Are you a West Midlands based artist or maker?

If yes, then mac birmingham wants your art.

The Open Project is guaranteeing the regions artists a place in mac birmingham’s prominent first floor gallery to show and sell their work, and all eligible work will also be considered to take part in a series of exhibitions throughout the summer.

So what do you do next? There are eight simple steps to follow that are detailed further here, but in the mean time, as always, please read the terms and conditions and then register online for the Open Day on Saturday 29th June.

There will be a workshop tomorrow, 15th June, to give you all the information you need to know about taking part. You can book your place at the workshop here.

8 workshops exploring body image and sexuality will culminate with a group exhibition at Ort. in Balsall Heath from the 19th September until the 2nd October. The project is only possible because of a successful crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs of the workshops. Although the target has just been reached there are still two days left to support the project at the Wefund page.

THE SoURCE are hosting their eco gift fair at Moseley Exchange tomorrow from 10am – 4pm. Entry is free and they’ll also have a cafe area and home baked cakes, see the full list of stallholders on their blog.

The Barber Institute‘s Christmas Craft Fair is next weekend, 4 December from 11am – 4pm. Along with the usual array of gifts and artwork, they’ll also be holding a free family crafts workshop, making cards and decorations, plus Christmas storytelling throughout the day.

Light House are holding their renowned Festive Flair on 11 December from 11am – 4pm. Take a look round the selection of local talent selling their work and gifts, with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie. Entrance to this is also free.

Also in association with Festive Flair on the same day, is the Queen Vic Designer Maker Festive Fair at Wolverhampton Arts Gallery. Kids will have the chance to meet Santa, plus there’s storytelling, free family craft activities and a local choir performance throughout the day.

For more information or to book your slam place telephone Emma 07950 165265 or email emmaasif@hotmail.com

The Drum Beat Poetry Workshop starts Tuesday 21 September, and will carry on until 14 December. Meeting Tuesdays at 4 – 6pm, the group will discuss a selected poets work, along with sharing and providing feedback for each other’s work. Poets of all levels are welcome, all you need to join in is a pen, a piece of paper, a poem and £1.

Rhymes on the Roof will be happening 24 September, from the roof of RoguePlay’s new space at The Old Fire Station, Moseley. With the usual poetry goodness and awesome Raffle, this month’s will also host a pretty view and fresh air. Starting at 8pm, bring a brolly and a jumper.

On 16 and 17 October 2010 I’m hosting a weekend session designed to help creative people take control of their online lives. The course will be aimed at online beginners/intermediates and will cover:

• Websites
• Mailing lists
• Social media (YouTube, Flickr, Slideshare, Audioboo and others)
• Social networking (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
• How to boost your profile
• How to work with others online
• How to approach journalists and bloggers (and what to send them)

Places are limited. Tickets cost £150 plus booking fee. It’ll be more than worth your while. Book now.

There’s also ONE £100 ticket for the first person who books. Be quick – once it’s gone, it’s gone. Wow, that went quickly.

Some context

The Internet has changed how artists can do business. See this recent article in the NY Times for examples of that. The problem is that, when it’s possible to do anything, it can be hard to know where to start. That’s where this course comes in.

We’ll help you get set up with the solid foundations of an online presence. We’ll also show you how to make use of it but the overall takeaway from the course will be this:

If you do nothing else online, at least have these basics in place

What’s more we’ll do all of this using free tools and we’ll put you in control of using them.

Why do this course?

As a result of running Created in Birmingham I’ve seen hundreds of artists and creatives and the ways they portray themselves online. I’ve learnt a few lessons from doing my own projects and running my own business too.

There’s (almost) nothing I haven’t seen, I know what can reasonably be expected of a busy person and I know what works.

Full information on the course and booking details are here.

Can’t make it to this course?

Sorry to hear that. If you’d like to be kept informed of future sessions then please sign-up here:

NB: Meshed Media owns this mailing list and will keep your email address private.