March 6th, 2010 §
Underneath Eastside’s arches you’ll find a whole host of organisations making and presenting film, music, visual arts, digital media, craft, literature, and photography – and some great pubs and cafes too. We Are Eastside is a guide to some of these hidden treasures.
We are Eastside is made up of;
7 INCH CINEMA – BIRMINGHAM JAZZ – CAPSULE – CRAFTSPACE – THE CUSTARD FACTORY – EASTSIDE PROJECTS – GRAND UNION – IKON EASTSIDE – PROJECT PIGEON (Photo featured above) – PUNCH – RHUBARB RHUBARB – THE EDGE – TINDAL STREET PRESS – THE LOMBARD METHOD – VIVID – VRU
A couple of exciting developments in the We are Eastside camp in Digbeth, Birmingham is the addition of a new photographic gallery space called Rhubarb East Gallery situated in the Rhubarb Building and a performance by Japanese artist Atsuhiro Ito.
Vivid and Capsule are combining forces to present Atsuhiro Ito. Atsuhiro uses a fluorescent light with pick up mics attached, and alters the voltage applied to tubes causing the lights to flicker. Microphones pick up electromagnetic noise perfectly synchronised with the flickering lights in a light/noise/electric eye festival at only a fiver it is well worth a look next week on Wednesday 10th March 2010, more information can be found here.
January 13th, 2010 §
The project is aimed at diverse young people aged 16 -19 from inner city Birmingham (some of whom are not in education, employment and training) but who have some interest/ability in the arts. The project will focus on ideas of guerrilla craft, DIY Craft and Craftivism – with a view to developing a young people led craft collective which will then organise a series of interventions throughout the city.
More info here.
November 13th, 2009 §
Pioneering typographer, sleeve designer and artist Swifty will be setting up shop at the Sauce Gallery in Birmingham’s Custard Factory from Saturday 12th December. Everything from originals and one off prints to T-shirts, skateboards and stickers will be for sale in The Swifty Pop Shop.
The Pop Shop, which is being brought to Birmingham by Sauce Gallery and Punch Records, will feature Swifty’s Newsagents installation. This life size shop front was partly inspired by Peter Blake’s ‘Toy Shop’ and the artist’s fond memories of a local village newsagent in Lancashire. The Shop will also be home to the A-Z of Swifty Show, including pieces based around everything from Action Man to Zebedee from the Magic Roundabout.
The Pop Shop is the latest branch of Swifty’s expansive career. Having studied design at Manchester Polytechnic, at the age of 21 he trained under Neville Brody at The Face magazine. His work at The Face and later led him to be recognised as one of the top new talents in the specialist world of typography.
In 1989 he joined the team at Straight No Chaser, a publication aimed at the jazz, jive and soul community. As art editor he drove the creative style that went on to embody the magazine as a whole. At the same time he established his own font company, Swifty Typograpfix, and spread himself between the magazine and producing fonts, record sleeves, club flyer designs and many other sidelines. Swifty dominated the scene, being the designer of choice for nearly every acid jazz label.
Punch Director Ammo Talwar said:
“Swifty is a design legend whose work cuts across all typography boundaries. Bringing the Pop Shop to Birmingham is a real scoop for the city, and will give visitors a rare opportunity to see many of Swifty’s personal projects first hand.”
The Pop Shop will be open to the public at the Sauce Gallery, 5 The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Digbeth from 11th December to 10th January 2009. For more information visit www.punch-records.co.uk
November 2nd, 2009 §
Grand Union is a new artist-led initiative that supports the development of artists and curators within Birmingham. It aims to establish and nurture dialogue between contemporary visual artists and facilitate links between local, national and international art organisations.
On Friday 6th November at Fazeley Studios in Digbeths, Grand Union will host an artists’ publishing fair (12pm – 9pm), including stall holders such as Via Vaudeville, Ellie Harrison, Milk Two Sugars, Public Works, BAZ, Serena Korda, Caitlin Griffiths, Pest Publications, 4hb, [insertspace], Leisure Centre and a performance by The Artists’ Association of Autonomous Book Arts & Magazines (A.A.A.B.A.M.).
A.A.A.B.A.M. representative Calum F. Kerr will present A.A.A.B.A.M. RESTORED: That Was 2004. This Is Now. He’ll be wearing The Book Coat, a portable garment containing over 50 individual artist books.
Performance times Friday 6th November, 2-5pm and 6-9pm.
For more info check here.
Grand Union will celebrate their opening with a new publication, with contributions from group members Helen Brown, Ian England, Mark Essen, Cheryl Jones, Karin Kihlberg & Reuben Henry, Charlie Levine, Alex Lockett, David Miller, Harminder Singh Judge, Joanna Spencer, Matt Westbrook, and Stuart Whipps.
The publication will be available at Grand Union, alongside a reading room full of artists’ books’ and independent publishing.
Grand Union is a not-for-profit organisation supported by the Arts Council and Birmingham City Council.
October 27th, 2009 §
Green Coffee is a “physical forum” for exploration of techniques and ideas set or led by workshop participants. It is hosted by Louise Katerega, Foot in Hand’s Creative Director, and DanceXchange.
These quarterly, FREE workshops for experienced disabled and non-disabled dancers will take place in DanceXchange’s studios from 1pm – 5pm on the following dates:
• Sunday 29 November 2009
• Sunday 7 February 2010
• Sunday 16 May 2010
• Sunday 12 September 2010
To book your place, please call Louise on 07971 441 749. For more information and to read The Green Coffee Manifesto check here.
October 24th, 2009 §
The Bodies Revealed Exhibition opens next week at the Custard Factory and features real life dead bodies, if you know what I mean, like proper dead human beings. Tickets are from £10, details below.
BODIES REVEALED the incredible exhibition about the amazing and complex machine we call the human body. Using real human specimens, painstakingly prepared and respectfully displayed, BODIES REVEALED lets visitors of all ages explore deep within the human body.
BODIES REVEALED demonstrates how our bodies work, what we need to survive, what destroys us and what revives us. BODIES REVEALED is a celebration of the human body, inviting you to become a more informed participant in your own wellbeing. The exhibition takes visitors through galleries providing an up-close and personal look inside the skeletal, muscular, reproductive, respiratory and circulatory systems of the human body.
The remarkable exhibition is both fascinating and educational having been used as a teaching aid within the medical profession in cities such as New York, Las Vegas, Dublin, Vienna and Athens. The BODIES REVEALED exhibition promises the unique opportunity to enlighten, empower, fascinate, and inspire all its visitors.
October 23rd, 2009 §
Flip is an eclectic mix of all things animation. Based in the heart of the Midlands the festival provides a wide range of experiences from educational workshops for young people to experimental animation for grown ups; from industry led panels to feature film screenings and from international showcases and retrospectives of short films to spotlights on animation studios.
Flip is on from the 5th-7th November, with the whole programme available to peep online here including details of the Flip Animation challenge…
This year the festival has become a bit more hands on giving people the opportunity to write scripts and make films. Here’s the challenge: on the 5th November, Flip will host a one day scriptwriting for animation workshop leading each participant to produce a 60 second script. These scripts will be posted to the Vimeo group at the end of the day and passed onto animators in residence at the festival. You will have a day and a bit to turn a script into a film, the deadline for posting your films on Vimeo will be 12noon, 7 November. They will then be screened later that afternoon.
October 15th, 2009 §
Naz Koser is the Artistic Director of Ulfah Arts based in Birmingham. She has kindly written this post for Best Believe giving an insight into her recent month long trip to the states on a programme for arts workers entitled ‘Promoting tolerance through Arts in the USA’.
Very few journeys in a person’s life leave an ever-lasting mark on one’s memory. I’ve just been on one and even though I enjoy coming back home after long travels, the emotions are much more mixed this time. My name is Naz Koser and I’m the Founding Director of Ulfah Arts a social enterprise based in Birmingham but working internationally developing artists and arts practices by engaging communities that don’t engage with the arts.
The journey in question is my recent trip to the Unites states of America as a part of an international programme – Promoting Tolerance Through Arts organized by United States department of State.
This three week program included meeting leaders of major art institutions, community arts organisation, museums and independent artists in Washington, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Texas and Los Angeles Starting in Washington on the East coast and finishing in Los Angeles on the West Coast, my journey lasted almost a month but felt like a lifetime of learning.
I was part of a 20 member strong contingent made up of other arts professionals , each representing a different country . There is no arts council in USA and no public funding so all arts organisations’ have to find other ways of existing and doing their work. There was one good practice/excellence I saw in each city however majority of the time I ended up sharing my work based in Birmingham and received recognition for the contribution I am making. New York based City of Peace project developed a youth theatre production with young kids from foster care, giving an insight as to why some children end up in care. It was one of the best youth productions I have seen, with a quality and humorous script, and having seen a Broadway show the day before I recognised some of the formula used and the potential of this work. This stirred the ongoing debate in mind around how to close the gap between community/professional arts.
I’m convinced there are ways in which both the need for quality of art achieved through arts for arts sake and social change using arts as a tool can combine to have really powerful impacts on the various levels and audiences. This is one of the driving forces behind my work in bringing different groups of people, perspectives together. Just thinking about this makes me so excited and almost being in the USA made it feel so easy and achievable. Having come back to Birmingham I’ve realized that power and influence are also things needed to really help arts make an impact. It requires a degree of working outside of my comfort zone in building a profile and associating myself with people who have power and influence who may not necessary know about the power of the arts. It’s a conflict because I personally want my work to speak for itself rather than me talking about what I’m going to do. I do it and it speaks.
For the first time I’m thinking about place and whether there is a place that is more conducive for people like me. Where a city supports great ideas without compromising the artist, a place where exploration is appreciated and valued as even in the arts their are conventions and conforms that restricts creativity and it becomes exclusive. The LA Gallery walk is one of my favorite memories. Artists are invited to showcase their work in empty shop windows, other unusual spaces as well as restaurants and shops, everything from performances to visual artists in the process of making work. The atmosphere was inspiring and as an artist contagious! It really felt like a city encouraging ideas and creativity. There were thousands of audiences walking around the rough streets of LA. A bit like Birmingham’s arts fest but less corporate and more rooted from an organic growth.
October 13th, 2009 §
This Sunday…”Ink will Spill”. This is the qualifier, for the background story read here.
October 1st, 2009 §
Eastside Projects is an artist-run space as public gallery and incubator of new ideas for the City of Birmingham and beyond.
Eastside Projects is a not-for-profit organisation, working in partnership with Birmingham City University and STATE Enterprises, revenue funded by Arts Council England West Midlands; it aims to commission and present experimental contemporary art practices and exhibitions and fully participate and support the cultural activity of the city both inside and out.
Eastside Projects was conceived by artist-curator Gavin Wade and is organised by a founding collective comprising Simon & Tom Bloor, Celine Condorelli, Ruth Claxton, and James Langdon.
Abstract Cabinet Show // 26 September to 8 November 2009
Part of The Birmingham Comedy Festival 2–11 October and The Event 4–8 November. Featuring Laureana Toledo & John Taylor, Mithu Sen, Support Structure, Para/Site Art Space, Heather & Ivan Morison, Magnus Quaife & David Osbaldeston, Shedhalle Zurich, Michael Takeo Magruder, Bedwyr Williams, Grizedale Arts, The Hut Project, Malgras & Naudet Contemporary Zurich, Stan’s Café, Freee, Daniel Salomon, Juneau Projects, Stone Canyon Nocturne, DJ Simpson and Clarke & McDevitt.
Featuring the Premier of a new multi screen film, sound, bass amp and newspaper publication project, CORRESPONDENCE/ CORRESPONDENCIA, made collaboratively by Mexico City based Laureana Toledo and Duran Duran Bassist John Taylor. Toledo and Taylor’s Super-8 footage of Birmingham and Mexico City (with Taylor filming Mexico and Toledo filming Birmingham) - is a “meditation on local and international constructed space and identity, the sound of cities and an inquisitive meeting of difference, coincidence and shared passions”.
