Created in Birmingham

So the programme for this year’s Artsfest is now up online, complete with a nice little selection of search options so you can filter through the events that you’re interested in.

The festival runs this weekend, from Fri – Sun, and is the biggest free arts and culture festival in the UK, with around 600 performing, visual and digital artists at events taking place all across the city.

I would give you a run down of everything happening, but there are heaps of events, performances, screenings, workshops and all sorts of goings-on, so I’m not even going to attempt it. Chris did, however, mention a few things to look out for the other week.

Here’s a pretty great opportunity for some free incubation space at the prestigious address of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.

BXL are offering free desk space in a fully networked office, along with access to a vast database of schools and businesses in Birmingham and Solihull.

What’s that? Nothing comes for free? Okay, in return for your free space you also have to commit to giving up a bit of your time, by sharing your expertise to support BXL’s work in schools, which to be fair, is still a good deal.

If this sounds intriguing, they’re open to suggestions and ideas of how their work can work together with others, so get in touch with Chris Bishop at chris.bishop@bxlworks.org.uk or call on 07919887212

After their 40th anniversary last year, Ex Cathedra are continuing their success into 2010/11. Their dairy for the next few months looks pretty packed, have a browse through this season’s brochure to see if anything suits you.

Here’s a couple of things they’ve got going coming up;

3 September: Tallis’s Spem in alium and Alec Roth’s life-affirming 40 part Earthrise commissioned for last seasons anniversary, will be premiered at the Royal Opera House, London as part of the Deloitte Ignite Festival curated by Joanna MacGregor.

16 & 17 October: Ex Cathedra makes its debut at London’s Cadogan Hall on the 16th with a performance of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers by its Consort of ten outstanding young singers accompanied by His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts and the Ex Cathedra Baroque Ensemble. The concert will then move back up to Birmingham for a repeat on 17th at Birmingham Town Hall.

The Tayor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 has just gone on show at the New Art Gallery Walsall and will be there until 12 September 2010:

The exhibition consists of 60 photographs which were selected from an open submission of 6,312 prints by 2,451 international phtoographers. The judging panel included The New Art Gallery’s Director Stephen Snoddy in addition to Sian Bonnell, Michael Frawley, Fergus Greer, Diane Smythe, Terence Pepper and Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Sandy Nairne.

(Image: Mirjana Vrbaski, Girl, 2009)

This is an exciting one. I was hanging around the National Theatre on Sunday and picked up a brochure for the outdoors stuff they’re doing over the summer. There was some really good stuff lined up.

Now, in a pleasingly similar vein, an email about the Hippodrome’s Six Summer Saturdays programme (website coming soon) has dropped into my inbox. There’s a brochure you can read too.

Blurb:

Over six consecutive Saturdays, free scheduled shows will take place at venues across the city including the piazza in front of the theatre on Hurst Street, Arcadian Centre, High Street and Cathedral Gardens.

The programme starts on Saturday 24 July with Vogue Ball, a day and evening of showing off and celebrating the performer in everyone. Audiences will be challenged to step up and step out onto the catwalk, release their inner diva and perform to their heart’s content.

The following weeks will welcome raving grannies on souped-up shopping trolleys, giant kangaroos bouncing around the city, classic puppetry, contemporary mime and international acrobats.

I’m dead excited about this so well done to Sarah Allen, the Hippodrome’s Creative Programme Manager, who I believe was brought in to put this together.

Congratulations are also due to the designers of the marketing materials who’ve had to cope with so many logos.

Also, giant kangaroos FTW.

While we’re on Hippodrome stuff – Liz Leck, their Education and Audience Development Manager, has put up a blog post about a typical week for her. Fascinating stuff and the sort of thing most people wouldn’t know goes on in that building.

The Arts Council have announced a 0.5% cut in the funding given to RFO’s. It’s not as much as people were suggesting it’d be, but the blow is being softened by ACE being told to dig into their reserves.

Here’s a spreadsheet of the organisations in the West Mids and how they’ll be affected.

Figures came via the Guardian Datablog and thanks to Anna Blackaby for linking to that.

Alexandra Theatre‘s summer 2010 brochure is online now and you can have a browse through it here.

A notable highlight from the programme is the acclaimed Monty Python’s Spamalot, which comes to the Alex in the winter. Even better, if you book your tickets for before 31st August 2010 you’ll get £5.00 off per ticket. Nice.

When we opened the Created in Brum shop in February we had a little launch party, as you do. Many people turned up and all was lovely and good. The only thing is the shop was pretty empty. It was sort of like meeting someone’s baby and expecting it to act like a precocious nine year old.

Three months on and the shop is definitely at the precocious nine year old stage. Chock full of goodies and feeling, as many have opined, “like a proper shop”. So before we close it we’d like to show it off one last time.

Saturday 22nd is our penultimate trading day. If you write off Sunday (as most intelligent people do) it’ll be your last chance to buy something in a shop with Created in Birmingham on the front for a few months.

From 6pm to 8pm we’ll be having an un-launch party. There’ll be a DJ playing some nice tunes and a table full of paper cups. Since we don’t have a budget for such things we’re asking that you Bring Your Own Booze. Or just have an orange juice.

And then we ask that you buy stuff.

Here’s the Facebook event page.

(Thanks to weekender staff “other” Aaron and Charlotte for sorting this out)

Ever wondered how your favourite films get on to the silver screen? How 3D films work? Or even how independent cinemas deal with major film distributors?

Well, wonder no more, because those enterprising chaps at The Electric cinema have been busy making a fine selection of documentary videos which give a unique insight into the inner workings of the cinema, from the lost art of cinema organists, to the journey into the third dimension.

The clips have been lovingly crafted by the cinema’s owner and lead guitarist Tom Lawes, and I found myself absorbed by them, so set a few minutes aside to give them a watch. All the videos are on the cinema’s Youtube channel, but as a taster, here’s The Electric’s guide to 35mm projection:

This is very recommended. I’d feel bad for not posting it here but I’m a bit wary in case it’s too popular and I can’t get in on the night.

Polarbear, Dreadlock Alien, Belinda Zhawi, Eva Lazarus, Boat to Row and Jodi Ann Bickley are the names on the flyer for an evening of spoken word and acoustic music.

8 April at the Hare & Hounds. Free entry. Info on the H&H website.

While we’re on the subject, Polarbear will be back on 19 and 20 May at the mac to perform his new one ‘Return. I’m looking forward to that one.

Another one!

The Pavilions Pop-Up Arts Shop will be open from Friday 1 April to to Wednesday 7 April (excluding Easter Sunday). Here’s some info about what they’ll have in there:

Organiser Jamie, a contemporary feltmaker from Selly Park specialising in fashion and home accessories, will be offering his own range of items for sale, including clutch bags, satchels and trilby hats, many made with locally sourced wool from Worcestershire.

Other artists scheduled to showcase their work are Jan Bowman, architect turned painter, illustrator and author of the recent children’s book ‘This is Birmingham’; Dudley based glassmaker Ian MacDonald; jeweller Ettore Consorte (Smethwick) digital illustrator Jane Anderson (Bearwood) and Nisha Grover who produces various different artworks such as acrylic painting, textiles and murals.

As well as providing valuable retail space for the artists, the shop will also act as a gallery space, showcasing a wide selection of art from Midlands artists. Among the work on display and for sale will be the acrylics, oils and silkscreens of Emma Hardicker, who will also be compiling collections from eight fellow members of Birmingham Printmakers including Harborne based Anne Crews, Tim Southall and Phil Wilkinson.

I happened to walk past it earlier today – this is what it looks like:

We Are Eastside is a joint-venture of sixteen organisations, including VIVID, Eastside Projects, Ikon Eastside, The Lombard Method and 7 Inch Cinema, coordinated by Capsule, to link-up and expose the goings-on in the area, now dubbed Birmingham’s Creative Playground.

Here’s what they’ve said:

Underneath Eastside’s arches you’ll find a whole host of organisations making and presenting film, music, visual arts, digital media, craft, literature, and photography – and some great pubs and cafes too. We Are Eastside is a guide to some of these hidden treasures.

Arts enthusiasts, film and music fans, historians, city visitors and the downright curious from across the West Midlands will have the opportunity to explore creative work being produced in the area by taking in a film screening or magic lantern show, experiencing live experimental jazz or electronica, learning about pigeon fancying, training as a traditional jester or clown or by attending the opening of a new gallery during three days of activities.

To coincide with We Are Eastside’s launch there are a load of events going on over the weekend. There’s the Curtain Show at Eastside Projects, the East Stride walking tour, Purple Ceiling at The Lombard Method, and GONGOOZLER at Grand Union, as well as a bunch of other interesting things.

I’ve posted the listings here if you want to see what’s happening in full, but you can also check out the We Are Eastside blog for any changes and additions to the programme.

The blog looks like it’ll be an ongoing source of regular updates, programmes, event information, opportunities and contributions from the cluster of artists, collectives, promoters and spaces based in the Eastside area, so you can keep an eye on it here: www.weareeastside.org.

Please excuse this little bit of self promotion…

After its Brum debut at the Birmingham Comedy Festival last year, cult London comedy night Popcorn Comedy is back, this time at The Victoria on Thursday 25th March 2010.

Popcorn Comedy showcases the funniest comedy videos from around the internet, combined with live stand ups and character comedians, who mix in their own comedy videos for good measure.

This time, Popcorn has live performances from Rob Rouse (8 out of 10 Cats, Grown Ups) and Brian Gittins (described by Ricky Gervais as “One of the best comedy characters of the decade”). I’ll be hosting the night along with my Dice Productions cronies, so I’ll see you there.

It’s a fiver in (and less for students), so follow this link and book your tickets for Popcorn Comedy.

I just stumbled on this on the council’s arts page, having been interviewed for it when I looked after CiB the first time. The Birmingham Arts Survey – The State of the Arts 2005-08 (PDF, right click-save as) is a short document that gives an overview of where Birmingham’s arts are at (or were at the time).

It has lots of quotes from lots of people in it.

Funnily enough, many of the images used have cropped up again in the City of Culture 2013 bid stuff that I’ve seen.