A hard day at the office
Last Wednesday saw the launch of the Bass Festival with the opening of Punch Records’ exhibition Fight The Power, of global protest and propaganda art.
Fight The Power is on until the end of June at the newly opened Zellig, the Custard Factory, so you can get a good look at the building’s new sculpture too. Elsewhere online is a slideshow of photos from the Fight Power exhibition launch and a film of the launch’s opening speeches and Ammo Talwar’s tour of the exhibition by Andrew Dubber.
Simon, Sandra and Raycho fighting the power. And each other.
Fight The Power got Simon Walker, Sandra Hall (Friction Arts) and Bulgarian Artist Raycho Stanev in an outspoken mood, which worked well for the following night’s critical debate at The Edge based around the issues stemming from Raycho’s installation The Great Excursion.
Paradox, Raycho, Sandra and Lee at the Critical Debate
I was a little late in joining it, but the critical debate was a lively and much-needed discussion which explored issues around ethnic, cultutal and class identity and how these can affect our own personal identities. Paradox really hit the nail on the head when she quoted Bruce Lee: “I’m a citizen of this planet.”
Birmingham’s City of Culture bid also entered the discussion, with people musing on how it can be truly multicultural rather than what Paul Murphy calls, “The 3 S’s: steel bands, saris and samosas.”
It was an incredibly special evening (which Friction Arts have written a more in-depth post about), which makes it all the more sickening that it ended with The Edge getting broken into after everyone had gone home. As Lee has wisely said, ‘Peace and love to the burglar, hope the karmic burden was worth it!’
Raycho Stanev and his beautiful technical assistant Annie have returned to Bulgaria, but his installation The Great Excursion, about his childhood memories of the expulsion of over 360,000 Bulgarian Turks from his country in 1989 under the socialist regime, is staying at The Edge, Cheapside until 19th June. Raycho’s very personal and touching work is well worth a visit to learn about a particularly sinister yet little-known episode in Bulgarian history that will make you reflect upon attitudes towards race, ethnicity and cultural differences in the UK today.
Punch Records’ Bass Festival is on into early July, with events and gigs all over Birmingham. The next Digbeth highlight is ‘spiritual messenger’ Jah Shaka’s gig at The Rainbow on Sat 25th June.
Thanks for the detailed post, Nicky. Unfortunately our’friend’ returned on Friday night for seconds, causing considerable and expensive damage in the process. We had to close the exhibition on Saturday, but have re-opened as of Sunday the 13th. The show will continue until next Saturday, 19th and is open from 1pm until 7pm. Meanwhile we lick our wounds before returning to the fray, continuing to make and present artworks to lead us to a world in which preying on each other is no longer necessary. Forward to a future!
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