to perform as the opening act for her Symphony Hall gig on October 26 2012″ Cool. Click for entry info
• Second Light Producers Labs at First Light
  “First Light and The Producers’ Forum, who provide tailored training for Film Producers at all levels, have teamed up to offer this free 4-day course.” For 16-25 year olds at the mac in Sept

• Fundraising Session from the RSC « mid * point
  “the Royal Shakespeare Company would like to share its resources and expertise, and have put togethera fundraising session that will be held in Birmingham on Monday 19 September from 1.30pm -4.30pm”
• Birmingham: Why Bother? • Future Cities of the Future
  As always the rhetorical answer to the rhetorical question is “well, who asked you to bother?”. Still, it’s always a shame when someone gives up
• Supersonic ) Supersonic podcast no.1
  “It’s that time of year again when things start hotting up on the Supersonic front. The wonderful Little Chris of Brumcast fame has lovingly put together a series of podcasts together for your listening pleasure. Here is the first Supersonic special – ENJOY!” Very pleased to hear Little Chris’s voice again
• Birmingham Toolkit
  “The Birmingham Toolkit is designed to help you talk about Birmingham with pride and confidence”
• Enterprise zone ‘to make Birmingham creative hub’
  “The zone – which includes Eastside, Paradise Circus and New Street Station – will attract start-up firms by offering discounts on business rates of up to £275,000 over five years, simplifying planning laws and offering superfast broadband”. Plus other good stuff. Also, George Osborne says there are some iconic buildings here “if you look around”.
• foursquare :: Created in Birmingham
  We have a page on Foursquare now. It’s probably not going to be used much but you never know.

• What’s good in Brum? :: Loaf Online
  “Two days in a row this week I was asked for recommendations for food things happening in Birmingham […] Here’s my response”
• Details of new Birmingham food festival unveiled
  On the subject of food – “The 10-day celebration of food will take place from October 14-23 and replaces the former Taste of Birmingham festival, which was held in the summer”
• Muthers Studio – New Venue on Rea Street | Digbeth is Good
  “The opening of the Conservatory @ Muthers was celebrated last Friday with an inaugural gig headlined by Evil Alien, who did a stonking set to a pretty much full house”. Recording studio and now music venue
• I’m a Celebrity Get me to a Birmingham City Council Event
  An FOI request shows how much the council has spent on celebrity speakers since 2005. I’m pleased to say that the only one of these that I saw was also the most expensive. Getting value for my council tax, there.
• A very funny Englishman in New York
  John Oliver, that fella from The Daily Show, is from Birmingham. A star on Broad St surely beckons.
• Claire Hartley – Inkygoodness Character Totem Home-coming
  “On Thursday I excitedly popped down to the new Zellig building (nr Custard Factory) for the launch of Inkygoodness Character Totem home-coming”
• Video Cuts – Sky Arts At Birmingham Home Of Metal
  A long trailer/short feature about the exhibition

• This is Captain Midlands | Tom Lennon’s Blog
  I know naff all about comics. Tom knows more though and apparently there’s a Brummie in the Marvel universe
• What’s on during Open Weekend
  The dancey stuff that’s happening this weekend
• Audio described performances & Touch Tours at Birmingham Hippodrome – my first experience
  “Emma is  a member of the theatre’s Access Forum. Here she writes honestly about her and  her guide dog Rupert’s first experience of an Audio Described performance and Touch Tour”
• From ATVLand in Colour
  “This 5 x 45 minute documentary tells the story of the affectionately known ‘ATVLand’ – the ATV Centre in Birmingham, from its beginnings to its ultimate closure in 1997 and beyond”

• Flip Festival – Call For Submissions – We’re back!!
  “This years festival will be held, on Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 October (2011 of course) and we’re already looking for  animators to submit films of up to 15 minutes in length.”
• Musical scores for silent firms unearthed in Birmingham
  “About 500 scores – including a theme tune used in Charlie Chaplin films – found in council’s music library”. Wowsa.
• Travel Photo Competition: The Finalists / Places / Stylist Magazine
  Jill Evans would be very grateful if you’d take a sec to vote for the very yellow pic here. I did and you can too.
• Sonya Russell and Chris Clinton are seeking like minded artists
  “We are seeking like minded artists to form an experimental art group […] Suitable for most disciplines. The group includes a curator and we aim to use the space for exhibitionsand events.”
• Toy Theatre Festival 2011
  This looks kinda cool
• curatorcharlie: anticurate submission saturday
  Write-up with pics
• Symphony Hall Birmingham Panoramic
  Taken as part of a photography degree
• Physical. | lukehalliley
  “Just done some interesting work for Birmingham based designer Physical Novel. He designs wonderful unisex clothes, which are being currently sported by JLS”
• London 2012 Open Weekend, 22-24 July 2011
  “Marking one year until the start of the Olympic and Paralympic Games” Quite a few events happening – Jamaica Live, Circus in the City, Breathe the Beat and more
• Birmingham Central: Spinning spiceal surprise
  “a new planning application, 2011/04345/PA, has been submitted for a piece of public art sitting nearby designed by Wolfgang Buttress”

• Birmingham Loves Photographers
  “The idea will be that each month the group will get together for tea/coffee and a chat at 6/8 Kafe in the City Centre, and pairs will be drawn. Each pair will then get together in their own time and take a photo of each other”
• Historic Dale End venue to reopen in Autumn | Counteract
  Three rooms with music and club nights. So the temporary arts venue thing fell through then. I wonder who’s backing this and what sort of bands/nights they’ll get down there, what with the Academy and Institute behemoths already battling it out
• The Hearing Aid: Plenty more Swordfish (and gigs) in the city
  “after a little renegotiation with an understanding landlord, they’ve decided to stay open”. That’s good news
• Shorts on Walls Open for Submissions
  Get yer animations in. Venue and date for the event itself TBC
• Pilot Returns « Stan’s Cafe Theatre Company
  “11th August will see Pilot Night return @ A E Harris, co-Piloted by Stan’s Cafe”. One day I’ll make it to one of these
• Radio To Go: In the Treehouse
  “Two soundcloud files: a two-part documentary. I try to tell the story of an evening at Paul Murphy’s Songwriter’s Cafe”
• A free Bristow e-book: Concrete and Cocktails | Dirty Bristow
  “Can you drink in all of Birmingham city centre’s independent hostelries in one day? Yes of course, although it might not be sensible.” A free ebook for your delight