Councillor Ian Ward has stated in a Birmingham Post article that a new event would happen this year to replace the festival and celebrate the opening of the new library:

“It has been decided to roll the arts festival into a festival for the opening of the new library on September 3 and I have spoken to the major arts organisations in Birmingham, and the Arts Council about putting together a new festival to provide a showcase for the best that Birmingham can offer.”

Apparently this new arts festival will bes starting from 2014, but will see the £130,000 budget for Artsfest going down to £80,000; although it has been suggested that the Arts Council may look to matching that bid if it goes forward. Maybe.

Artsfest has been a mixed bag over the past few years, but negative aspects aside, it is a shame for the city to lose such a large outlet for the arts and creatives, and also for for those visiting to see what Birmingham has to offer. Hopefully this will work out for the best and the new events that unfold will be an even better showcase for the city’s talents.

If you have any updates or any more information, let us know by contacting or putting in the comments below.

Birmingham City Council has launched a Public Consultation on its Budget Plans from April 2012. Please support the cultural life of the city by taking part in this. The official deadline for responses is 8 January, however we urge responses by the end of November, as they can then feed in to the Council Cabinet’s decisions on arts spending in early December

A public consultation might not be very exciting, but if you want this city to support culture and creativity then it wouldn’t hurt to mention that to the people who make the decisions – they’re not psychic, y’know.