There’s a free Artist and Designer Talk and Book Launch at Eastside Projects from 6pm this evening:
Join us for the launch of the publication ’Jennifer Tee: Local Myths/Love Spells’, which accompanies Tee’s exhibition at Eastside Projects. The book is designed by Richard Niessen and James Langdon and includes a new essay by Monika Szewczyk. At the launch the book will be available at the special price of £15 (RRP £20), and Extra Special People members can pick up a copy for £12.
Entry is free but booking is essential. Email info@eastsideprojects.org or call 0121-771-1778 to reserve a place.
The Cafe at The Margarett Rose Abri Centre on Cheapside are busy this week, starting tonight with The Songwriter’s Circle from 8pm. Admission is free, songwriters can drop in and perform their songs and say a bit about them or how they write:
Bring your instrument and play! Everyone gets a turn or two or three depending how many turn up. If you’re not a songwriter…no matter – come and listen. last month saw some fabulous quality acoustic music that I would have gladly paid to see – but …it’s free! All genre’s, ages and levels of ability welcome the whole point is to be share what you do, learn from and support others, try stuff out, beat any stage-fright you might have by performing to friendly, like-minded artists. The only rules – No big ego’s and no covers please!!!
Next Thursday 4th November at 8pm is Coffee Shop Poets – an open mic for poetry and the spoken word:
It’s free, friendly and supportive. come and listen or perform your short stories, poems, monologues! As long as it fits in the time slot (usually 7 -10 mins depending how many want to perform) what you do is up to you!!!
Here’s a nice little slideshow of the grand opening event at Zen in Digbeth Court, High Street on 2nd October. The ‘spiritual one stop shop’ is set to be just as busy this Halloween weekend, with a psychic fair Saturday -Sunday with all therapies on offer for just £5.
If you’re at the Supersonic Festival this weekend, pop into VIVID on Heath Mill Lane for Seeing Sound:
Seeing Sound is an exhibition exploring the ways in which we experience sound as light, movement, noise, and colour. Spanning 70 years the programme draws together historical and contemporary moving image works and performances.
On the evening of Wednesday 3rd November, VIVID will be launching The Daily Battle, a new exhibition by London-based artists Karen Mirza and Brad Butler that will remain in the space until Saturday 20th November:
For The Daily Battle Karen Mirza and Brad Butler are occupying a column space in the UK/Urdu newspaper The Daily Jang (translated back into English as: The Daily Battle) as a temporary site of creative contemporary discourse about the role of art in society. Each day of the exhibition a different cultural thinker will publish a text that is their own interpretation of this context. 100 copies of The Daily Jang will be delivered to Vivid each morning as the focus of an installation within the exhibition.
As part of the exhibition Mirza and Butler will also be showing their film The Exception and The Rule:
Shot in Pakistan in 2009, the film avoids traditional documentary modes and within the context of civil unrest, incorporates performances to camera, classic observation and public interventions.
I know no more about this than what the poster below tells me – that there is an application to provide the ‘retail of alcohol, ‘regulated entertainment’ and ‘late night refreshments’ until 4am daily.
Last Sunday 17th October myself and Carl headed to Birmingham Coach Station at the ungodly hour of 3.45am, where we were very pleased to be met with a group of eager photographers counting down the minutes to the 4am project, ‘to gather a collection of photos from around the world at the magical time of 4am.’
Once the clock struck four we were off, walking through the coach station and around the back onto Bradford Street – the High Street was filling up with drum ‘n’ bass fans spilling out of the HMV Institute so wasn’t as tempting.
On Bradford Street the expedition took on a slight 28 Days Later feel. We ventured into the old warehouse that’s now a never-used carpark on the corner of Bradford Street/Rea Street, where our bright flashes disturbed a homeless man’s sleep.
We wandered further up the street, snapping at street art along the way, until we found a gap in the fence surrounding the building site next to the White Swan on the corner of Bradford Street/Birchall Street. We went through it and were soon taking photos of what lies behind the attractive old ‘Park Works’ building facade.
As 5am approached we headed towards the Custard Factory, where the still pool water got us all in a reflective mood.
Other sets of photos (far superior to mine) from people who came are:
Scphoto (AKA Kebablog) – some lovely, long-exposure shots of the warehouse/carpark, which resulted in his profuse apologies to the sleeping man he tripped over!
