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.
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.
Kate Beatty is a photographer based in Birmingham, in this post she speaks to Best Believe about her work, influences and current projects.
Winner of the Move Me Award 2008 and Fuji Fashion Award 2001, Kate’s influences range from traditional reportage like Henri Cartier Bresson and Dorothea Lange to the more challenging and diverse work of Zed Nelson and Nadav Kander. Kate seems genuinely charmed by the people she meets and captures them in a truly sincere and compelling way. Her many commissions have enabled her to meet people from all walks of life whilst giving her the opportunity to travel to America, Cuba and the Balkans.
I draw inspiration from real life the people around me, city living and country air at the same time. I am a big people person, love meeting people, talking to them and photographing them too!!! Another big inspiration is music – helps feed into my creativity!
Kate understands what it is to work in a culturally & geographically varied region like the West Midlands and has a portfolio of work and clients that reflects this diversity, ranging from the NHS – a campaign photographing staff and patients, to a project with the BBC and young people in Telford to an exhibition inside a cattle market capturing local market goers.
I have just finished working on the Chamberlain Awards – a Birmingham City Council initiative. It’s an amazing job as I am spending 1/2 a day with people from all walks of the council ranging from dinner ladies and park rangers to top lawyers who are changing anti-social behavior laws in parliament.
Educational work ranges from BBC and The secret City Project and more recently Creative Partnerships where I have been working along side a visual artist and animator to explore the theme of science in primary schools. It’s incredibly inspiring working with primary school age as they are SUPER imaginative and creative.
Her personal work is a mixture of reportage and fine art, more recently taking a very feminine approach – exploring the theme of love, the highs and lows.
For many artists working in Birmingham, the pull of the ‘big smoke’ can be irresistible. I asked Kate whether she feels that you can be a ‘big fish in a small pond’ here in Birmingham and how she views the amount of opportunities in comparison to other cities.
Yes I do think you can be big fish in small pond in Brum but I also think you are not restricted by being in a place. You can grow, create, and innovate wherever you are.
Kate is based at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth, more of her work is viewable on her website here.
Screen WM has announced that on 14th October Power to the Pixel is bringing a satellite event to Birmingham. The day long event will be held at Novotel Birmingham on Broad Street. This event is free to attend and will be of interest to anyone working in content creation (film, television, animation, games) and digital media.
Power to the Pixel’s London Forum is firmly established as the leading event in the UK film industry calendar for creators to connect with key digital innovators: pioneers who are developing new models of storytelling, film financing and film distribution across multiple platforms.
Power to the Pixel’s Birmingham event will feature sessions directly from the London Forum as well as studio debate from Birmingham. Sessions brought to you from London will include award-winning producer Ted Hope’s keynote presentation. International speakers including Slava Rubin, Co-Founder of New York-based IndieGoGo and Rachel Mordecai, producer and digital content strategist.
To book a place and for more info click here.
