Digbeth is Good linked to this publication, Uncertain Eastside by Nikki Pugh, the first issue of which is now out, offering a ‘critical questioning of the branding of a version of Eastside as the Cultural Quarter and of her relationship to it (or not) as an artist.’

This is the first document in a series of unknown length recording the shifting landscape of the ‘Eastside’ areas of Birmingham. Including intersecting regeneration projects and plans for leisure, learning and transport developments, these are places with varying characters, histories and aspirations that are very much in flux.

Uncertain Eastside: Document One 2009 is available through Magcloud, where you can also have a flick through the digital version.

The place screams ‘POTENTIAL’ (and also, in places ‘fixer-upper’) and they’ve got artisan workshops for rent.

Here’s a slideshow of Nikki’s photos:

The fizzPOP Howduino event takes place on Saturday 21st November, 10am – 5.30pm:

It’s a free event that will bring together 40 people from different backgrounds to work individually and collaboratively on various projects based around the Arduino platform. (Arduinos are small microcontrollers designed for easy prototyping of things that have electronics/data that respond to things in the physical world and vice versa. In their own words: “It’s intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.”)

The event will cater for people of all skill levels (we’re running introductory workshops for beginners too) with the main aim being to get people combining components – be they electronic or cardboard – and ideas to produce cool stuff.

The workshop places have all gone now but there are still a few attendee tickets left. If you’re really keen to do a workshop then put your name down here and they might be able to free up some space.

Ta to Nikki Pugh for sending the info.

An outdoor dance spectacular that’s part of Birmingham Town Hall‘s 175th birthday celebrations. They’re hoping for up to have had up to 12,000 people take part. It’s being performed on Friday 9 October at 8pm and Saturday 10 October at 3pm and 8pm – and you can learn the steps half an hour before each performance.

It’s part of the People Dancing programme and there’s plenty more info on westmidlandsdance.com and the Bollywood Steps website.

Birmingham Poet Laureate Inaugral Reading

Tonight, at the Library Theatre, our new poet laureate, announced yesterday as Adrian Johnson (ACE West Mids Literature Officer), will be performing for the first time in his official capacity.

Info on the Birmingham Book Festival website.

Goings on in Digbeth

Nicky Getgood, on Digbeth is Good, has linked to a fair amount of interesting stuff happening:

• Eastside Studio are holding an Open Studio on Saturday afternoon from midday to 5pm to ‘celebrate the completion of carving the ‘Rugby Writers’ commission’
• Also on Saturday, VIVID are taking part in The Big Draw with a variety of artists getting visitors to interact with their work

UPDATE – Oops, cheers to Nicky Getgood for pointing out the next one is on Sunday 18 October:

• On Sunday Nikki Pugh is doing a GPS-assisted walk around “the perimeter of the regeneration area taking great care to stop, investigate, prod, document, tell stories about and explore things along the way”

Also, see the comments for more free stuff this weekend.

In the meantime, two things that compliment one another have come to my attention.

Firstly, an opportunity:

INTER?OGATION: WALSALL

Call to Artists:

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become a secret agent for a day in order to interrogate the public spaces of Walsall.

Using the New Art Gallery Walsall as a base you will investigate the artist’s role in the post-industrial world through one of four methods:

INTER?OGATION: ACTION RESEARCH     (09/09/09)
INTER?OGATION: CONSULTATION         (16/09/09)
INTER?OGATION: COLLABORATION     (23/09/09)
INTER?OGATION: INTERVENTION         (30/09/09)

INTER?OGATION: WALSALL explores the impact that one artist (you) can make in one place, in one day.

This programme of work is organised by Longhouse and the New Art Gallery Walsall, working with lead artist Anna Francis (who can also be found here), and is designed to investigate the impact of short, sharp interventions within the public realm.  Deadline for expressions of interest is fairly soon – 12pm Friday 28 August 2009 – so go visit the site to find out more.

Secondly, I really enjoy the idea of creative practice being fused with more spy-like activities – interrogations and investigations.. where everyone gets to be a secret agent and have their own missions!  So for those of you whose toes are curling at me daring to mention WALSALL in a CiB post, I wanted to temper that with a signpost towards a great Birmingham artist – Nikki Pugh. I feel she really embodies this excitement within her practice, but best of all has taken the time to document in detail how she’s used this approach with great effect in her “How to Wow” series.

Do you know of any other local artists who work in this way?

It’ll probably be in January some time. If you’re interested, or you know of anything going on already, then please say hello in the comments. I’ll put more info up here as and when.