Now that is out the way, let’s get back to the cool stuff happening in Birmingham.

First off is an extremely exciting project Thrift Radiates Happiness, a contemporary art exhibition happening in the often ignored Municipal Bank in Birmingham; the impressive yet slightly dishevelled building on the opposite side of Broad Street to the New Library.

From TRH Blog:

This exhibition presents works based on the British class system, the ever-present UK recession and investment in art and the world economy.

With the main foyer space hosting a specifically commissioned sound piece by Elly Clarke, the offices off this central entrance will house pieces of work by Tom Crawford, Caitlin Griffiths, Ellie Harrison and Nicole Wilson, all of whom work with and present works based on commerce, current economical issues, up-cycling objects and investment.

This event will be opening 13th March and close on the 17th of the same month and, although free to enter, there is a little twist should you care to make a deposit…

For the second part of this exhibition audience members will be invited to ‘invest’ £2 for which they will be given a number to a safety deposit box, within which will be a limited edition print by one of the contributing artists.  Their £2 investment immediately rising and resulting in an original piece of artwork made for the exhibition by artists and architects. 

This is a RIBA event, curated by Charlie Levine / TROVE, in association with Aedas Presents, Birmingham Architects Association and Birmingham City Council/Library of Birmingham.

Check out their site, or head to their Facebook and Twitter – I especially recommend their Flickr to get a photographic insight into the space and their latest happenings.

Jane Anderson is a multi-skilled artist specialising in the production of original, cutting-edge, contemporary art for modern spaces. Working in paint, pencil and digital media, Jane skilfully draws and paints what she sees around her.

People are her main inspiration. Their interaction, emotions, behaviour, and body language are a constant source of information and provide a foundation to her work.

Below is one of Jane’s fine art pieces called ‘Little Barbarians’, but I suggest you check out more of her work on her website.

Swimming Without Water is a contemporary art exhibition in Moseley Road Baths, which I think it’s fair to say, is not your usual art venue. New works have been commissioned for the non-gallery space and they will be on show between 18th February and 15th March. Here’s some more info:

The artists, Debbie Akam, Flora Gare, and Tim Skinner, are working to bind their works with this glorious, historic building, to re-enliven it, to repopulate it through an engagement with the building and the audience (both swimmers and non-swimmers from Moseley Road and beyond) through the medium of art.

For profiles of the artists involved you can visit the Swimming Without Water artists page.

The Event - 2007

The first two weeks of April 2007 saw the culmination of a series of artist-led activities within Birmingham, and this was ‘The Event‘.  At that point in time, the number of artists choosing to stay and work within the city had increased, and an intensification of artistic production had taken place.  It felt very much like Birmingham projected a unique sense of identity, and it was easy to believe that the city held great potential.

Consisting of exhibitions and performances devised by ten of the brightest young visual art organisations in Birmingham at that point in time, the sixteen-day celebration focused on a myriad of event-based practices and exhibitions in such a way as to implicate the whole city into its logic.  Participating organisations included: a.a.s., Capital Art Projects, Colony, [insertspace], International Project Space, Modulate, Periscope, 7inch Cinema, Spectacle, and Springhill Institute.

A lot of interesting work took place, and indeed some of these organisations have developed and flourished (surely most notably 7inch Cinema) – but those without links to their work above, and even some who do have links, are either no longer working as artists / arts organisations, or have begun working under different names without leaving on online breadcrumb trail for me to follow.

In 2007, whilst not all that long ago, there was a definite sense of optimism and indulgence in the arts and arts practice – much moreso than we now have in 2009.  The recession will inevitably have played a large part in this shift, with organisations cutting back or closing down – but what other changes has Birmingham faced that has brought us to this point, so different to that of 2007?  Is there still intense artistic production?  Do people still believe that Birmingham has this great potential?  Have artists changed their practice in response to the current financial climate and retreated back into their stereotypical draughty garrets?

In a timely fashion, The Event has returned once more to open up and explore contemporary art making.  Through an open submission process, artists are invited to send proposals to be included in the November festival.  The deadline for proposals is quite soon – July 13th – but submissions can also be emailed.  I’ve included the details taken from the website below, but please send any specific queries to kaye@the-event.org I will be keen to see which artists are selected, and how their practice reflects the current mood of the city – and also how different the artforms will be, if at all.  Will The Event be inundated with digital submissions, and will there be any entirely virtual submissions running concurrently?

Open Submission

Deadline Midday 13 July 2009

The Event is a contemporary arts festival in Birmingham, showcasing the best in artist-led activity.

We are currently seeking proposals and submissions from artist projects and artist/curators in the Midlands for inclusion in The Event, November 2009.

Proposals with a budget of up to £2000 can be considered. Deadline for submissions is midday on Monday 13 July, proposals received after the deadline cannot be considered.

Proposals must include the following information:
Project proposal (maximum 200 words)
Brief biog/CV
Indication of project costs
Supporting material

Postal applications should be clearly marked:
BCAF Steering Group
The Event
Eastside Projects
86 Heath Mill Lane Birmingham
B9 4AR

NB. Please enclose a SAE for return of material.

e-mailed application should be compiled into one document and emailed to:
kaye@the-event.org

Please contact Kaye Winwood 07834 244 609 or email kaye@the-event.org with any queries.