This coming weekend sees the famous St Patrick’s Festival. The fun kicks off with a Festival Launch Party at The Irish Centre on Friday night, ‘a free evening of entertainment, dancing and a buffet’. To request tickets for the event email stpatricksbirmingham@gmail.com.
A Saturday of The Reel around The Bullring leads into the big Sunday parade, which starts with Mass at St Anne’s Church before the street parade and dancing around the St PatROCKs stage in South Birmingham College.
Post-weekend, the celebrations take a cultural turn with Irish film, literature and theatre events. NLP Theatre perform Singin` I’m No a Billy, He’s a Tim on Monday 15th March in The Paragon Hotel. On Tuesday 16th March you have a choice between an Irish Film Night at The Spotted Dog or a St Patrick’s Literary Festival at The Old Crown Inn. On St Patrick’s Day, Weds 17th March, Irish Storyteller Katrice Horsley will be weaving her magic at The Irish Centre, as will musicians John McNicholl and John Kiernan. Rather amazingly, all of these events are free.
We Are Eastside
Friction Arts' The Edge - part of We Are Eastside
Once you’ve recovered from the St Patrick’s festivities you’ve a little time to pause for breath before the launch of We Are Eastside on 27th March, ‘an online and printed guide to the artists, collectives, promoters and spaces helping to transform Birmingham’s industrial heartland into a thriving creative playground’. The weekend will be jam-packed, with the Flatpack Festival being joined by local arts organisations showcasing their wares.
On Friday there’s a Curtain Show at Eastside Projects whilst The Lombard Method goes all Cinematic on us. I personally will be striving to catch Monuments at Ikon Eastside and mischievous audio-visual antics Synth Eastwood: Fast Forward at The Rainbow Warehouse.
Supersonic 2009 - Capsule are leading We Are Eastside and I get to post a picture of someone's bum
Saturday promises to be rather magical, with the new Rhubarb East gallery opening with The Uses of Enchantment, ‘inspired by fables and fairy stories, nostalgia and psychology’ and Laterna Magicka at Ikon Eastside, which later hosts the new concert film Burning, featuring Mogwai. VIVID will be providing the late-night space to let your hair down, with an Eastside Plasticine Party of ‘Psychedelic claymation’ by Bruce Bickford, which I think I’ll need to see to understand.
If you’re still standing on Sunday there’s plenty going on, with Paul Sharit’s 70’s Flicker films at Ikon Eastside and Belbury Youth Club’s evening of haunted audio and creepy telly at VIVID. I love a good scare…
So there we have it – we can finally see an end to the long, bitter winter and taste spring in the air, with lashings of Guinness and culture in equal measure. Swap your winter coat for a fetching emerald green number and enjoy!
Last Thursday evening was an incredibly varied one for me. It started with the Social Media Surgery organised by Nick Booth in Fazeley Studios, where we gave social media advice and help to people from local voluntary and community groups. This was the Social Media Surgery’s first birthday and it’s come on in leaps and bounds since its humble beginnings as a one-off event in the BVSC building. Many happy returns.
I thought I’d also better check out the art launches of that evening – Ryokji Ikeda’s data.tron at Ikon Eastside (pictured above) and Jordan McKenzie’s live performance piece Day Into Night at VIVID.
Like the blurb said, Ryoji Ikeda’s video art is ‘truly engrossing’ – I found the rows after rows of data speeding by on the big screen kind of hypnotic and I kept glazing over, like my brain was tuning into its white noise. Or maybe I was just a bit tired. The exhibition is on until 8th Nov, shortly after which it will become part of the Ikon Eastside closing party on 12th Nov.
I popped into VIVID on my way back but found I couldn’t really get into it – Jordan McKenzie was in the corner of a cold, dark room repeatedly lighting matches off the wall. I think the best thing about it was the burnt-out match smell that hit me as soon as I walked into the room. You can re-watch VIVID’s recording of the piece.
After that I made my way to Manzil’s curry house for a spot of dinner, but found myself distracted by a late-night student sale at COW Vintage store. This is a great business booster of theirs – give the fresher students an after-dark party of beer, cakes and pumping music and rake in their student loans through the cash tills. It worked, too.
After purchasing a rather fetching yellow bangle, I made my way to Manzil’s on Digbeth High Street to celebrate photographer Karen Strunk’s birthday in style. The curry was up to its usual delicious standard and was nicely polished off with birthday cake and modeling balloons, courtesy of her magician friend Pat.
Seems the Ryoji Ikeda exhibition opening at Ikon Eastside tonight isn’t the only event tonight – true to form, the Digbeth galleries are joining forces and VIVID will have live performance art from 6pm tonight until sunrise tomorrow:
Jordan McKenzie willrepeatedly strike matches across the surface of the gallery wall. The residual red marks will create a drawing the duration of which will be the length of time between sunset and sunrise. The drawing and the discarded matches will be left in the space following the performance. It will be a poetic and poignant attempt to keep moments of light burning into the hours of darkness.
You can go along this evening to watch in person or watch the live stream in the box above.
The first week of the month is a busy one for the active Digbeth citizen. All the community meetings seem to happen during the evenings of that week. Here’s the week for the community-minded:
Monday – the first Monday of the month is always the Digbeth and Highgate Residents’ Association meeting at 7pm, invariably at the Paragon Hotel. Go along to discuss local issues with fellow residents, police and housing officers.
Tuesday – on the first Tuesday of each month the local landlords get together to talk about things concerning them, what’s coming up, plan-out future big events and the like. However, this Tuesday they’re meeting a little later than planned so as not to miss out on the Digbeth: Past, Present & Future discussion at Ikon Eastside from 6.30pm.
Wednesday – at 8pm on the first Wednesday of each month the Birmingham Irish Heritage Group meet for events about Irish heritage and culture in the Connaught Bar. I’ve been to a few and always found them to be incredibly interesting and informative. I always go away having learnt something completely new and unexpected, these nights are a real hidden gem. Everyone is welcome. This Wednesday is their Annual General Meeting, where you can get a taste of the year to come and take part in a raffle prize draw.
There’s also a Digbeth Business Association who meet monthly to talk about common issues, but I’m not sure when. I don’t think it’s in the first week of the month, which kind of scuppers my theory really. Ah well.
Digbeth: Past, Present & Future :: Ikon Gallery – I know I’ve mentioned this before but I’m mentioning it again in a shameless act of self-promotion, as it seems I’m chairing the panel discussion due to take place after the screening of old found news footage. Speakers talking about what the future might hold for Digbeth include Philip Singleton, Assistant Director Planning & Regeneration, Birmingham City Council, Digbeth based architect Joe Holyoak and Dave Harte, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at Birmingham City University.
It’s 6.30–8.30pm on 6th Oct at Ikon Eastside. Places are free but should be reserved by calling Ikon on 0121 248 0708.
On Friday evening I went to the launch of The Ikon’s off-site projectHey for Lubberland!at The Bond with local photographer Snowshot, who you’ve to thank for the pretty pictures.
Artists Simon & Tom Bloor decorated a canal boat with ‘design and dazzle’ camouflage, a technique I’m told was used in the First World War to confuse people watching through a periscope with their finger on the trigger. Apparently the blocks of colour and mono stripes made it difficult for enemies to tell which direction the boat they wanted to sink was travelling in.
You learn something new every day. It will be based in Brindleyplace from tomorrow (post Supersonic). If you fancy a ride on the vivid vessel look at the timetable on the Ikon website.
Photo by Snowshot
After taking a look at the boat we went over the road to Ikon Eastside to see the new exhibition from Raqs Media Collective’s exhibition When The Scales Fall From Your Eyes. It’s kind of like walking through a 3D Dali painting – there’s lots of scales that look like heads because they’re attached to clear moulds of torsos, which are sat on everyday objects like beds, photocopiers, tables, etc. Inside each set of scales are a collection little objects which you should NOT TOUCH to see the scales swing (at least that’s what I was told). Pity that, I found it that tempting my fingers were twitching. When The Scales Fall From Your Eyes is on display until 6th Sept.
This exhibition, which covers the Film and Video Workshop movement 1979-1991, was by far the most interesting for me because I got to see a little film by Yugesh Walia called African Oasis (1982), featuring Kokuma Dance Company. Kokuma, a traditional African and Caribbean dance company which folded in 2000, was where Ian and Gail Parmel met and left to start up ACE dance and music, who live just behind the VIVID gallery (disclaimer: it’s where I work). ACE uses much more contemporary techniques with African and Caribbean movement style. I was gobsmacked to see a film of them back in the day, it made me realise what a long dance journey they’d been on. It was a real-opener.
Other highlights include Giro – Is this the modern world? (1982) by Johnnie Turpie/Dead Honest Soul Searchers. It features an unbelievably posh government minister telling one of the thousands of young, bright, unemployed people at the time, “Society doesn’t owe you a living.” No wonder there were riots, it’s 25 years on and I still feel like hitting him.
VIVID are holding a series of film screenings as part of the Participation exhibition. The next one is a trio called Amber on Thursday 9th, Friday 10th and Saturday 11th July, all at 2pm. This is followed by Black Audio Film Collective at 2pm next Saturday 18th July.
Our next stop was Eastside Projects, which had a rather serious message for us. Just say no, kids:
Walking through the bright pink tunnel was rather disorientating – it’s pure, brilliant white inside:
Another fun topic of conversation was trying to work out what was part of the current exhibition and what was left over from previous ones. I really like that about Eastside Projects, it’s like moving into an old furnished flat – you end up with odds and ends of the previous tenant’s things but assimilate them with your own stuff to make it home.
There were Bloody Marys, girls in pretty, blood-red dresses and a bloody noisy band. I’m told the party picked up during the evening but I wouldn’t know because I had to leave early with slightly ironic bloody period pain. Pah.
This one’s crept up on me – seems there’s another Digbeth art crawl this evening, which starts with a drinks reception to launch the start of Participation at VIVID.
Participation is an exhibition and archive project centred on the emergence of new film forms, politics and practices in the 1980s. Presented in two parts, the works react to and document the rise of Thatcherism and the social and cultural events the period from 1979 engendered: inner city disturbances, the miners strike, and increasing social disparity.
Doors open at 6pm and the evening includes a special screening of works by Birmingham Film & Video Workshop introduced by Roger Shannon. VIVID are starting a Saturday film screenings programme from this Saturday 4th July at 2pm.
Eastside Projects bring us delightfully titled Does your contemplation of the situation fuck with the flow of circulation, a solo show by Glasgow based artists Joanne Tatham & Tom O’Sullivan. Doors open at 7pm.
From 8pm there’s Another Bloody Party to mark the end of Xu Zhen’s The Last Few Mosquitoes at Ikon Eastside. The fun goes on until midnight and there’ll be live band and Bloody Marys all round.
The answer to both questions is YES. Belfast does have quarters. Seven of them because, “We’re Irish and we can’t count.” (Titanic Boat Tour Captain Derrick Booker’s words, not mine). The one in line for the biggest overhaul is the Titanic Quarter, which Derrick and Colin Cobbs tell us all about. It kind of reminds me of Eastside – not too much there at the moment but big talk of many ‘mixed-use developments’ (are there any other kind these days?).
It’s even got its own creative community website. It’s not quite not quite Created in Birmingham but the Community Arts Forum gave a fantastic collective response to proposed plans to develop the soul out of the area (sound familiar?). The Cathedral Quarter – Let’s Get It Right campaign ‘aimed to push forward the sensitive and successful development of the area’ by voicing the neighbourhood’s concerns and publishing alternative visions. What’s even more impressive is they succeeded:
In October 2004, in a move that was applauded by the Let’s Get it Right campaign, the Department of Social Development announced that Cathedral Quarter would have its own regeneration masterplan. This would push forward development of the area, while protecting its unique built and cultural heritage.
Go on.
In answer to Michael Grimes’ question, Belfast has The Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 (BMAP), which is ‘a development plan being prepared under the provisions of Part III of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 by the Planning Service, an Agency within the Department of the Environment (DOE)’. I’d tell you more, but attempting to download one of the huge PDF’s the plan is made up of almost killed my computer.
So there we have it – both cities have more than four quarters christened with pet names by city planners and a city plan seemingly written for developers rather than residents, with a website that Could Do Better. It’s just too close to call, I declare this #brumvsbelfast round a draw.
It’s only the beginning of the month but I’m already in a total tizz over what to do at the end of it.
On Halloween night of Friday 31st October, do I give my posh black dress an airing and make my way to Ikon Eastside, where I can dance and blow my mind with Lucienne Cole & Friends – Here & Now & The Future? It’s apparently ‘a welcoming environment for kooks’, so I’d be amongst my own kind.
On the other hand, it’s no secret I love a good horror film, so maybe Douglas Gordon’s 24 HOUR PSYCHO at VIVID is more my bag. Although with the Hitchcock classic being slowed down to last 24 hours, I might just see Norman Bates coming.
Or do I hang around Eastside Projects to moon over Bill Drummond, who’s giving an artists’ talk before the Strategic Questions #2 book launch at 6pm?
On Saturday 1st November do I go to The Edge for Outersight’s Halloween Horrorshow with ‘whacked-out shorts, spooky psychedelic psynema and obscure oddities…topped off with a blood-drenched feature film’? The ‘witch’s brew of cocktails’ sounds very appealing.
Or do I pair my dancing shoes with some fancy dress for Release The Bats at the Custard Factory? The band line-up looks fantastic and I have fond memories of DJ Andy Weatherall from my raving days, which I’d like to indulge.
Perhaps I’ll be too tired to do either, after not being able to sleep off my late night because of the Barbara Holub & Mithu Sen artists’ talk at Eastside Projects at 1pm.
