A moving image exhibition project, an art gallery and a South Asian arts organisation make for quite a nice banding together, I think.
Tonight’s event celebrates Chinese New Year and Fake Magazine inform us that highlights will include:
On the Way to the Sea, directed by Tao Gu which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and Rotterdam Film Festival in 2011. They’ll also be work by China’s most famous director, Wong Kar-Wai as well as animation by Royal College of Art alumni, Sharon Liu and Setaka Mizuno. They’ll also be plum wine and a live traditional Chinese musical performance in the interval.
I’m disappointed I missed a talk by Birmingham Opera Company‘s Graham Vick at the Barber Institute yesterday lunchtime. I need to keep a closer eye on what happens over there (and maybe, y’know, get round to visiting at some point).
Anyway, Ian from 7 Inch Cinema went along and has blogged his notes. Lots of good things there, including:
The arts in the UK are blighted with fearfulness, conservatism, reactionary ordinariness. Our job is to build a more exciting, bolder future than the past has been. There is no such thing as tradition. The earth never stops moving. Stasis is a delusion. Be open to changeability.
Meanwhile, BOC are a currently rehearsing a new mini-production of Stephen Oliver’s ‘A Man of Feeling’.
On Wednesday 26 November a free bus will travel between three of the city’s galleries – the Ikon (which will feature Harminder Singh Judge‘s new exhibition), the Barber Institute of Fine Arts and the RBSA Gallery. There’ll be free guided tours of the exhibitions.
Here’s the bus timetable:
On the evening the Ikon Shop will be open until 9pm offering mulled wine, warm mince pies and 10% off in their shop. Mmm, warm mince pies.
The University of Birmingham has arranged for the 1951 original typescript manuscript of On the Road – the world-famous scroll of 1951 – to come to the Barber Institute at the University during December 2008 and January 2009
They’re having a two-day conference (11-12 Dec) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of book’s publication in the UK, along with a series of events including a film night on 11 Dec, probably featuring One Fast Move and I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur.
More info on the website.
The Birmingham Early Music Festival 2008 will present several performances from 15 October to 6 November. Follow the link for the festival programme.
Running annually since 1994, the festival promises:
Great concerts, international stars and exciting and inspirational programmes brought to the heart of Birmingham
Which sounds lovely. Shows will take place at the Barber Institute, St George’s and St Augustine’s churches in Edgbaston and St Phillips Cathedral.
In case you’re too embarrassed to ask, early music refers to Baroque, Renaissance, choral and other music in that vein. Here, have a link to the wikipedia entry.
via D’Log
Sunday 27 April is the closing day of the Behind Closed Doors exhibition being held at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts.
Over the past two years the organisers of this show have visited in excess of one hundred private art collections within the Birmingham postal district. Now, almost 40 paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints have been brought together to reveal the range and variety of treasures that exist outside the realm of public galleries.
So you can marvel at works by Turner and Picasso, as well as more contemporary artists like Hockney, Rego and Parker, that are usually squirrelled away out of public view.
You never know when the next chance to see these will come around so if you’ve got a spare hour or two this weekend then why not pop down? Admission’s free, if you need any more excuse.
