The CiB Shop window was jazzed up with the help of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Art Detection Services set up their workshop in store and Shady Bird popped by to play a set. In other CiB news, CiBmail was launched.

The Rainbow announced their plans for developments and expansion both upstairs and below, we said goodbye to more independent record shops and sampad celebrated their 20th anniversary.

Trove showed some science, we had a nosey at CBSO’s summer programme and some behind the scenes footage from The Electric showed up.

Not My Type brought together “a veritable who’s who of Brum talent” (to quote myself) and, in other illustration-related news, the Love To Print crowd released Patterns #1.

Other things to look back on and go ‘oh yeah, I remember that’ include Such Tweet Sorrow, BAP’s document on Birmingham’s Creative Capital, the Big Culture Blog and a call for “more of the Simon Rattle effect”. Also, In Our Backyard looked interesting and Chris Bates made a video for Munchbreak’s Television:

The artists who took part were Mohsen Keiany – an internationally-recognised painter and illustrator; video and film makers Reel Access (George Fleming and Laura Breakwell); Eleanor Hoad – a cultural eco-artist with a keen interest in permaculture and issues of sustainability and storytellers Annamation (Anna Conomos and Susanna Willetts).

Works produced by the artists and local communities include a large scale mosaic based on by Islamic calligraphy, created by family groups in Ladywood; a filming and photography project made by under 5s and their parents showing community perspectives of Hodge Hill; the planting of fruit trees in Erdington High Street town centre arcade and creation of a map of fruit trees in the area – and a story telling project in Perry Barr, which worked with community elders to hear their tales and then helped young people to learn and re-tell them.