At 7pm on BBC2: 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 … [Read more…]
New BBC sitcom Citizen Khan: Set in Birmingham, filmed in Manchester The Radio 4 show was pretty funny, nice to see this continued Tourism tax could help pay for Birmingham’s Creative City There’s been a lot of ‘could’ around this week and a distinct lack of ‘will’. No wonder people are losing faith/patience/respect Launch: Black … [Read more…]
Ikon‘s Autumn Almanac, from 17-20 November will be: a four-day celebration of Birmingham’s creative life showcasing the city’s artists, filmmakers and musicians. Ikon’s gallery spaces will exclusively exhibit works created in Birmingham, also hosting some of our best-known music festivals and organisations in a programme of live performances The list of people involved includes Oliver … [Read more…]
Internationally renowned visual artist and producer Mohammed Ali will bring together the words of Tshaka Campbell, the sounds of percussionist Daniel Waples together with live-spray painted art. Breaking Down the Wall is on Saturday 12 November at New Art Gallery Walsall and it’s free. It looks a little similar to the Writing on the Wall … [Read more…]
BAZ are busy at The Event. They’re hosting Love in the Snug (an alternative festival hub) where you can also buy the in-joke stuffed Mills and Koons, which is: A Brief Introduction to the Saucy Secrets of the Birmingham Art World I did and can confirm it’s simultaneously amusing and baffling (I’m pretty sure some … [Read more…]
So I went to the previously-mentioned Birmingham Creative City launch at lunchtime. I’d still struggle to explain exactly what it is, so here’s some blurb from the council’s press release: The Creative City initiative will play a significant role by: Creating a fund to build on existing public sector funding of the arts through loans, … [Read more…]
In no particular order… Getting to wander around Curzon Street Station (although there’s some good stuff in there, I have to admit I was excited enough about the building itself), finally making it over to The Lombard Method, Simon Faithfull’s window piece at Grand Union, meeting the guys behind BAZ (and Athletico Tortured Artists), Crowd … [Read more…]
I hadn’t been paying much attention, but there’s now a website for the Birmingham Ballroom and a growing line-up of events. It seems, and I don’t know whether it’s just because it’s early days, that a few people are taking the chance to delve into the venue’s history. A case in point being Hummingbird Reunion: … [Read more…]