RoguePlay, founded in 2009, can most likely be found hanging from a trapeze, or silk, balancing, lifting or throwing one another, all while speaking a monologue, singing a song or playing the accordion.

Every year they like to showcase their new routines and skills from trapeze, to hoop solo and silks. With aerial acts, music and drinks the Aerialist Showcase tickets are charged at £5.00 with all proceeds going back into the theatre company with the aim of buying curtains for their new space.

To find out more about RoguePlay Theatre visit their site where you can also book tickets.

Get down to Digbeth this weekend for the sale and exhibition of thousands of vintage sneaks and fresh apparel brands all under one roof.

The Sneaks and Peaks event runs from 12pm – 7pm at Boxxed – an amazing venue at the heart of Birmingham’s creative quarter.

There will be street food from the best of Brum’s providers, an exclusive street art exhibit, and a roster of local DJs to set the tone.

As a special treat, Boxxed are hosting the final of the Birmingham series of Secret Walls. Check it out to see the best of Birmingham’s street artists go head to head for the crown.

“a moveable feast of art, culture and food.

Experience Digbeth’s canalside afresh with street food, guided walks, visual art & performance, aerial theatre, music, family friendly workshops, and a pedal powered cinema.”

There are a lot of great groups of people involved in this including: Vivid Projects, Flatpack, Edible Eastside, Still Walking, They Are Here, Grand Union, Ikon’s Slow Boat, Companis, Stryx, MSFAC (Margaret Street Free Arts Council), RoguePlay Theatre, Harris Moore, WEMAKE6, Digbeth Dining Club, VINYL and many more.

The event is FREE and on Saturday 27th July, 12pm-6pm. More information in this blog post.

If you don’t know where Warwick Bar is, then see their handy ‘How to find us’ page on their website.

On the same weekend, just around the corner – is the Birmingham Beer Bash, which I think is also worth a mention…

Located in the Digbeth art booming workspaces of Minerva Works is Stryx, an artist led studio and exhibition space in Digbeth formed by recent Fine Art graduates from Birmingham Institute of Art & Design.

From the Stryx site:

‘Formed by six female graduates of Fine Art from Birmingham City University, 2012, Stryx’s joint ambitions are to continue developing their art with the ever-growing cultural wealth of Birmingham, and maintaining support for artists internally and externally by creating an accessible community of practice.’

Co-Founder Aly Grimes had the chance to speak to Axisweb in this great video below:

Stryx apparently have lots planned for the new year, but for now you can take some Life Drawing classes in the space every other Wednesday, with the next 13th March.

Check out their website, Facebook and Twitter for more details.

Out of the ashes of the Digbeth media arts centre that was VIVID (which closed in March 2012), a new venture has been born with VIVID Projects opening a new space and exciting plans out of the thriving eastside artists allotment Warwick Bar. This all comes as a result of receiving an Arts Council grant for a two year development programme of local Birmingham based work – great news.

Vivid Projects will be setting up shop on the February 22nd with a launch party in the space, check out the details on their Facebook event, and also launching 33 Revolutions, with the first of their projects with Revolution 01, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, How Long Will They Last?” starting at 7pm on their opening night.

Here’s a few more details about 33 Revolutions lifted from Vivid Project’s Facebook:

The opening multi-media season 33 REVOLUTIONS will be a dynamic and sometimes challenging 8-month programme that asks the question; can art and culture be a catalyst for social change? Thought provoking encounters between new works and archive from 1960s to the present will addresses the ways in which film makers and artists from a diverse range of cultural situations and societies have protested. 

33 REVOLUTIONS takes the audience on a journey through film, print, performance and song, celebrating personal acts of protest and resistance from the dance floors of 70’s NYC to the anti-institutional spirit of 1960s – 70s Britain right up to the simmering Arab Spring and Occupy!. 

Keep an eye on Vivid Project’s Facebook for more details.

The exhibition features 50 portraits of celebrities who have died before their time including James Dean, Amy Winehouse and Heath Ledger (which is one of my favourites). It is based on the idea that to be an ultimate iconic celebrity, you have to die for the title.

Using traditional methods, this exhibition features portraits drawn using mechanical pencil with collage from vintage fabrics, Lucie creates detailed and quirky work with a vintage feel which allows her to give a definite sense of personality. To see more examples of Lucie’s work then please visit her site.

Lucie will be selling the framed original artwork at the Custard Factory along with a small gift shop including cards, postcards, prints and tote bags. The private view is being held on Friday 23rd November from 7.30pm till 10pm with live music, canapes and cocktails. If you would like more information or to attend the private view please RSVP here.

All photos are from Bowlers.

Nestled in the heart of Digbeth’s Custard Factory is the soon to be opened vintage, arts and creative market Mr. Bird’s Emporium. Set up by the great minds behind Urban Village and Sutton Coldfield Vintage Market, the emporium is looking for people to take up stalls, both permanent and temporary, inside the market space for either a resident space or at one of the Saturday ‘Custard Cream’  visiting trader sessions. Right from the opening there looks to be 50 stalls ready to trade for their October 13th opening.

This looks to be both a great opportunity for creative and artists around the city to get their work out there and displayed in a community of their peers, as well as exposing more people to the ‘always on the verge of being’ creative district of Digbeth.  Along with the success of traders at Artfest’s Art On The Railings, this will hopefully be a great starting point, especially for those just starting out and local graduates, to get some income from their craft.

So if you’re interested in exhibiting head over to the Mr. Birds Emporium and hit them up. Or if you just think this all sounds rather jolly exciting then be sure to check out the launch party on 13th October from 10:30-5:30 with live music, entertainment and all that other good stuff.

Do you like to push your writing to the extreme? Well next Saturday at Grand Union you will have the chance to push your pen wielding fingers to their very extreme with a 12 hour, all night writing extravaganza.

‘Part 12-hour exam, part club night, part endurance writing event’, the organisers BAZ and Hooky Street Press welcome all those who cross the path of the location to take part and give their unique responses to the proposed subjects. A little more info: