Local TV in Birmingham Survey
I don’t like how this (really quite poorly thought out) survey is being spammed around, but if you want to throw some thoughts towards some research into the potential of local TV in Brum here’s your chance. It’s being done by some students (not sure where from) in collaboration with Maverick TV
Health & Efficiency
“These are our first recordings. They’re free so share the love and spread the word”
Swede it! :: Become a star on the big screen at Broadway Plaza
Re-make a movie lo-fi-style for Broadway Plaza, AMC Cinema and Kerrang. Submissions in by 20 March. Proceeds from the screening go to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. There are prizes too
Moqapi Selassie
“a Rastafari dub poet, born and raised in Birmingham”, says the Apples & Snakes newsletter
Inspired Designs
“Inspired Designs allows users to search the decorative art collections held by museums services within the Black Country region”
16 Days
“For 16 days from April 1st 2011, Tether will be stationed at The Lombard Method in Birmingham. The Nottingham based collective will work towards creating 16 new works that seek to interfere with the Lombard Method and the way people interact and react within it”
Love Birmingham
“I will try my hardest not to moan about the state of things as ‘Love Birmingham’ will exist to be a wholly positive collection concerning Birmingham.” Aw, shame – criticism is so hot right now
I didn’t make any new year resolutions, but if I did ‘go to more theatre in 2011′ might have been on there. On Saturday I ticked that box good n hard, clocking up the Rep, the Hippodrome and the Old Rep before 5pm.
The Rep’s closing for a couple of years while they finish off the new library (which will integrate with the Rep to a fair degree). They’ll be touring around venues across Birmingham but before then they held one last little event. Joanne Malin hosted and Polarbear had written a piece for the audience to perform with some help from performers from the Young Rep.
It was short, sweet and good, wholesome fun and a nice way to see off the current place.
They were doing backstage tours after that but we didn’t have time for that because we wanted to go and see…
This was ace. I went to a little preview on Friday night and it was so good I went back on Saturday. (re)Stretch answers the question ‘how much fun would it be to string up 8 miles(!) of fine elastic to make a 10 metre-wide screen and then project things on to it and make it make noise too?’. The answer is, of course ‘very fun’, especially as you’re encouraged to get involved and play with the thing.
At the preview on Friday a couple of dancers cavorted in and around the piece (it’s presented in association with DanceXchange), which was lovely, but they were no match for the unrestrained glee shown by a class of young ballet dancers on Saturday when they were let loose on it.
It’s free and it’s there until Sunday 16 January. Martin Pickard’s taken some lovely pics from the Friday which you can see in this slideshow:
We managed to score some tickets to this at the last minute, leading to the admission that I’d never actually been to the Old Rep before. It’s a good place and the staff were very nice and friendly. The show itself (written by Philip Pullman) was more kiddy-friendly than the sort of thing I’m used to (this was the Christmas show, after all) but it was entertaining enough – the elephant costumes were ace and it had a good energy about it.
The first show of The Rep’s next peripatetical two years is The Rememberers on 4 February, also at AE Harris. It’s a ‘classic tale of good versus evil, told through rap narration, lyrics, projection, music and graphic novel illustration’ which sounds good to me
Found Objects
Stick ‘Birmingham’ in the search bar on this blog’s sidebar and prepare to be amazed
Found Objects: Birmingham Arts Lab
“Pat also did Dr Who stuff, and greased up the man who played the giant shrimp in “The Invisible Enemy” so he could slide into the costume!”
Black Country Stories | Martin Parr
The page on Martin Parr’s website talking about the photography project he did in the Black Country with Multistory. Some great images here
Birmingham Printmakers: Comic Landscape exhibition
“BPM member Karoline Rerrie is part of the ‘Comic Landscape’ exhibition opening with the launch on Thursday December 2nd (till January 10th) at Solihull Gallery”
If you’re aged 25 or under and you like getting things for free then make haste to A Night Less Ordinary and see what tickets you can snaffle up. This scheme’s getting the chop soon, so take advantage while you still can.
Artists wanted for smoke-free project
Suggest an idea. A group of young people may choose to apply for a grant (up to £2000) and commission you to deliver it. Interesting model
Screen WM: News
Not sure what this is about, but I’m putting it out there – “Submissions for BRAIN WASH BRUM are now open, as we have not confirmed a date there is currently no deadline although it is probably wise to get them to us by the middle of October”
Screen WM: News – Full Circle
“Tucked away in attics, sheds, cupboards and garages are forgotten gems capturing local life and history on film. These are a vital part of the Midlands’ screen heritage. With the help of 60 midlands groups, MACE is looking for these old films and videos to preserve and share them with future generations”
Following the one-off live event back in January before part of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre was demolished, Soul City Arts in association with mac and The REP presents Mohammed Ali’s Writing On The Wall – The Documentary.
Pete Ashton will also be on hand, chairing a panel discussion on the topic of ‘Creative collaboration – the way forward for cross-cultural arts and public engagement in B’ham?’
Tickets can be booked at www.macarts.co.uk, and are £5 / £3 concessions. This also gives you entry to a bonus event the following day: In Conversation with Amir Sulaiman & Performance, at The Hubb.
Following critical acclaim from Edinburgh Festival, 2010 Scotsman Fringe First Award Winner ‘My Romantic History’ is honeymooning at the The Rep from 1 to 11 September.
If you haven’t met someone by the time you graduate, you’re going to marry some idiot from your work. It’s that simple. Do you know how they get animals to breed in captivity? They put them in the same cage.
Tickets are £10 with concessions available, and you can buy online from The Rep’s website.
Arts & Business | Culture Forum
Geoff Sweeney, Development Director at Birmingham Royal Ballet is a representative on Culture Forum. Culture Forum is a national thing that was set up recently. I haven’t the slightest idea what it is
Arts Contact Warwickshire
“Arts Contact Warwickshire enables users to search for an artist or arts organisation to suit their needs, using a variety of search criteria”
A weekend in Brum « Everyday Stories of Rachel & James
“I can get a bit evangelical about Birmingham’s cultural offerings, but I do think that the snapshot of activities I went along to is pretty fantastic.” Yes indeedy
crookedsplinter
David Hurley (who did some stuff in the CiB Shop as part of the Flatpack Festival) has a blog
We’re still in the process of giving back all the stock from the CiB Shop. One of the items in particular stands out – not because it’s the biggest (although it is) but because it’s amazing.
world famous aerosol artist, Mohammed ‘Aerosol Arabic’ Ali for a one-off evening of live graffiti-art and poetry in The REP’s due-to-be-demolished workshop
The workshop was painted from floor to ceiling – here’s a work in progress pic:
In fact there’s a whole website dedicated to the Writing on the Wall project.
The finished piece was photographed by SalShan Photography and reproduced on a canvas 2.5m wide and 50cm high. It’s beautiful and drew many an admiring look hanging in the CiB Shop just behind our till (not least from me – it’d look great in my house).
Anyway, it didn’t sell in the end and it’s currently sat in the office, which seems a shame. This should be taking pride of place somewhere.
Here’s Pete holding it up (in a somewhat Angel of the Midlands-type pose):
You’ll notice it’s still partly in it’s protective wrapper – we’re taking care of it. Here’s a detail (in case you didn’t get the scale of the original work from the first picture, that’s a door in the bottom right-hand corner):
And here’s the signature on the back – no. 1 of 50:
If you fancy owning this thing then get in touch. The price is £850. You’re welcome to come in and inspect the goods before buying.
Ah there’s a video too. Seriously, someone should snap this up.
Speakeasy is be a get-together for West Mids theatre folk hosted by The Drum and in association with The Rep. It’s on Monday 7 June.
Alison Gagen from ACE West Mids and Tyrone Huggins who the chairs the Sustained Theatre West Midlands Hub (which I’d not come across before) will be there. The general format will be:
A discussion of the landscape for theatre practitioners in the West Midlands in terms of funding and opportunities, together with a preview of forthcoming work and a chance for local writers, actors, directors, producers and venue managers to network and announce their latest news.
The REP have put tickets on sale for the second half of the year. What’s more, they’ve written an eminently copy/paste-able round-up in a blog post about it. That’s always good to see.
Brigid McLeer – Resident Artist at The Rea Garden | Behind Closed Doors
“We are pleased to announce that the third artist residency is under way here at The Rea Garden. Artist Brigid Mc Leer has been working down at the site since April in preparation for her ‘durational performance’ ‘One + One (The reading)’”
Arts keynote speech – Jeremy Hunt
The new Culture Secretary with some ‘thoughts about the role of arts and culture in society’. Includes a small, Birmingham-related mix-up (hat tip Jake Grimley)
The REP Revealed
“we have just published The REP Revealed – a new brochure which celebrates our achievements to date and our aspirations for the future”
BBC Radio Drama, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Punch are collaborating on a 2-part workshop to explore the methods, challenges and opportunities of creating new writer-performer work for theatre and radio.
What Will You Remember Most Fondly About The REP?
“To mark our temporary move offsite we’re creating an exhibition celebrating the past, present and future of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre company and your memories are a vital part”
