Visual / Art of Ideas II – 30 June to 12 July, 2009

I was already aware of the extensive work of Arts & Business, an organisation determined to foster innovative partnerships between businesses and the arts – but had somehow managed to remain oblivious to the existence of their Visual arm.  With the imminent launch of an exhibition of works curated by Stephen Snoddy, director of The New Art Gallery, Walsall, this has all changed and I’m finding myself excited and curious about the schedule of events which run concurrent to the exhibition, as part of the Art of Ideas II programme.

Running from 30th June until 12th July, Snoddy has selected work from the Visual collection, taking nature as his theme.  The exhibition, held at Baskerville House, will feature works by a variety of artists including: Daniel Bosworth, Ian Bratley, Louise Cattrell, previous Ikon exhibitor Ravi Deepres, Anne Guest, the craft-tastic Betty Pepper, and award-winning Birmingham-based photographer Stuart Whipps.

The Art of Ideas II brings a second year of high profile debates to Birmingham audiences, endeavouring to instigate lively debate around the ‘Art of Collecting’ as well as the relationship between museums and collections in the UK.  You might wonder why this is currently so relevant to Birmingham, but with the Ikon gallery in the midst of a feasibility study (in association with Tate Connects) focusing on a proposed museum and permanent collection of contemporary art in Birmingham, it seems exactly the right time to be holding such discussions.  If this subject tickles your fancy, the free discussion, ‘A New Museum for the 21st Century’ will be happening on 8th July from 18:00 – 19:30 at Baskerville House.  I’ll be keen to see whether anyone dare broach the subject of the current economic climate and it’s impact upon collecting!

A wide variety of other free events are happening over the course of the programme, which include tours of the city’s cultural destinations, family fun days and other social events which celebrate the creative industries in Birmingham.  Hooray for summer fun – July looks set to be a lot busier than June, and I’ll be featuring many of these events on CiB!  Full details can be found on the Art of Ideas II site – although please note that many of these events are run by other organisations and you may need to book places.