Books, the bookish, the book; there’s never been a better time to talk about them. Not sitting here there hasn’t, anyway. Indicators are everywhere: books are in flux. Turnover in book publishing is growing slowly, but exports are accounting for a bigger share of the market. Micro-publishers are flourishing yet so are Ebooks. A decline … [Read more…]
We are Birmingham “as we approach the six month marker Jeff slash Dave brings the world up to date with how We are Birmingham is getting along” Dudley festivals axed – Audiences Central “Dudley Performing Arts (DPA) have axed their Rock The Castle and summer festival, both of which take place at Himley Hall, Dudley … [Read more…]
The Spring Thing is a short festival hosted by Birmingham Book Festival, on 9 & 10 April with workshops, performances and readings going on throughout both days. There is crime (and cake!) with Sophie Hannah, performance poetry with Nine Arches Press, the Birmingham Poet Laureate and guests, John Hegley, workshops, pigeons, personae, city gardening with … [Read more…]
Is Birmingham a city where it is easy to collaborate with others? I arrived in Birmingham in the summer of 2006, tasked with preparing Town Hall for its anticipated re-opening, due to happen 18 months later at the end of 2007. Although I had lived in the Midlands during my school years, I didn’t really … [Read more…]
I was at the Biting Back event on Monday. It was good – I generally come out in a rash when exposed to too much of the more abstract end of artspeak and thankfully (for me – I’m sure some love it) that was avoided, by and large. I’d been asked to talk about the … [Read more…]
As we prepare to bid farewell to Ikon Eastside ahead of it’s April closure, they’re gearing up for a rather special three night music festival, Rites of Spring, from 7 – 9 April. Celebrating the venue’s five year contribution to Birmingham’s cultural scene, the festival welcomes headliners Modified Toy Orchestra, Martin Creed and his band … [Read more…]
Flatpack and Fierce have barely begun, but I’ve already been taking a sneak peek of a few of the things they’ve got going on, including Symphony of a Missing Room, the Vintage Mobile Cinema and a trip over to the Dirty End. Yesterday morning I headed over to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, for a … [Read more…]
The film below was shot at the St Patrick’s Parade in Digbeth earlier in the month. Due to the flickering in the timelapse photography technique used, it’s probably best avoided by anyone with photosensitive epilepsy. ————— By William Fallows William Fallows documents Birmingham through video and photography at vimeo.com/newfolder and flickr.com/newfolder.