Still, I did make it along to the Arts & Business Awards. The special guest was Patrick Stewart (who walked, not teleported on stage – disappointing) and the winners were:

• Community Award – EC-Arts & National Express Coach
• Cultural Branding Award – Stan’s Cafe & AE Harris (Birmingham) Ltd
• Museum, Libraries and Archives Award – Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust & Inchscape Motors Shrewsbury
• People Development Award – Holte Visual & Performing Arts College, St Francis Primary School & Signet Trading Ltd
• Sustained Partnership Award – Sinfonia ViVA & Rolls Royce plc
• Young People Award – County Youth Arts & Balfour Beatty Capital
• Business Volunteer of the Year Award – Colin Wells from Prologic plc & Multistory (also winner of the Champion of Champions Award)

Congrats to all of them.

After that I wandered down to the Sunflower Lounge for Gallery of Owl’s ‘All You Can Eat Zine’ which was fantastic – billed as ‘a night of Zines, comics, small press, music and performance’. It provided all of that as well as a palpable sense of

I didn’t stay for that long, but long enough to catch Richard Peel‘s entertaining performance of Dracula, have a chat with Claire from ATTA grrl a buy a couple of zines (ATTA grrl and Girls Who Draw, since you asked). There was a good turnout, a great atmosphere and the excitement of knowing there’s loads of interesting stuff going on around the city.

Here’s what I picked up:

And check out the hand stamp too – easily the best one I’ve had in a while:

harbor all those crazy little snippets of ideas that we all have from time to time in the format of photos, drawing and collage (any 2D images)

It costs £1 (plus postage) and you can get hold of one in person or by emailing galleryofowls@gmail.com.

If you’d like to see something of yours included, there’s some info about submissions here.

Gallery of Owls now has a website – hoorah! Even better, there’s a new show to talk about.

Obelisk The Tormentor will open on Thurs 11 Dec with a procession, starting from the gallery in Moseley at 7pm and returning back 30mins later when the doors will open and you’ll be invited to join the festivities.

As one of their favourite pastimes Owls seek to gain contact with the other side. This time using the ancient procession of ‘Wn taribb’. Join them as they proceed from Gallery of Owls through Moseley village on the pilgrimage between the two ’sky stones’.

(via BiNS)

For a limited time only, Gallery of Owls bring you a range of the finest devices available in store now, or by mail order from our extensive catalogue.

Intrigued?  Apathetic?

Gallery opening times/directions are on the Facebook event. The poster’s kinda purty:

While I will be looking at galleries such as RBSA and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery I would also like to look at something less conventional such as street art and something with a more independent edge

The first few things that sprung to mind (thinking mainly of galleries) were:

• Ikon Gallery
• Eastside Projects
• The Edge
• Urban Art Bar
• Gallery of Owls (although I’ve not visited and am struggling to find out much about this place)
• Purple Gallery
• Hedz (for street art stuff)

What have I missed?

Gallery Of Owls is a new artist-led space coming to 27 Woodbridge Road, Moseley and opening on Thursday 23 October.  I’ve not found any more info about the place itself, but the opening show is Black Leviathan.

There’s a preview of the show from 6-8pm on 23 October.  It will then be open 1-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays until 6 November.  Here’s the show’s blurb:

Owls delve into the memory and the subconscious to create BLACK LEVIATHAN a homage to the polyethylitic dream, for the opening show of Gallery of Owls.

BLACK LEVIATHAN is a channel created by Owls as a place of reflection and meditation that has manifested itself in physical form within the confines of the Gallery of Owls.

BLACK LEVIATHAN is a portal, Owls are unsure as of where to, but are encouraged to reinforce the mental route the other place.

The only online presence for this that I’ve found so far is this Facebook event. If you know what ‘polyethylitic’ means (many and alcohol induced?) then feel free to enlighten me.