On a stifling morning two weeks ago, I went on a long overdue exploration of the Jewellery Quarter. There was a jazz band playing in St Paul’s Square and people were already lazing on blankets on the grass. I started my journey at the stylish Saint Kitchen café. Who better to meet there than Joe Schuppler, founder of Independent Birmingham, a blog and rewards card championing independents that is just about to celebrate its first anniversary.

Joe went to University in Liverpool. There, he made friends with the founders of Independent Liverpool. After finishing, he returned home to the West Midlands. Having enjoyed exploring the independent shops, cafes, bars and restaurants in Liverpool, he was eager to discover similar in the second city. He asked his friends whether he could start the same scheme in Birmingham. They said yes.

The Independent Birmingham website is a great central point to discover places to eat, drink and shop that you may have missed. Joe is eager that the website is not just a listing or reviews site. He also takes all the photographs. He says:

Instead of being a food critic I tell stories to make people inspired to visit. It’s a personal journey through Birmingham, but also an invitation for people to join in.

As independents don’t necessarily have the pulling power of the big names, Joe thought the card was the perfect way to get people in – supporting independents and also be rewarded.

Having built up over the last months, the card currently boasts offers from almost 40 independents (including cafes, bars, pubs, restaurants and shops across the city) with more being added each week.

So why should we all get an Independent Birmingham card? Joe says:

It’s the perfect way for you to rediscover your city, support local businesses and be rewarded at the same time.

The Independent Birmingham card is available here.

Ikon Gallery began life in the mid-1960s. Founded by Angus Skene and artists from the Birmingham School of Art, the gallery was initially housed in a glass-walled kiosk in the Bullring in an attempt to offer a more open environment for those unsure about what to expect looking from the outside in. After initial success, the gallery moved and expanded, changing locations as popularity grew and existing leases expired.

Before long, Ikon had become one of the most important contemporary galleries in the country. In 1997, after a lengthy stint opposite the Alexandra theatre, the gallery moved to its current location and a building I feel is very befitting of the name.

Now based in Brindleyplace – an area that was completely rejuvenated roughly 20 years ago – Ikon lives inside the former Oozells Street Board School, designed by John Henry Chamberlain in 1887. Just around the corner from the Sea Life Centre, easy parking right next door at Brindleyplace NCP and a beautiful, beautiful building. You can certainly see why it would make a great family day out.

Without wanting to sound like a broken record from my previous articles, it’s scenery like that which Ikon Gallery is based in that makes me appreciate Birmingham all the more. A lovely, modern square – the image of what good investment can do for depleted areas of a city. Recently, Ikon revealed plans for Ikon 2 as part of the redevelopment project in the Eastside district. Having not known the city 20 years ago (I was only 7), it’s difficult for me to judge too greatly, but from the outside in it feels as though Eastside is what Brindleyplace was 20 years ago, albeit Eastside starting from a better base point. A hefty piece of investment, Birmingham’s cultural spaces continue to grow and there’s more reason to be excited about where this city is heading from an arts perspective.

It’s the topic of where Birmingham sits as a culture capital that formed the basis of my interview with Helen Stallard and Stuart Tulloch when I visited Ikon not too long ago. Helen is part of the marketing team at Ikon, whilst Stuart is the curator and has been in the role roughly 6 months. With both myself and Stuart being new to the city it led to some very interesting conversations about how Birmingham is viewed form the outside, though Stuart is much better versed than I am on the history of Birmingham’s art movements.

Before we began the interview, Helen took me on a tour of the building and through the current exhibitions on display. On the second floor, the fabric motifs of Russian artist Timur Novikov don the walls in bright rooms with high ceilings, the perfect arrangement when viewing what are relatively large scale works. The shape of the building really lends to the gallery space and you feel like you’re in a special place.

Dotted around the rooms are Visitor Assistants who help the viewer understand the artist, the artwork and the technique applied in the creation. All seem happy to do so, which may seem a given, but I actually find it very refreshing. I’ve been to a few exhibitions lately in which people in similar roles have done everything to avoid eye contact with me and sat on their phones.

Part of Ikon’s 2nd Floor Gallery

Adjacent to the Second Floor Galleries is the Tower Room. In what feels like a really unique space, a video by Angolan artist Nástio Mosquito is played. You can see the Tower Room in the pictures of the front of the Ikon building, for want of a better phrase, it’s a pretty cool room.

Below in the First Floor Gallery is the work of Neoclassical sculptor John Flaxman. In what is once again a really vibrant, clean space the artwork is fantastically positioned. It’s easy to see why the gallery is held in such high esteem.

The Tower Room

A room I did not visit in my first experience of Ikon (but one I am sure shall become a frequent haunt for my son and I) is the Events Room, a base for Ikon’s learning programme. This part of the gallery is extremely important to Ikon, it’s a chance to engage with visitors on another level. On one hand, it promotes creativity and interaction with the art in the gallery and beyond. On the other, it enables the gallery to learn from its patrons about their experiences and further develop a programme that will continue to attract and develop relationships.

The learning programme is quite varied. From workshops based around the art on display (a good example of this would be the ‘Drawing in Stitch’ workshop on the 20th April), to walks, afternoon teas and storytelling event ‘Tell me on a Sunday the programme caters for a variety of interests and age groups. Many of the workshops are free, though occasionally you may have to pay for materials.

In sourcing artwork for exhibitions, Ikon takes its pick from emerging artists, both nationally and internationally. There will often be historical works, but these will have a significance to now. The gallery will often collaborate with other organisations in order to produce touring shows, or even exhibitions in other spaces in Birmingham, much like Metropolis currently on display in the Gas Hall at BMAG. Metropolis has been collected by Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the New Art Gallery Walsall in partnership with Ikon. I went last weekend and it’s a great exhibition. For someone with a real affinity for large cities like myself I found it a visual feast. It’s on until the 23rd of June so plenty of time to make a visit if you haven’t already.

The Events Room

The exhibitions at Brindleyplace mentioned above finish on the 21st of April, so if you are intrigued then head over soon before it’s too late. A typical cycle between a gallery refresh is 7 weeks, with a brief break in between to install the new exhibition. In this instance, the new galleries will be open from the 1st of May and include work by François Morellet and Giorgio Sadotti.

It’s now 15 years since Ikon moved to Brindleyplace, and next year marks the 50th anniversary of the gallery’s conception. In the programme over 2014 you can expect to see reflections on some of the significant artists they’ve had in the gallery over the past half a century. From my point of view it’s going be very interesting to revisit how the gallery was founded. It clearly has a big part to play in what Birmingham has to offer the arts community in the future, much like it has done for the past 50 years.

You can find out more about Ikon Gallery’s events, programme and history at their website www.ikon-gallery.co.uk

What are you experiences of the gallery? Please comment below and share with us what you have enjoyed over the years.

A very happy new year to CiB readers. As I begin my first full year living in this city I am coming to the end of the first batch of Welcome to Birmingham venues that I have researched since my move. It’s taken a while to get through them due to a rather hectic last four months of the year and I haven’t wanted to sell anyone short. The venues I have visited have opened my eyes to a varied world of art and performance that a year ago I did not know existed in the Midlands. The best part about this is I know I’ve only scratched the surface of what Birmingham can offer and I will continue to unearth locations to feed my creative mind in the coming months.

A short while ago I visited Eastside Projects for the opening of ‘Abstract Possible: The Birmingham Beat’ – I’d never ventured to this part of the city before, with the exhibition space located near the Custard Factory I knew there was an art community in Digbeth but I hadn’t expected such an array of locations upon driving in. With so many converted warehouses combined with a few pubs and independent shops the area reminded me of Brick Lane in London, it has that old, industrial vibe to it.

Eastside Projects’ gallery opened in 2008 on Heath Mill Lane and has since played host to various domestic and international artists, who take advantage of the unique environment created by the large industrial space.

The gallery (interactive tour below, due to bug you may need to refresh the page) is constantly changing and designed to be responsive to the work it is exhibiting. According to the User Manual available on their website – “At the end of every exhibition at Eastside Projects we build on, recycle and upcycle its remains. In this way, each exhibition alters the space and space writes and records its own history.”

In my first visit to Eastside Projects, the space appeared to be split into three sections. The first containing large sculptures, the second an exhibition of paintings and the third a large wooden construction that is their office space.

Whilst a lot of the works on display were temporary and part of ‘Abstract Possible’, certain artworks have become more long term fixtures in the space. You’ll find these positioned at various places around the gallery and include works by Susan Collis and Martino Gamper.

Pleasure Island

One of these long term artworks is ‘Pleasure Island’ by Heather and Ivan Morison. Originally commissioned for the Wales Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2007, the structure has been modified to function as the aforementioned office that you’ll find at the back of the gallery. It is quite a bizarre sight, yet incredibly intriguing and suits its surroundings very well.

The space in general lends itself to an uninterrupted, flowing experience and really shows off the work on display nicely. With the high ceiling and large white walls it gives off a certain freedom that you don’t get in more confined galleries and has a great industrial quality that adds to its presence.

On this opening night, I was equally impressed with the number of people attending the event and found it a fantastic place for networking. There were a lot of interesting figures from the Birmingham art scene that I had been recently learning about, so to actually get to talk to individuals and share their creative mind was an enjoyable experience and enough reason to go back alone.

It’s the sense of community that Eastside seems to thrive on and is what makes it an endearing location. Be it hosting family workshops, their ESP programme or the monthly Lunch Club, in which you simply bring a packed lunch to the gallery and enjoy some time out of the office for an hour – there are some great opportunities to meet new people and delve further into the city’s art community.

One such opportunity is this Friday, 6-8pm when the gallery launches ‘M6’ by Mike Nelson, ‘Revolving Woman’ by Rachel Lowe and ‘Curiosity Killed the Cat’ by Marie Toseland and Birmingham based Andrew Lacon, and I shall be there to take it in once again.

You can find out more about Eastside Projects at eastsideprojects.org

Photographs by Stuart Whipps, courtesy Eastside Projects

I often pop in to look over the artwork and long for a day when I will be able to purchase one of the lovely pieces of work they have on the wall. I always particularly enjoy the work of Paul Horton. His work reminds me of my favourite children’s author, Oliver Jeffers, and makes me feel happy whenever I look at it. It’s artwork like this – and the general mood of the place – that makes for a pleasant venture when out and about.

Paul Horton’s Safe & Sound – Night

Recently I was invited to the John Myatt exhibit hosted by Castle Fine Art and I took great heart to learn that the Castle Galleries story began in the West Midlands. Zoe Ralph and Helen Moulton from Washington Green graciously sat down with me to discuss the history of the business and plans for the future.

In the mid 1980s Paul Green established the Halcyon Gallery in Birmingham City Centre, expanding into the ICC before moving on to London where the gallery is now based. In this time a collaboration with Glyn Washington led to the formation of Washington Green Fine Art Publishing. Washington Green specialised in developing artists by translating original works into collectable limited editions and sculpture, something that it continues to do to this day.

By hand embellishing limited edition prints of an artist’s work, the gallery is able to produce something unique to every buyer. In 2005, Washington Green acquired Castle Galleries who now distribute these works in 30 galleries across the UK.

With a goal to break down the barriers of traditional fine art retailing, the galleries are welcoming and open yet still give the viewer a good ability to focus on the artwork displayed.

Artists often contribute to their local galleries by introducing their work as an exhibition begins. You will also find some of the artists touring the galleries, sharing the stories of the work that currently hangs on the walls, so it’s always worth keeping an eye on the schedule in your area.

The John Myatt exhibit was held at the Waterhall Gallery in the BMAG, a throughly enjoyable experience and something that Castle Fine Art plans to do more often. In addition to exhibitions in public spaces, the Castle Fine Art Gallery located in the ICC hosts art fairs to launch their new collections. The Autumn launch was unfortunately timed the week I moved house so I am yet to attend one, but looking at the new work displayed (including works by Ronnie Wood) it seems a good time to visit the gallery and get a first look over the new pieces.

Also found at the ICC gallery are some more high end works, with some Dali pieces on display that last time I made the visit.

The artwork at Castle Galleries is immaculately displayed and the featured artists can be quite varied, there’s a definite style to the things I like however. Local boy Paul Horton’s work attracts me every time through the sheer joy his paintings create in me. In contrast Bob Barker’s work engages me through drama, with subtle colour splashes creating work that seems impossibly vibrant for largely monochromatic pieces.

You will find Castle Fine Art on the ground floor of the ICC, towards the canal and Castle Galleries in the Mailbox as well as other locations across the country. Visit CastleGalleries.com for more details on featured artists and galleries.

Why not visit Castle Galleries today? Artist Emma Grzonkowski will be appearing at the Mailbox gallery, her latest collection Seven Deadly Sins explores the infinite complexity of the human condition. Find out more about Emma here.

The Welcome to Birmingham articles document my first experiences of the Birmingham arts scene as I discover what the city has to offer. You can read more here.

It’s been roughly 12 years since I last attended a dance performance, I have no idea what it was but at a guess I’d say it was some form of school trip as part of theatre studies. Tonight I am breaking that duck with my first visit to Birmingham Hippodrome and, based within it – DanceXchange.

Founded in 1993 and originally based on John Bright Street, DanceXchange [dx] partnered with the Hippodrome and Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2001 to become the largest dance partnership in Britain. It is at their studios I am to meet Mike Hyde who has graciously offered to give me a tour and tickets for the showing of Rosie Kay’s ‘There is Hope’, receiving its premiere tonight.

I park up at the Arcadian, a spot that is beginning to develop into my favourite parking spot in the area, and head over to the Hippodrome – down the right hand side and to the entrance on Thorp Street where I am to meet Mike.

After accidentally walking past each other on the lift, we get our bearings and begin the tour of the studios situated around the dx offices. In these studios members of the public can participate in over 40 classes every week. Catering for all ages and levels of ability, the classes start at an affordable £3 and styles are varied. As mentioned, I’m no expert in dance, but the location feels modern and bright, with a sense of privacy. Classes are well hidden off from general access so there’s no fear of accidental onlookers; even though I appear to be one as I am given the tour. I feel this is important, I know that if I ever take up something new I am always cautious as to who can see me fail miserably the first few attempts. I don’t get the sense that you would feel that here when taking a beginner class. Or any class for that matter.

With multiple levels of skill covered for each of their dance classes, DanceXchange gives members the opportunity to progress from beginner to advanced in house. Mike tells me that this is the ideal scenario, with classes for all levels of ability offering a number of entry points, which, alongside their Centre for Advance Training (a national scheme which develops young dancers aged 11-16 who may wish to advance to professional training), means that one day dancers may even return to dx as a professional performer.

The Patrick Centre is our next port of call. This studio theatre became the first dedicated dance space outside of London when it was opened in 2001. Residing in the Hippodrome, it is DanceXchange’s own performance area. With over 200 seats, the theatre is regularly used to host performances by touring companies from around the UK and further afield, which often include shows from dx’s Associate Artists. It can also be used to host functions and events.

We head out of The Patrick Centre for the time being and move past the audience who are busily readying themselves for a performance on the Hippodrome’s main stage, out of the building and across the street to StageSide, the theatre bar. It’s here we are able to sit down and discuss what DanceXchange’s role is in the city’s arts scene. It turns out it’s quite a major one.

As well as managing education and outreach projects across the West Midlands, dx co-produces the month long, biennial International Dance Festival Birmingham in partnership with the Hippodrome . This year’s festival was the third incarnation of IDFB and ran from 23rd of April to the 19th of May. Featuring dance choreographed from across the world the performances took place in theatres, cinemas, streets, parks and even children’s playgrounds. ‘Spill: A Playground of Dance’ – directed by Shaun Parker and inspired by London 2012 – was a project led by DanceXchange that saw a new 30 minute outdoor production take place using existing children’s playground equipment as the set that took dance into the heart of communities as it toured the West Midlands.

It’s projects like this one that has seen DanceXchange charged with carrying on the Olympic legacy in the region. ‘Dancing for the Games‘ – the West Midlands’ programme of dance activity, funded by the Cultural Olympiad, saw almost 30 organisations lead a wide range of projects across the region, encouraging everyone in the area to try something new. DanceXchange will be taking over WestMidlandsDance.com to continue Dancing for the Games’ good work into the future as they look to take advantage of the positive momentum generated by the Olympics for active leisure.

Last year saw DanceXchange celebrate 10 years at the Hippodrome and to celebrate they held a special anniversary season that included Hofesh Shechter, 2Faced Dance Company, TAO Dance Theatre and a show from Bare Bones – DanceXchange’s own touring production company.

Everything I am hearing is extremely impressive. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I arranged to meet Mike. Naively before I moved to the city I felt, like many do, that the cultural centre of the UK is London and have been walking around blind to everything Birmingham has to offer, despite living only an hour away in my hometown of Banbury. It’s for this reason that I am writing these articles, venturing to new places and experiencing new things. Dance is certainly something new to me and though I am impressed by everything Mike has told me I am rather apprehensive about viewing my first performance in recent memory.

As I head back into The Patrick Centre and take a seat at the back of the theatre I am asked by the gentleman next to me if I am a dancer. I am not, not only have I not really attended any dance before, but I also dance like an 80 year old man. I am not very supple, so this does amuse me. We chat about me moving into the city and what it has to offer before being quickly silenced by the beginning of the production. This could either be surprisingly enjoyable or a very long 2 hours.

Fortunately it’s the former. Whilst there were parts where I wasn’t sure whether the appropriate reaction was to laugh, be shocked or dignified I really enjoyed large portions of Rosie Kay’s work. I impressed myself by being able to follow the storyline, something I did wonder if I’d be able to do so and a large portion of the enjoyment of a show is understanding what’s going on. The musical accompaniment is by a trio of improv musicians from the Mubu collective and is quite outstanding – possibly my favourite part. The whole experience was extremely enjoyable from the setting and surroundings to the production itself and something I would gladly do again.

DanceXchange has opened a door to a new arts medium I can enjoy. From afar of course, I won’t be dancing myself, I don’t think my body can handle it. But I would certainly recommend the classes to anyone looking to try something new and active and the theatre space to anyone looking for an enjoyable evening.

You can find out more about DanceXchange, their classes and their programme here. DanceXchange’s Autumn Season of performances in The Patrick Centre continues this week with Forgetting Natasha by State of Flux

I am in somewhat of a rush as it is the start of a Friday afternoon and I am trying to pack a 20 minute drive and interview into the space of an hour. Coming completely unprepared (intentionally), I know little about The Public other than that the building was quite controversial when originally erected and that said, it does instantly jump off the landscape when arriving via road. The sat nav is less than pleased as it becomes incredibly confused by the reconstruction project the roads are undertaking but it isn’t too hard to navigate to a car park relatively close to the building and I race in through the large, pink, sliding doors to the reception desk. If you’re not arriving by car, The Public is quite easily accessed from the tram or bus routes. The train station is a little further away and you’ll probably need a taxi to get to the doors in good time.

Today I am meeting Linda Saunders, the Managing Director, who has kindly bought me a coffee to sip on as we discuss how The Public came to be.

Over the past 15 years there has been a plan to revitalise the town of West Bromwich and inspire the local community with The Public part of the redevelopment scheme that also includes a new college, shopping centre and supermarket. A group called Jubilee Arts, formed in the 80s, who had been holding community events in the local area at various different venues found that with the advent of the National Lottery funding had become available that would enable the group to put into practice ideas of having a base in West Bromwich.

Accepting applications from community architects to design the building, Will Alsop was given the lead and various groups became involved in the planning of the area. With grand ideas of an iconic building being the centre of the rejuvenation, the project began to get out of hand and the Jubilee Arts Council went into administration without the building being finished. The council then took ownership of The Public and passed the management on to the newly formed Public Gallery Ltd who were charged with the task of completing the building and furnishing it. After a slightly complicated method of viewing the gallery designed around interaction with the work, the Arts Council briefly halted the project before Linda took over the premises with a new organisation called the Sandwell Arts Trust, set up specifically to run the centre.

The Public was completed three years ago, quite some time ahead of the other buildings in the development (most of which are only just putting in the supporting structures at time of writing), and so looked quite out of place. With the college opening in the February of 2012 things are only just beginning to take shape as part of a grand scheme and a large amount of the early criticism aimed at the construction was that it looked so out of place. There are plenty of legitimate reasons for the delay of the other buildings, but bad news stories surrounding the project began circling the national press and led to a bit of ill feeling around the development.

That ill feeling is beginning to subside as The Public is gaining more supporters through the door every year and Linda tells me that by the end of the financial year they hope to have had over 300,000 visitors, beating last years total of 263,000. This new support has led to some extra funding to be invested and the future looks promising as development on the surrounding area continues to progress.

The installations and work shown around the gallery focus on interactivity with the viewer, something I actually wrote my dissertation on so it is of keen interest to me. In addition there is a theatre and the café we are currently sat in, as well as conference rooms that are available for hire. To our right a group of women are knitting and Linda informs me that, after knitting for a project commissioned by Trevor Pitt for the gallery, they decided they’d quite like to meet every Friday in the café to sit and knit various items for the community around them. With that nice anecdote it’s time for me to rush back to work, getting my coffee to go and arranging to meet Linda the following day to take a look around the building.

On return to the car I am quite dismayed to find a parking ticket on my windscreen issued 3 minutes beforehand. When I entered the car park I saw no signs informing me it was pay and display, no signs dotted around the car park and after a good look around eventually find some unsigned pay stations sparsely situated. Not particularly impressive, and there is certainly no signage when entering, so one to watch out for if you do park near the building (next to the construction work).

It is now the following day and I am returning to The Public with my 1 year old son to have a look around the building itself, making sure I park in a different location. We eat in the café which serves your standard sandwiches, crisps and a some hot selections and I once again meet up with Linda who takes me up to the top floor where the internal offices are located. She tells me that there are a few businesses operating out of The Public on this floor, as well as the spaces occupied by the internal operations team. Whilst not an area that many of you will visit, I feel this area is worth discussing as once you are up to the height of the top floor you can see the scale of the redevelopment process underway around the city centre. To my right the new Sandwell College campus sits proudly, directly in front of me the construction work of the new shopping centre and supermarket. I struggle to think of many places that have had such a large regeneration without a national interest (Stratford for the Olympics, for example). I can now see why it is a little unfortunate that the building has been completed so early in comparison to everything else, as the project is quite clear to me as I cast my eyes upon it for the first time, a luxury not available to local residents.

The building has employed over 100 apprentices in the past year who work on this floor, another example of how it is reaching out to the community to offer the youth greater prospects in industry.

Below we enter the first of the gallery and exhibition floors open to the public. On one end of a floor that spans the length of the building is a large open area capable of hosting learning workshops designed to engage the community. These range from arts and dance workshops to computer based learning and there’s something for all ages. The space is quite bright with a large window allowing for a nice natural light. As I walk through some children are partaking in a computer class learning how to animate a short film.

Through the centre of the floor there are permanent installations, touch based screens by Josh Nimoy that allow the user to interact by drawing that my son is very keen to get involve with as he peers up from his pushchair. At the back of the space is a room containing some installations. Once again Ewan is delighted to get involved as he learns that when he waves it affects the screen in front of him and then gets equal joy from banging the Noisy Table by Will Nash. There are other interactive displays down either side of the floor, but I shall let you discover these for yourselves.

The floor below is a space to hold conferences. A lime green floor covers much of the room that can be used as one long room with tables and chairs and a series of sectioned areas that can be customised to suit the size of the group.

The rest of the installations surround the outside of a combined first and second floor. These spiral around the edge of the building and as you walk you gradually move closer to the ground on a walkway with rooms splitting off periodically into larger galleries. Linda tells me that a few of the interactive displays need updating, but many of them are good fun to play with and encourage the user not only to interact with it individually, but as a group as well. I can imagine a school group enjoying them throughly. Toward the end of the path there are screens displaying previous works that have been on display in The Public before eventually I finish my tour of the building, learning about the small theatre that hosts a variety of shows but is mainly focussed on comedy. Down the side of the theatre is a gallery of pictures created by local artists which are partly for decoration and partly for sale. Seeing this wall of imagery is quite a nice way to conclude the tour, a visual example of The Public creating prosperity for the people of West Bromwich, encouraging them to bring out the artist in them.

The Public seems to have a good sense of what it is about and where it is going and to top it off it is is free to visit, you can find out more information about what’s on and how to get there on their website. You can also watch their showreel here.

The gently upbeat BiNS makes me happy. It’s run by someone for no money (and sometimes fewer thanks) by someone with a palpable affection for their city.

Forward is a council-sponsored propaganda rag with plenty of ‘good news’ but no personality and even less credibility. If it wasn’t foisted on every household in the city I doubt anyone would ask for it. I almost feel sorry for the thing.

By all means stick the latter on the web and call it #Birmighamproudtobeabrummie (sic). I know which I’d rather read.

UPDATE: Fairy nuff.

Olive, the BBC’s food magazine, recently startled British gourmands when it declared Birmingham, England’s second largest city, the United Kingdom’s “foodiest town,” ahead of London and Edinburgh. The award came last October, just as Birmingham was hosting an annual festival, the 10-day Birmingham Food Fest, which featured such local talents as Aktar Islam of Lasan Restaurant; up-and-comers like David Colcombe of Opus, Andy Waters of Edmunds Restaurant and Steve Love of Loves Restaurant; and a troika of Michelin-starred chefs: Glynn Purnell of Purnell’s; Andreas Antona, Luke Tipping and Adam Bennett of Simpsons Restaurant; and Richard Turner of Turners of Harborne.

The chefs are building on an already rich dining scene. Birmingham is famous in Britain for its Balti Triangle, an area of town that is home to a beloved Pakistani-Kashmiri curry dish invented here; it is also birthplace to such classically British food items as Typhoo Tea, Bird’s Custard and HP Sauce. ALEXANDER LOBRANO

That’s pretty good as it is, but the destination beaten into 20th place was none other than… SPACE. Ha! In your face, final frontier!

Thanks to Charlotte Cooper (and then pretty much everyone in Birmingham who’s on Twitter) for spotting that one.

Come to think of it, one of the most successful chefs in New York at the moment is April Bloomfield, originally from around these parts.