Made in Sutton is an arts forum created in Sutton Coldfield. Others have been created across Birmingham (see info on the Birmingham City Council arts pages for the others).

Their first meeting is on Saturday (26 November) and they say:

All local arts organisations are welcome to participate, so whether you run an amateur dramatics society or provide dance classes we’d love to hear from you.

On 8 November Turning Point West Midlands will be hosting Voice Your Vision at The New Art Gallery Walsall from 10am – 4pm.

With the opportunity to discuss and debate the future of visual arts in the West Midlands, this event aims to find and prioritize ways of strengthening the visual arts in light of recent cuts to the sector.

In these challenging times it is important that we play to our strengths that those in visual arts come together as a collective voice. Artists are at the heart of Turning Point West Midlands and we hope you, along with arts organisations – studios, galleries and museums, come together to discuss and steer the way forward for the visual arts strategy within the region.

The event is free and refreshments will be served. To confirm your attendance email: jane.morrow@bcu.ac.uk

The programme offers numerous voluntary opportunities, which enable a diverse group of young people to work with others and get involved in their communities. Volunteers will also be provided with specialist training, induction, support and advice throughout, plus the chance to gain an Arts Award and attend music masterclasses and workshops.

Opportunities available on the scheme include peer music advisers, apprenticeships, shadow artists, office volunteers, youth advisory board, youth consultants and event volunteers.
For more information about VOLume, contact Tim Jones at Sound It Out on 0121 772 8655

Diversity in Youth are an arts project who meet every Tuesday at 6 – 8pm at the Brasshouse Centre in Smethwick.

Dedicated to the development of young people aged between 13-19, they provide creative workshops including music, singing, dance and drama, with training given by leading professionals in each field. You can start from scratch, with no experience needed, plus it’s free to attend workshops, thanks to a nice bit of Lottery Funding.

For more information on the project and how to get involved, call Khalid on 07916716162 or visit their Facebook page for the latest updates and events.

The Drum is looking of 16-25 year olds to create Olympic and Paralympic inspired flash mobs, creating new ‘disturbances’ that share values of the games – Excellence, Respect, Friendship, Courage, Determination, Inspiration and Equality.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to gain and Arts Award, work experience in the arts industry, plus paid expenses whilst you give up as much or as little of your time as you can afford.

To join the MOB and take part in free weekly activities which are open to all, call 0121 333 2422 or email n.galbraith@the-drum.org.uk

This programme, an extension of our Board Bank initiative, is a bold and unique programme aimed at the UK’s brightest corporate prodigies. Our goal is to detect the best up-and-coming talents that British business has to offer and place them on the boards of leading arts charities in the UK.

With full governance training, access to an experience mentor and development support, the programme is open to 18-30 year olds.

If you think this could be beneficial and you’d like to give it a shot visit the website for more information, or contact Carolyn Pugh at carolyn.pugh@artsandbusiness.org.uk or call 0121 248 1200

Birmingham City Council’s Arts and Young People Team have commissioned Hybrid to deliver a series of events and training sessions providing pathways towards your career in the arts. There are four ways that you can take part:

1. Action learning sets to share challenges and find solutions, facilitated by coaches and those with mentoring experience.

2. Visits to arts organisations, to learn more about who, what and how. Visits with confirmed dates are;

• The Drum, 22 September at 11am – 12.30pm
• Big Brum, 23 September at 2 – 5pm
• BMAG & Community Museums, 3 November 2010 at 10am – 12pm

3. Panels/ Talks on varying themes, with speakers, discussion and networking opportunities. Held at Apache’s Bar, the following events are coming up;

• 15 November, 4 – 6.30pm. Topic: Young People/ NEET. Speakers: DJ, Sophie (Punch), and Abu (Lozells Youth Group).
• 15 December, 4 – 6.30pm. Topic: Community Cohesion. Speakers: Mel Tomlinson, Susan Hope (Craftspace), and Dally Panesar (CIP) & Tricia Yarwood (Birmingham Lifeline).
• 17 January, time TBC. Topic: Health. Speakers: Birmingham Children’s Hospital, with artist and arts organisation tbc.

4. Café style conversations on project development, delivery and evaluation, which will be facilitated by practitioners and arts professionals including Bright Space, Multistory and Birmingham City Council. Also held at Apache’s Bar, the following events are coming up;

• Project Development: 8 October, 4 – 6.30pm
• Project Delivery: 6 December, 4 – 6.30pm
• Project Evaluation: 9 February, 4 – 6.30pm

The programme takes place until March 2011. To register for an event and find out more, please email karen@hybridconsulting.org.uk, or leave a message on 0121 270 6389

I linked to Switchboard a couple of weeks back in one of those round-ups. It’s billed as:

a steering group which aims to put the West Midlands at the forefront of the convergence revolution

To kick things off, they’ve put together a survey to see what sort of support people and companies in the creative sector might need.

The survey is online here and is only a quick one-pager. Fill it in by 17 September and you’ll be included in a draw to win a bottle of champagne.

For what it’s worth, I’m sitting on the steering group and, although it’s early days, I’m of the opinion that this could be a Useful Thing.

Birmingham’s leading membership organisation for young professionals working in the professional, financial and creative services sectors

Chris Brown is involved with them and has a question or two:

One of the things I’ve been tasked to look into is why there is a lack of creatives at these events. Is it cost, type of events or simply a lack of understanding to what Birmingham Future is. Perhaps it is the speaker or even the lack of other creatives attending

I’m guessing that there are a few people who read this who would describe themselves as working in the creative service sector (and several more who would rather be beaten with a stick than referred to as ‘a creative’). Have you got any thoughts on this?

The Sampad Story is an exhibition that will open on 1 May at the mac and run through to 30 August. It’ll be accompanied by a book edited by Tasawar Bashir. From the blurb:

Come and find out how from humble beginnings from its home at mac, sampan has transformed an annual festival into a year round programme. From large scale productions to intimate poetry sessions and participatory activities, sampan has been instrumental in developing and showcasing a wealth of south asian arts from the UK and abroad

They’re also doing some performances as part of IDFB – Utopia, Thresh Dance Company: The Absent Lover and a Kathak Duet – showcasing Urban Jungli at The Drum and there’s the sampad Arts Mela on Sunday 25 July.

There’s loads more too, so here’s the brochure: