Or, more accurately, Google Maps in Eastside Projects. You can now use Google Maps to take a tour around the gallery and their Painting Show.
I’d seen the Google Art Project and I knew they’d started mapping inside shopping centres, airports and comic shops but I didn’t know they were doing anything in the UK. Fancy that.
Michael Smith looks for the positive in what some consider Europe’s most boring city – Birmingham
Putting the ‘n’ into ‘BBC cuts’.
UPDATE
You can see this episode on iPlayer until 7pm on 4 November. It featured The Event (in particular, Creative Machines, Minimalist Sculpture at Curzon Street Station), Eastside Projects and Project Pigeon and was actually quite complimentary about the fringes of the city (although not the centre, which is probably fair enough).
The last one was good. Lots to see and lots to do, so go discover on The Event website. Or read on for some blurb:
Birmingham Contemporary Art Forum is delighted to announce it will be hosting The Event’s third bi-annual visual art festival from 21 – 30 October 2011 from their galleries, studio spaces and empty buildings in various locations in and around Eastside, Birmingham’s creative quarter in Digbeth.
Groups presenting works in The Event 2011 are: AAS, An Endless Supply, Companis, Crowd 6, Eastside Projects, Grand Union, The Lombard Method, SLICE and TROVE.
If I wasn’t already going to the launch of DanceXchange’s new season I’d be at this. With bells on. If they do it again I might even see about cobbling together a CiB team.
Via Digbeth is Good.
Extra Special People is Eastside Projects’ Associates Programme. All these people are members. They have a blog for posting information about what their members are doing. That’s good.
I’ve not really had a very good look at this yet but there are some good people involved and there’s an interesting open aspect to it. I’ll do a quote-y thing here and leave you to investigate the rest:
anticurate is imagined as mac birmingham’s version of an open exhibition. In association with mac birmingham, artist Trevor Pitt has devised the anticurate project as a platform to explore democratic and collective approaches to exhibition curating
Submitted artworks will be exhibited in the main gallery using a flexible exhibition structure and space that has been designed by Juneau Projects.
Each exhibition will be individually organised by invited groups that we are calling ‘anticurators’, including:
- young people from Project Platform and Ikon Youth programme
- a group of older people from Young at Heart
- members of the Extra Special People professional development programme at Eastside Projects
- a selection of mac birmingham staff
- Carli Frances and Rosie Carmichael of No Aloha arts collective
Tomorrow, I’ll be at The Public for the showcase event of the DCD Programme. In case you’d not heard of it:
Arts Council England West Midlands’ Digital Content Development (DCD) Programme is a three year programme of investment which aims to catalyse the creation and creative use of digital content platforms for arts organisations across the West Midlands region
The website went up recently and the map on the homepage shows some of the projects, along with how much money they received. Further information is due on the website at some point, but if you look at the page source then you can glean a little more. On the basis that you probably don’t want to ruin your eyes, here’s what I found:
As well as these projects, the programme supported a range of other activities including workshops, innovation labs and other events.
I’ve heard of one or two of these projects, but the vast majority are new to me so it’ll be interesting to hear a little more. I should probably also add that I’m involved in the Rosie Kay Dance Company project – that’ll launch next week so I’ll blab a bit more about it then.
On 25 February, Eastside Projects welcome their latest exhibition, ‘Again, A Time Machine‘, featuring Jonathan Monk, Slavs and Tatars, Dora Garcia, The Happy Hypocrite, which is ongoing until 16 April.
‘Again, A Time Machine’ is part one of a five part touring exhibition from Book Works, allowing artists to play with words, creating work which begins to anticipate the past, forecast possible histories and re-visit alternative futures.
New commissions for Eastside Projects sees the start of a poster project by Jonathan Monk, the reimagining of a Polish–Iranian solidarity by Slavs and Tatars, readings of Dora Garcia’s All the Stories, artists’ talks, The Happy Hypocrite-Say What You See: a cycle of readings co-hosted by An Endless Supply and Maria Fusco, and a newspaper.
The exhibition comes with a string of events, starting with an artists talk from Jonathan Monk on the opening weekend;
Jonathan Monk, Book Talk: No. 4
26 February, 3–4.30pm, Free entry
In the spirit of ‘Curating the Library’ (founded by Moritz Küng at deSingel in 2003) Monk has been invited to select publications to become part of the Eastside Projects Library. Monk will discuss how each title informs his practice and his selections will be on display at Eastside Projects throughout ‘Again, A Time Machine’.
Check the website or join their Facebook page for more info on both.
Since we last told you about The Post-Industrial Revolution, Polish artists Kamila Szejnoch, Christian Costa and MASH/HER/DIP have arrived in Digbeth and are currently undertaking their residency at The Lombard Method.
The project is being documented over on the Post-Industrial Revolution blog, introducing the artists involved and the research they’ve been doing. They also have a few events coming up in association with the final exhibition;
Artists’ Talk
Thursday 17 February 2011, 6.30 – 8pm
Eastside Projects, 86 Heath Mill Lane, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AR
For further information visit http://www.extraspecialpeople.orgPreview
Friday 18 February 2011, 6-9pm
The Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR
Admission freeExhibition
Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 February 2011
Open Thursday – Sunday from 11am -6pm
The Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR
Admission freeParent & Children Workshop
Sunday 27 February 2011, 11am-12.30pm*
The Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR
For more information, also check out their website.
First up, Fierce are in need of volunteers to lend a hand throughout this years festival, which runs from 22 – 27 March. You’ll need to be available to volunteer for at least five shifts during the week, and will be treated to free shows at the festival, a Fierce t-shirt, valuable experience for your CV and the opportunity to meet lots of interesting people.
For full information and to download the application form, visit the Fierce website. The deadline for applications is 11 February.
Eastside Projects also need volunteers to contribute around the gallery. We posted the flyer on CiB’s tumblr yesterday.
VIVID‘s ‘In Association With…’ scheme for emerging and mid-career artists and producers is currently open for submissions. This is a bit of a late mention, as the deadline’s tomorrow (28 Jan), but still, worth a mention.
And finally, some information on Worcestershire Contemporary Art Show, which is taking place throughout May and June. They’re currently open to submissions for exhibitors;
ARTISTS WANTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EXHIBITION.
I AM LOOKING FOR ARTIST WORKING IN 2D, 3D,FILM & PHOTOGRAPHY TO EXHIBIT WORK THAT REFLECTS THE ISSUES WE DEAL WITH EVERY DAY.
THERE ARE 3 CATEGORIES
ESTABLISHED ARTISTS
ARTISTS THAT GRADUATED UP TO 2 YEARS AGO
ART STUDENTSINTERESTED? EMAIL ME A BRIEF STATEMENT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR WORK BEFORE 11TH FEBRUARY 2011 – ccdesignuk@yahoo.co.uk
