Created in Birmingham

• 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

While looking for something completely different the other day, I stumbled across a set of photos on BMAG’s Flickr account called ‘Behind the Scenes at BMAG‘.

Very interesting it was too – fashion shoots, roof works (with views across the city) and the conservation studio. Here’s the slideshow:

Flatpack and Fierce have barely begun, but I’ve already been taking a sneak peek of a few of the things they’ve got going on, including Symphony of a Missing Room, the Vintage Mobile Cinema and a trip over to the Dirty End.

Yesterday morning I headed over to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, for a visit unlike any other. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Symphony of a Missing Room by Lundahl & Seitl, feeling slightly apprehensive as I was given a pair of wireless headphones, blindfolded and led cautiously around the museum by sounds, voices and a mysterious hand. The whole experience was what I can only describe as dream like, and had me leaving feeling like I’d been awoken from a deep, disorienting sleep.

So far it’s been receiving plenty of rave reviews on Twitter, who all seem to be able to put the experience into words so much better than I can. If you want to check it out for yourself, book via the Fierce website, it’s definitely one to give a go.

Last night also saw the launch of both Flatpack and Fierce, at VIVID, which has been transformed into The Dirty End. Along with live music from Juneau Projects, they had a few tasty treats and cocktails on offer which will apparently be sticking around for most of the festival.

The Vintage Mobile Cinema had it’s first Flatpack outing this afternoon in Victoria Square, where it gathered quite a few admirers. The 22 seater restored mobile cinema, originally toured British factories from 1967, promoting modern production methods. As one of only seven made, this gem is the last standing after being brought back to life to tour the country once again.

With it’s cosy little interior, complete with red cinema seats, it feels rather like a mini Electric. I was also treated to a clip of Buster Keaton’s silent film Sherlock Junior (1924), which is being screening tomorrow night at the Town Hall, accompanied by live organ and piano.

If you fancy hopping aboard, the vintage mobile cinema will be at Handsworth Library on Thursday, Birmingham Markets on Saturday, and Cannon Hill Park on Sunday. Take a look at whats on across the weekend over on the Flatpack site.

I’ll try and update this post with other Flatpack & Fierce adventures, but in the meantime let us know which events you’ve made it to and what should be on our ‘must see’ lists.

• Commercially Inviable Records » Here Come The Light Nights
  A free sampler of upcoming releases on the label
• Wanted: Critical friends
  “BiNS is looking for contributors, willing to go out, and then come back, and write good criticism about what they found”. Splendid.
• Why couldn’t I quote Charlotte’s Web on stage?
  Lucy Caldwell on copyright struggles encountered when writing Notes For Future Self
• Nikki Pugh’s Colony Prototype | Hide&Seek
  “On Tuesday I went to Birmingham, to try out a protoype of Nikki Pugh’s developing project Colony.” From Holly at Hide & Seek
• LOCKED OUT | The Abri
  “We need to keep the building, which used to be an old post office but is now privately owned, in the community.  We need a dentist and a GP, the building is ready for both.  We need a place where mothers, fathers, families, friends and local businesses, (who remain or will soon return), can meet, have coffee and relax with a book.” Help needed to take this social enterprise on
• City TV Broadcasting
  “City TV Broadcasting Ltd has announced it will file an application to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, to acquire television licences in a minimum of five cities across the United Kingdom.  It will locate its head of operations in Birmingham”
• {placekitten}
  One for the web designers, courtesy of Mark James from Made. It’s “A quick and simple service for getting pictures of kittens for use as placeholders in your designs or code”
• Where we’re at… « colour
  “After much reflection, we’ve decided to wind down our live activities for the foreseeable future.  We’re still very much interested in collaborations with other organisations, consultancies and guest DJ sets, but we won’t be putting on any of our own shows – only if something truly unmissable comes our way”
• Complaints Choir of Birmingham
  This is from a few years back, but it’s the first I’ve heard of it
• Fifty:Fifty partner announced
  “The Crafts Council and Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (BMAG) will work together to deliver a major contemporary craft exhibition in autumn 2011. The exhibition called Lost in Lace”. BMAG was chosen from a shortlist of three institutions

• If Birmingham City Council meetings were televised…
  Not strictly arts/culture related, but if you only click one of these links, click this one. Includes chicken dancing, physical abuse of the Respect Party and what gold dealers in the city can be like
• Why are Birmingham’s Hackers letting FizzPop die?
  Thanks to a bit of nudging from afar, it looks like FizzPop/a Birmingham Hack Space might be back in some form
• A Sneak Peek Inside New Library of Birmingham
  References to ‘sneak peeks’ in my RSS reader went into overdrive the other day with lots of people posting a CG fly-through of the new library. Nice big escalators.
• Nigel Singh to step down as CEO – Audiences Central
  “Audiences Central today announces that Nigel Singh is leaving the organisation after three years as Chief Executive Officer”. Due to a serious family illness – best wishes to Ni
• Behind Gamer Camp: Nano on Vimeo
  “This short promotional documentary about the Gamer Camp: Nano course ran at NTI Birmingham in November to December 2010, to help prepare graduates for working in the games industry.”
• Team Gozooheck Presents ‘Kung-Fu Night’
  An (early) evening of workshops, networking, screenings of 3D animations and shorts from around Birmingham as well as classic kung fu films and free Marvel comics. There’s also something about a Film Society and Festival but I can’t quite tell how that fits in
• Culture chief won’t rule out Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery charges in future
  BMAG could be merged into a trust with Thinktank . “Martin Mullaney confirmed moves are under way to form the Trust during questions at the City Council but added that there are currently no plans to end free admission.”
• Simon Clarke Video Production
  I liked the vid for Munroe Effect
• Rhubarb Seminars
  Rhubarb Rhubarb are doing a one-day artist development event in March. It’s a similar format to one they ran in London last year that seemed to go down very well (click the link and scroll down the page to ‘The Crossing’)
• Events – Architecture WM
  A list of architecture-related events happening in Feb
• Bursary opportunity for West Midlands museum staff
  “OpenCulture is the annual international event for Collections Managers, Curators, Registrars, Archivists, Librarians. Renaissance West Midlands are offering 10 free bursary places to museum staff or volunteers who work at a West Midlands Museum”
• Soldier On
  “I’ve seen some of the best bands in Birmingham play to a handful of people. It’s actually quite sickening. A terrible waste of talent”.
  Ronan is in a band called Nerve Centre and blogs about that and unsigned music in general
• Call For Submissions – Crowd6 Online Gallery
  “Crowd6 will soon be launching an online gallery, showing artwork made specifically for the web. This might be time based, code based, illustrative or performative”
• February at VIVID – We Are Eastside | Birmingham
  “VIVID kicks off its 2011 programme with the launch of ‘The Garage presents…’ a brand new strand of one off events embracing music, live arts, installation, performance, and films”

• Tributes to Tessa Sidey, fine art curator at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
  One of many tributes to Tessa Sidley
• Digital journalist & shameless parish gossip « Custard Factory
  Having read the job description, is journalist a more acceptable word for marketer these days? Either way, there’s an interesting job going
• Birmingham music groups urged to share facilities and staff
  BCMG and Birmingham Jazz: “following concerted lobbying, the two music groups will be given an extra six months funding if they make moves to join a cost-saving music hub with the Symphony Hall, CBSO, Town Hall, Ex-Cathedra and other groups”
• Creative England
  First glimpse of Creative England – the new configuration of the regional screen agencies. Sign up to their mailing list to keep up with news/opportunities/etc
• SOUNDkitchen | Feed your ears!
  This is “an organisation dedicated to the promotion of composers and artists working in the field of sound”
• Matt Edgar – Green Sand and Subterfuge
  A story about Matthew Murray from Leeds and his battles with Boulton & Watt of Birmingham – dirty tricks in business during the Industrial Revolution
• YouTube – ‘Tornadoes, Moons, Bridges and Balloons’ – A 16 song Compilation Cover by Muchuu
  I like this – Muchuu covering The Smiths, Beirut, Bon Iver, Rihanna, Coco Rosie and a whole bunch of others
• Thinktank museum given funding for Made In Birmingham gallery
  “Birmingham’s Thinktank science museum has been awarded £900,000 Lottery funding to bring some of its artefacts out of cold storage”
• Michelin Guide recognises West Midlands restaurants
  “Birmingham’s trio of Purnell’s, Simpsons and Turners all retained their one-star rating in the guide, as did La Bécasse and Mr Underhill’s in south Shropshire”

We’re taking a bit of a break here but CiB will return in the new year. In the meantime, I’ll be posting a few ‘year in review’ things to remind you that 2010 was alright really, and that all the talk of (and worrying over) money over recent months shouldn’t detract from some great art, work and artworks.

Meanwhile, just to show how 2010 looked on Created in Birmingham, we published 649 blog posts and attracted 578 comments, garnering 222,264 pageviews from 81,937 unique (like snowflakes) visitors. There was also 1 shop that took £45,000, with most of that money going to the artists themselves.

Over the past 12 months we’ve also had 40 CiB supporters and a handful of advertisers – a big thank you goes out to them for helping us to keep the site going.

These were the 10 most popular posts published this year:

1. Apache Indian has his own bar
2. Recommended BCC arts cuts (possibly)
3. CiB Shop – The End Game
4. Coming (very) soon – the CiB Shop
5. CiB Shop – here’s how you can get involved
6. CiB Shop – an invitation
7. Birmingham arts and arts grant budgets for 2011/12
8. Factory Club closing down
9. The HMV Institute
10. The Radar Magazine

I’m not really one for doing ‘best of’s but (off the top of my head) it was good to see the MAC reopening, I liked the Steve McCurry retrospective at BMAG and Len Lye at Ikon (which is still on), Birmingham European Theatre Festival was fun and I enjoyed a load of things at International Dance Festival Birmingham.

Odd but great moments included ‘sleeping’ on stage during Stan’s Cafe‘s Tuning Out with Radio Z (which I’ve written about here) and, of course, That Shop.

There was plenty more besides and far too many things I wish I’d seen but didn’t. I suppose I’ll just have to try to see more next year.

The generally stress free holiday of Halloween presents an excuse for some thrilling fun for all ages. Here’s a run down of a few things going on in Birmingham;

• Invisible City‘s final event, Media Circus, takes place on 29 Oct at Fazeley Studios. With entertainment, music, drinks, performances and digital displays, along with the winners of the Invisible City categories to be announced. Fancy dress is along the lines of Victorian Circus.
• CBSO’s Friday Night Classics: Nightmare on Broad Street takes place on 29 Oct, 7.30pm at Symphony Hall, with a pre-concert talk at 6.15.
• Town Hall host a Halloween Silent Movie Special with the 1923 classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame on 31 Oct at 7.30pm.
• Black Country Living Museum are holding Halloween at the Museum on 30 & 31 Oct from 6.30pm – 10pm, with opportunities for psychic reading and trick or treating along the cobbled streets.
• Take a guided tour of Aston Hall, exploring the ghosts and legends on 31 Oct at 7.30pm. Full of spooky surprises, this is not suitable for children of a ‘nervous disposition’.
• Halloween Night at the Museum Collections Centre invites you on a spine tingling trail for a chance to see some of the scariest objects not on general display, join the tour on 29 Oct from 6.30pm – 9pm.

Since Halloween falls on a weekend, it would be a crime to let an opportunity to get dressed up go unmentioned. Most weekend club nights will be welcoming heavy eyeliner and fake blood, on the only occasion where you can get away with wearing a bin liner, here’s a few that stand out;

• Jocko Homo will be hosting The Victoria’s Halloween festivities from 9pm with free entry.
• Face present their Halloween Bash at Cellar Door, the Rainbow, with house legend Emerson Todd.
• Hare & Hounds are holding House of God Halloween Party with horror makeup available on the night.
• Eddie’s Rock Club will be dishing out a free shot for the first 100 people through the door, and a £50 prize to the best dressed.
• The fourth Electric City event at HMV Institute is Spectrum’s Halloween Fancy Dress Special, with Sub Focus and Stanton Warriors live.
• The Curates Egg presents a Halloween special at The Old Wharf on 31 Oct, with live music from Nightingales, The Courtesy Group and Black Carrot.

Plus outfit inspiration is provided by this month’s issue of Area for how to pull off a creepy-but-cool costume, with just the right amount of effort to keep your street cred.

• Know Your Place
  “If you are a freelancer, recent graduate or SME then why not come and be inspired at the third Know Your Place event” On 23 August at Zellig. These get good reviews – worth signing up for
• Ben Javens: Time Out Cover Illustration #2
  Nice work by Ben, although Time Out are still in my bad books after one of their writers described Birmingham as ‘scum’
• Funding launched for young am-dram groups – Audiences Central
  “Individual grants of up to £5,000 will be on offer to non-professional theatre groups that are either made up entirely of members under the age of 25, or which have a youth section and are involved in musical theatre productions.”
• Birmingham Museums and Art Gallerys – Your Birmingham event
  “Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is asking the public to help in exploring the history of Birmingham. The first opportunity to do this in person will be at the Museum Collections Centre Open Day on Sunday August 22nd”
• We Are Fierce» Blog Archive » Fierce’s Dirty Cash!!!
  “Help Fierce Festival discover the filthiest way to spend 250 quid”
• Capsule zine no.5 : Capsule Blog
  “this edition has been designed by our brand new intern Tom J Hughes, a mighty fine illustrator who has done us proud”
• View from the top of a crane! « BrumCityCentre.com
  That crane being the one at the site of the new library. It’s quite high up
• New stats on the West Midlands creative workforce « D’log
  “More statistics on the West Midlands creative workforce”
• Fierce Earth finds new home « Fierce Earth
  The differences between Fierce Earth and the Fierce Festival are now that bit more pronounced. The former has an office, the latter has gone all virtual. Fierce Earth will “have a new strategic focus on training and consultancy for the creative sector and developing creative talent”
• The Yellow Door Bindery
  “The Yellow Door Bindery is a Birmingham-based workshop offering a bespoke bookbinding, box-making and portfolio making service”
• Matthew Sefton
  Good stuff from Matthew, blogging about getting into the regional media industry
• Photography in Birmingham: a review of three exhibitions « In Birmingham
  Steve McCurry at BMAG, Harold Edgerton at the Pallasades and Sheldon Nadelman at Trove
• OxjamBrum Speed Dating Event- Top 40 Singles « Area Culture Guide
  “The people behind the OxjamBrum Takeover festival are looking for 20 male and 20 female music lovers, also known as the Top 40 Singles, to come along to their charitable and cheeky new speed dating event on Thursday 26th August 2010″
• Attractions vie for tourism excellence award – Audiences Central
  “The shortlist for the Heart of England Excellence in Tourism awards 2010 has been announced”
• Birmingham Post – £30m plans for new Birmingham Conservatoire
  BCU have some ambitious plans
• meorwithlou
  The blog of Louise Whitmore, a designer who had some work in the CiB Shop and who I bumped into again earlier

A message that went up on Tak‘s website last month confirming the news that had been doing the rounds for a little while:

At the beginning of July 2010 – exactly six years from the day they opened – we closed the doors at TAK! Towers to explore new ideas & ventures. It’s been fun, thanks for having us!

Recently, Tak had been responsible for the Home of Metal website, the branding for British Dance Edition and had picked up a run of awards for their work on BMAG’s Pre-Raphaelite website.

Meanwhile, I’ve just heard (via Dave Allen) that Script, the West Mids agency for dramatic writers, are shutting up shop:

It is with great regret and reluctance that the Board of Script has taken the decision to dissolve the company as of the end of August 2010.

The loss of RFO status in March 2008 has had a serious impact on the company’s resources, and the reliance on ever-decreasing pots of project funding has made its future existence unsustainable.

See Script’s August newsletter for further info and to see a slew of opportunities for writers.

BMAG are after a freelance artist film maker and a freelance theatre director/writer for a new project called Birmingham – A City in the Making:

a series of innovative new history galleries telling the global story of a city and its people which will open in 2012

More info about this (and the jobs) via Film Birmingham.

Erdington, Perry Barr, Hodge Hill and Ladywood are among the areas that don’t get enough of a look-in on this blog so it was nice to pick up some blurb about a project called In Our Backyard which put artists in those areas over a year. The work produced will be at The Community gallery at BMAG from 10 April (not that I can find any info on their website, but that’s nothing new).

The artists who took part were Mohsen Keiany – an internationally-recognised painter and illustrator; video and film makers Reel Access (George Fleming and Laura Breakwell); Eleanor Hoad – a cultural eco-artist with a keen interest in permaculture and issues of sustainability and storytellers Annamation (Anna Conomos and Susanna Willetts).

Works produced by the artists and local communities include a large scale mosaic based on by Islamic calligraphy, created by family groups in Ladywood; a filming and photography project made by under 5s and their parents showing community perspectives of Hodge Hill; the planting of fruit trees in Erdington High Street town centre arcade and creation of a map of fruit trees in the area – and a story telling project in Perry Barr, which worked with community elders to hear their tales and then helped young people to learn and re-tell them.

It’s been a while since I heard anything about the mooted Birmingham Museum of Contemporary Art, but then I spotted this:

With a £1million grant from the Art Fund, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and partners New Art Gallery Walsall and Ikon Gallery have been creating a major collection of international contemporary art.

Which is interesting but I think I’d heard about that before. Still, new news is that this collection will be shown off later in the year (from 13 November) at BMAG’s Waterhall.

This is the first chance to see some of the newly acquired works by artists from India, China, Africa, and Western Europe. In painting, photography, and video installations they explore the theme of the “modern metropolis” – the social and physical landscapes of city life.

These international works will be shown alongside examples from the Museum’s Contemporary British Art Collection including paintings by Tony Bevan, Fiona Rae, George Shaw and many others.

• Birmingham Big City Culture – City of Culture Bid 2013
  There’s an official website for the bid. I’m always the last to know about this kind of thing
• £1.285million National Heritage Memorial Fund grant saves the Staffordshire Hoard
  “The grant, awarded to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) and Potteries Museum and Art Gallery (PMAG) in Stoke-on-Trent, will fill the funding gap to reach the Hoard’s purchase price of £3.285million and means this outstanding collection will remain in the West Midlands close to where it was discovered in July last year”
• Sir Michael Lyons to head up Tindal Street board
  He’s chairman of the BBC Trust, dontchaknow

I’m not about to do a full on ‘best of’ thing, but there was plenty of goodness about in 2009:

• Birmingham Opera Company’s ‘Othello’
• Birmingham Royal Ballet’s ‘Quantum Leaps’
• ‘Birmingham Seen’ at BMAG
• Zena Edwards’ ‘Security’ at The Rep
• Tom Dale Company’s ‘Roam’ at DanceXchange
• The Event
• Kindle Theatre’s ‘All You Can Eat’

And plenty more besides, although nine months away from CiB (and a fair amount of time out of the country) meant that I was slightly more out of touch with some of the smaller-ticket stuff.

What did you enjoy?