Kate Spragg

An Endless Supply

Kate Spragg — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:30:50 +0000

Well, hello stranger. I just popped in to say hello and tell you all about An Endless Supply, a zine (if you will) created by some of the movers / shakers / candlestick makers of the Brum arts scene. It’s a monthly, black and white, print-to-order, A4 booklet.

I was invited by the curator of the latest issue, Kate Pennington-Wilson to the launch party held at The Victoria on Thursday. This latest issue is spawned from a piece of micro-fiction from Birmingham-based artist, Edward Wakefield. Titled ‘Midnight Silverfish Around The Hot Freezer’, the narrative continues thru text and illustrations from the following: Simon Baker, Ana Benlloch, Lavep Blucher, Nadia Chalabi, Rhys Coren, Olly Forrester, Caitlin Griffiths, Lewes Herriot, Bethan Hodges, Anthony Johns, Michael Kirkham, Amy Lee, Rosa Middleton, David Miller, and Stuart Tait.

There were 4 live readings, the first, apologies – I missed the title, consisted of two people reading passages simultaneously, which worked well as it encouraged you to think about how we listen (the performance style was loosely based around hypnosis tapes and subliminal messaging). The second, a piece by Olly Forrester really reminded me of old spam emails, with a loose narrative which weaves in and out with no real grounding, which worked well and was reminiscent of The Brother Mcleod‘s animation, Spamland. The other readings were let own a little by the writers need to perform in character, notably Tom Waits.

Being loosely linked with Ikon Gallery has ensured the venue was packed to the rafters and teeming with artistic spirit. This sort of publication is going to become more popular over the next few years as there seems to be a ever-growing popular fetish for physical handmade reading matter.

They are currently looking for submissions of work, be it a drawing, a photograph, a pattern, a piece of writing, a text, etc, etc.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Kate Spragg — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:07:31 +0000

Tomorrow I will be handing over the Created in Birmingham reigns to a new editor, Adrienne Frances. I have loved every minute of getting my hands on CiB and hope you have enjoyed reading my posts, and have forgiven any typos. Over the last five months I have played my small part in not only a thriving creative and cultural sector in Birmingham, but have got to know some of the most dedicated people in the region who are innovating the way we communicate online and off.

I will let Adrienne introduce herself properly in due course, but just to say that she was chosen as editor for her wealth of experience with the arts, her wit and for her hunger to ask the questions that need answering. You can follow Adrienne on Twitter and give her a personal welcome.

I will be going back to write about music on the Colour blog this month, organising live music events in Birmingham, and I will be popping back to CiB to post when I get the itch to write about something relevant. I will also get round to starting my own blog sometime soon as somewhere to put down my wandering thought.

Their are many CiB readers who have helped and inspired me over the last few months but to mention a few: Chris, Pete, Helga, Lyle, Katie Parry, Kay Stanley, Kasper Sorensen, Abby Corfan, Nicky Getgood, Rob at BCMG, everyone who bought tees and totes, but most of all Matthew. Thanks everyone, and so long for now!

Liz Hingley’s religious Birmingham

Kate Spragg — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:10:49 +0000

I have just discovered the wonderful photography of Liz Hingley. She studied photography at Brighton University and is currently based in Italy on a photographic scholarship at Fabrica. She has photographed and exhibited around the world and more recently visited Birmingham to photograph some of the city’s religious life. Her work will make up part of of Rhubarb Rhubarb’s Hungry Bursary exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

24 Hour Scalextric

Kate Spragg — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:37:47 +0000

The latest performance from Stan’s Cafe is as weird and wonderful as usual. Timed to coincide with the official Le Mans 24hr race, Stan’s Cafe have converted their factory HQ into the site of a major Scalextric track on which six teams will do battle in a gruelling 24hrs of slot-car racing.

There will be a weekend of themed activities taking place along-side the performance including film screenings curated by 7 inch Cinema and Outer Sight, family stuff and ooh la la even some fancy French cuisine.

Stan’s Cafe presents: 24 Hour Scalextric. 13 – 14th June. Weekend tickets: £5 / £3

BBC’s Hustle is coming to Brum

Kate Spragg — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:01:51 +0000

Following a recent announcement that BBC’s drama ‘Survivors’ will relocate to the West Midlands, Screen WM has announced today that they are investing in the next series of Kudos Film and Television’s major international TV drama, Hustle.

The investment means that Hustle will relocate to Birmingham, and the city will provide a new backdrop for the drama which is broadcast across the world. This is a major coup for the city and forms part of a wider strategy by Screen WM to secure and create a more sustainable screen media sector in the West Midlands. The series will bring an estimated £1.2 million into the regional economy and will provide jobs for local crew.

The Hustle team are due to move to Birmingham and will be living in the city for the duration of the filming. In addition to financial investment, Screen WM have played a significant role in attracting the new series of Hustle to the West Midlands, working closely with Film Birmingham, providing locations and crew support. The producers were attracted to the West Midlands on the basis of the region’s diverse locations, excellent facilities and experienced crew.

Simon Crawford Collins, Joint Managing Director of Kudos said: “We are hugely excited about Hustle’s move to Birmingham. It’s a transformed city whose cool new locations have rarely been used for TV dramas and we will hope it will become a hub for Kudos’s output for many years to come.”

Midlands Music Festival round-up

Kate Spragg — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:34:57 +0000

The line-up for this year’s Glastonbury Festival was announced today, and what a mediocre one it is. Like a lot of huge festivals it relies on the expected roll out of faded heroes and next week’s hipsters. If you are looking for a more, dare I say, ’boutique’ experience there are plenty of music festivals around the UK such as The Green Man Festival, End of the Road and All Tomorrow’s Parties.

Moseley Folk Festival by H4NUM4N

But thousands upon thousands of music lovers, from metal heads to twee folksters head to the Midlands every year to experience our independently run festivals, well crafted events that are deeply rooted in the community they came from.

So, forget V, Leeds and Glasto, get yourself along to one of these West Mids fests:

BASS Festival (British Arts and Street Sounds) is the UK’s only month long celebration of Black Music and Art. Every June, the UK comes alive with a phenomenal line up of events, new commissions, gigs, exhibitions, master classes, showcases, club nights, theatre, conferences and film. This year’s theme is ‘Inspired by Africa and Africans’, celebrating and exploring Africa’s influence on the UK arts scene.

When: June. Cost: Free – £10

Moseley Folk Festival has been running for 4 years now, programming a healthy mix of traditional, contemporary and downright experimental folk and acoustic music. The festival is held in what feels like a world away from Brum’s City Centre within the gorgeous woodlands of Moseley Park. This year’s line up includes: Beth Orton, Saint Etienne, Jethro Tull and Kris Drever, John McCusker & Roddy Woomble.

When: 5th, 6th and 7 th September. Cost: £10 – £65.

Supersonic Festival is definitely one for those who don’t like the mud, but do like loud and experimental music. If you think you don’t, go along to this Custard Factory festival anyway and you may just have an audio visual experience to remember, which has to beat standing the rain listening to Kasabian, right? See the Capsule website for the full line-up.

When: 24th – 25th July. Cost: £15 – £75

Indie Tracks Festival is all a twee navelgazer could ever need in a festival; indiepop bands, a museum, churches, farms and most importantly stream trains. Set further afield in Derby, this fairly new and unspoilt festival is certainly worth the journey from Brum, and is steeped in rural Midlandsness.

When: 24th – 25th July. Cost: £30 – £55

Other more than worthy regional mentions to go Gigbeth, Birmingham International Jazz Festival, CoCoMad, Wolvestock and Summer Sundae. This isn’t a definitive list, so feel free to add your recommendations in the comments.

High Rise to Power

Kate Spragg — Sat, 23 May 2009 11:15:53 +0000

In response to the ‘Music is Not Pollution’ video, documentary photographer Jane Baker and was excited to hear about how creatives are using their talents to campaign about local issues and stir up some action.

Jane is a documentary photographer who has recently moved to Birmingham and has just produced an audio visual story about two single mums from Quinton Lynsey, 23, and Carina, 21, who were given the unique opportunity to experience working in Parliament with the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, MP Cheryl Gillan, they took the chance to speak out about their experiences living on a council estate in Birmingham.

BAF: British Artists Football

Kate Spragg — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:48:05 +0000

You don’t get to see teams of artists pitted against each other on the football pitch often, but if you have nothing planned this Saturday, go and cheer on four of Brum’s best teams at the British Artists Football Tournament.

The teams battling it out for the typically bespoke trophies are from throughout the U: AC Tortured Birmingham / Dynamo Artists Birmingham / Eastside Projects / Liverpool Relational Athletics/ Real Worcester / Bristol /Stoke Airspace Gallery / Lokomotiv Yorkshire / Jibbering.

Tournament: Saturday May 23rd 1.00pm – 6.00pm (draw takes place at 12.00) Aston Powerleague (just off the M6; 5 minutes from Birmingham New Street by train).

Post Tournament Awards ceremony: 8.00pm onwards The Lamp Tavern (10 minute walk from New Street Station).

Music Is Not Pollution

Kate Spragg — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:46:37 +0000

Newbie CiB contributor Rich Batsford has pointed me in the direction of a short documentary detailing ‘the shocking way that Birmingham’s vibrant culture is being degraded by the complaints of a vocal minority, poor regulation and lack of awareness’.

The film comes out of a number of recent issues where venues key to the Birmingham music scene have been faced with difficulties amounting to eventual closure due to complaints of a very small minority of people and alleged behaviour by the Council and Property Developers which leaves much to be desired.

In response, Project X have produced this short film to highlight some of the issues and hopefully stir up some action:

Hi8us: Comix

Kate Spragg — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:19:49 +0000

I try to keep up with what great projects the Midlands arm of Hi8us are up to. For last year’s Hello Digital event they worked with a group of older people to enable them to tell their stories through digital media. Hi8us are a great resource for the Midlands and their projects, whilst being aimed at hard-to-reach young people, older people and those with physical and mental disabilities, they do it without being po-faced and by getting involved in modern and relevant media.

Spiderman, drawn by John McCrea

The latest scheme is a continuation of their work with comics, or should I say Comix.To take part in this new scheme you need to be over the age of 16 (which isn’t hard, lets face it) with a passion for comic art and live in the West Midlands. The lucky chosen few will also get to work with people on similar schemes across Europe and get a supported trip to a comic art festival in Spain, as well as a trip to the Birmingham’s International Comics Show.

20 talented individuals will get the opportunity to develop their skills with John McCrea (X-Men, Spiderman and The Hulk), Hunt Emerson (The Beano, Wall Street Journal and Fortean Times), Laura Howell (The Beano, The Guardian), and Andi Watson (Geisha, Buffy) amongst others.

Interested? Pop onto the Hi8us website.