KALABORATION HAS BEEN DEVISED TO DELIVER A PROGRAMME OF VISUAL ARTS ACTIVITIES IN CELEBRATION OF THE 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES AND COMMEMORATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF JAMAICAN INDEPENDENCE.
A PARTNERSHIP PROJECT BETWEEN THE DRUM ARTS CENTRE, SCHOOL OF ART BIRMINGHAM INSTITUTE OF ART AND DESIGN (BIAD) BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY AND ROGUEPLAY THEATRE.
Karen Alexander’s Critical Mass lecture was the first of the four scheduled events throughout the year. For those who were unable to attend we will shortly be posting an article from the lecture itself. In the meantime here are some links that she shared with us during her presentation:
Yervant Giankian and Angela Ricci Lucchi
Lynette Yiadom Boakye and this
The new public art producers by Claire Doherty
Art news:
London 2012 Olympics: first view from the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower – video
The Desperate Artwives explore the art of balancing work and family
Turning Point – 3rd National Summit – Introducing the new contemporary visual arts network
Events:
‘Open Studios’ ’18th May 4-7pm & 19th May 10am-4pm
The Jewellers of Centrepiece invite you to visit their workshops in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter this month. This year we’ve invited guest jewellers to join us, lining up 10 venues to explore and over 30 makers to meet.
It’s the perfect chance to see behind the scenes and glimpse the modern working environment of this historic area of the city. Meet working jewellers and buy original, contemporary work from the hands that made it.’
‘Wings of Desire Wednesday 16 May – Saturday 19 May, 9.30pm-10.30pm
‘A love story bridging heaven and earth will unfold before your eyes in this outdoor spectacle, featuring the most amazing transformation of a Birmingham building ever seen.
Angels gather on rooftops as the whole of Victoria Square comes alive with jaw-dropping circus acrobatics and exhilarating dance.
Music resounds and surprises come from all corners as the intensity builds to the ultimate finale moment – a sequence of glorious technicolour projections, bathing the beautifully-restored Town Hall in magical moving imagery.’
Outside In: Central at Compton Verney Deadline 20 July 2012f
26th May Retro-Afro-Futurism @ club PST
What if science fiction was reality?
What if we’d moved to Mars?
What if robots lived amongst us?
What if we owned flying cars?
After an 18 year hiatus, Mack Macdonald is back with visuals and sounds from legendary club night Sensateria. ‘Mack ran the renowned club Sensateria in Birmingham from 1984-1994. The 60s psych-themed events offered an alternative night out for non-strict-mods and non-strict-rockers in the 80s, and brought live performances from the likes of Spacemen 3.’
Interesting new project called ‘The Moving Forest’ by Beth Derbyshire, Wheatley Fellow, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design. ‘The Moving Forest is a mobile artwork, a mini-forest made of real trees and soil planted on a barge that travels at walking pace along the Birmingham Canals. The Moving Forest, which will launch on September 1st, will exist for a three-week period on the canals, the public are invited to walk along side the Forest on the canal paths. After its three-week journey in Birmingham, the forest will be transplanted into the British landscape.
From the Forest we hear stories about adjustment, homecoming and relocation told by two
families from the refugee and Veteran communities. These reflections are implanted (via
hidden speakers) into this slice of an archetypal British landscape reminding us that these
military and refugee families are among us, just as their voices emanate from the
embedded speakers. In the light of the UK’s imminent withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is
an artistic act of remembrance, a memento full of hope for the living, the British public and
for newcomers to Britain.’
Opportunities:
For students:
‘Opportunity to exhibit 3 works, mainly 2D but some scope for small 3D works.
Exhibiting period 2 Months June and July.
Venue- The Coffee Lounge, Navigation Street Birmingham located in the city centre’s busy shopping area and close to New Street Station. The Coffee Lounge is on two levels, open 7 days a week and also hosts creative events for writers groups and open mic evenings.
Exhibiting artists receive an ‘Artist Afternoon’ slot to present their work and invite their guests. The venue discounts food and refreshments 20% for invitees to event.
Exhibition posters are put up in the venue and an e-flyer sent to the artists to circulate.
Exhibiting fee £60 and 25% commission on any sales for 2 Months exhibiting period.
For details contact curator and exhibition services Saranjit Birdi on email - s.birdi@virgin.net or mobile 07956 972453 ‘
Call-out for expressions of interest
VINYL is dead! long live VINYL!
A call-out for expressions of interest
VINYL ART SPACE started in 2010 as an artist-led space in a living room in Moseley, Birmingham. Founded by Andre de Jong it has hosted 12 events in its first 18 months supporting early career artists. It has attracted media attention from ITV Central, BBCWM and The Birmingham Post, and was also mentioned in Art Review’s Future Greats edition (March 2011).
VINYL’s move from its suburban setting signals the end of one project and the beginning of the next. It is now looking for expressions of interests from artists wishing to be considered for the new programme of shows due to commence in Birmingham from autumn 2012 (venue TBC).
Carnival/Visual Art Commission Brief
Olympic Torch Relay Celebrations Birmingham
Community Engagement Project
Birmingham City Council Culture Commissioning Team are seeking to commission a Carnival/Visual Artist as part of the Torch Relay Celebrations in Birmingham on Saturday 30th June and Sunday 1stJuly.
We would like to invite a carnival/visual artist to lead a participatory arts project that will engage young people and the public in the creation of a large scale temporary 3d carnival sculpture/visual arts piece Park.
The piece will be finished at the Olympic Torch Relay Community Engagement event at Calthorpe Park – the theme of this event is ‘From Birmingham to Brazil’ as Brazil will host the Olympics in 2016. The piece could be standalone structure or a carnival costume that can be worn or carried and should respond to the theme of the Olympics and/or the theme of Brazil.
The fee for the project is £2500 inclusive of preparation, meetings, schools workshops, workshops at Calthorpe Park on 30th June, travel (transportation of structure to both events), materials and VAT. In the event of bad weather it may become necessary to relocate the final day of construction indoors or to complete at Sparkhill Park on Sunday 1stJuly.
To respond to this brief, please respond by sending no more than 3 sides of A4 outlining
your creative concept/idea and the potential for public engagement together with an outline of your previous relevant experience to . Images can be sent additionally to the 3 sides of A4. Please send your response to sabrakhan@hotmail.com
Deadline: Friday 18th May 2012 5pm
Interviews: Wednesday 23rd May 2012 in Birmingham City centre.
Email proposals and any queries to Project Manager, Sabra Khan sabrakhan@hotmail.com
This commission is funded by Arts Council England through Grants for the Arts.
Warp Contemporary Art Platform Call for Residency Applications
‘The 25 selected artists under age 35 will have a captivating opportunity to reflect on their art in a professional environment. The interaction with curators, art critics, museum directors, collectors, and established artists from New York to Beijing and from Toronto to Cape Town, as well as with other participating artists, is a unique starting point to further develop their professional art career. The evening activities, including dinners, lectures, and concerts, will be open to everyone who would like to meet with the artists and commentators.
On 25 August, a Meet & Greet Day will be organised for young artists from Limburg and the Euregion Maas-Rhine (the three-nation region around Liège, Maastricht, and Aachen), in parallel to the WARP Artist Village. We will end this last day with an astounding WARP-ART-PARTY and the development of a true tent village.
Artists under age 35 can submit their portfolio until 8 June 2012.
For further information and technical specifications on how to apply, please visit our website: Warp Contemporary Art Platform.- http://www.warp-art.be ’
For all those who missed the Critical Mass lecture with Karen Alexander, and for those who want to re-listen and re-establish the ongoing discussion……
……..The full recording is finally here!
Unfortunately, time had ran out, and the lecture with Karen Alexander had to be cut. Although, don’t fret! We all went to the pub and discussed some more.
Here’s what the audience’s response to the lecture was…..
The full lecture will be uploaded shortly……
The Critical Mass Lecture began at 6.15pm.
As the audience came through the lecture doors, I was curious as to why each person had chosen to attend, and I became eager to learn of their interest in the topical discussion. Quickly, I released that the only way to find out these answers was to ask the audience myself!
This is what I found out…………
Keep your eyes peeled for the next post, which will explore the audience reactions to the discussion, and whether or not the lecture fulfilled their expectations.
Also, the lecture will be uploaded in full audio very soon…..
Hello! I’m Ross,
I am a music journalist, and I’m going to be training young digital journalists to cover the events at Kalaboration. I will be encouraging them to adapt their journalism skills, whether it be through photography, film, blogging, writing or interviewing.
I, for one, am very much looking forward to the Olympics!
These photos are a collection of words, posters and images from the drum:
So what do the staff at the drum know about Kalaboration? Find out below……
My name is Richi Fingerz and I am pleased to be part of Kalaboration. I will be working with YGB to document and capture visual art events.
here are some images of the drum;
I’ve been travelling around the West Midlands collecting and buying furniture for our K2TOG pop up shop. The shop will be a relaxing hub where anyone can drop in to knit a square or a few rows for the project. If you’re not able to knit, don’t worry, there will be staff on hand to get you started and show you the basics.
It seems that my luck at finding a bargain is in at the moment, just when I need it. I visited Studley Car Boot to hunt for treasures. There wasn’t much treasure to be found but I did manage to buy a nest of coffee tables for under a tenner.
The luck continued when I got home. No sooner had I tweeted about buying the first piece of booty, I received a text from a friend asking if I wanted a sofa, armchair and table. All were in good state of repair but needed a new home as they had splashed out on new sofas.
The final piece of furniture luck came when I won not 1 but 2 wooden standard lamps on eBay for £8. I went to collect them on Sunday and they look even better than the photo.
Our K2TOG pop up shop is located in Pavilions Birmingham Unit 13 on the lower ground floor (opposite Julian Barnes). Opening hours are Wednesdays – Saturdays 12 – 6pm and Sundays 12 – 5pm. For details of how to get there visit here
Why don’t you pop in and say hello.
In line with our event a next week, we would like to ask you, the e-public about your thoughts on the practice of curating.
First have a butchers at this:
Okay, now, we’d love for you to mull over and answer the following question about the practice of curating contemporary art:
‘The Inspire Programme’ enabled emerging curating talent from culturally diverse backgrounds, opportunities to curate their own exhibitions as well as work placements in national galleries such as the Ikon and Tate, subsequently, offering different cultural perspectives on art.
As curators, what do you look for in an artist when selecting for an exhibition?
Critical Mass
Thursday 10th May, 6pm
School of Art, Margaret St, BIAD
Free Admission
The politics of representation has prompted us to continually question who and what we see, and to critically reflect on those in powerful positions of cultural delivery. In this lecture, Karen Alexander, (Senior Tutor, MA Curating Contemporary Art, Royal College of Art), provides an insight of the critical mass created through Inspire, a positive action programme for aspiring curators and transforming the curatorial landscape. The lecture will be chaired by Mona Casey Course Director for MA Contemporary Curatorial Practice, School of Art BIAD.
“The MA Curating Contemporary Art (Inspire) funded by Arts Council England, is a unique positive-action initiative established to provide a vocational curatorial training for people from black and minority ethnic heritage. Art history has been transformed in the last few decades by the ongoing scholarship that examines and questions shared histories of art through the lens of cultural difference. In a similar vein the politics of representation has prompted us to continually reflect on those powerful positions of cultural delivery.
In our current economic climate a cohort of 12 curating students from multi-ethnic backgrounds not only make a symbolic statement, it also embodies the cultural hybridity that represent the best of the society we live in. Our strength as a society doesn’t lie in evoking core nationalist values, but in our diversity and flexibility. The very presence of the trainee curators in 13 visual arts organisations around the country powerfully addresses historical absences while firmly staking a claim for a different future.” (The Right Dissonance)
Karen Alexander has been involved with film and moving image for over 20 years.
She is currently a senior tutor in the RCA Curating Contemporary Art department with responsibility for the work-based pathway (Inspire). Prior to that she worked as a film curator and freelance consultant on film exhibition and distribution.
To reserve a space place for lectures, discussions and for further information:
Kalaborationproject@gmail.com
