Links from Delicious- Art Stalking: One Day Comic & Feature: Architecture
- It's behind me. Twitter pantomime, a social media experiment
- Laundry - an association of multi-disciplinary artists
- 7 Inch Cinema " The Way We Were
- Ones to watch in 2009 " West Midlands Dance
- by the light divided
- Our next production - The Rage Ensemble
- Regional Youth Arts Conference for the West Midlands
- Setting the Scene | Crescent Theatre Blog
- Fullrange Media are moving to Fazeley Studios
0 Vote for Created in Birmingham
January 6, 2009Please click the pic and vote for Created in Birmingham. There’s no registration required and it’ll take two seconds, tops. You can vote once a day.
Someone has kindly nominated Created in Birmingham for the award of Best UK Blog in the 2008 Weblog Awards.
It’s a public vote and we’re up against a few of the big politicos - as I type this we’re in 2nd and a Daily Mail columnist is winning - so any support (votes, forwarding, re-blogging, re-tweeting, etc and so on) would be gratefully received.
It was about this time last year that CiB won the MediaGuardian Award, so I’m hoping I don’t let the side down in the award-winning stakes, especially as I’m passing the reins on in a few weeks. Speaking of which, I should also say that Pete Ashton’s blog has been nominated too, and rightly so.
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Awards || Tags: weblog awards 0 comments0 230 Miles of Love
January 5, 2009230 Miles of Love is an interesting project - a series of sat-nav triggered comedy sketches that are triggered as you drive along the M6. It’s been put out to publicise the charity Motivation.
You can download the audio from the website and play it via a Garmin or TomTom satnav thingy or a GPS-enabled smartphone or PDA. It’ll play on your computer too if you want a taster.
In case you’re interested in creating something similar yourself then have a look at Geovative for the tech behind the scenes.
There’s a bit of a review here from The Guardian and I’ve downloaded them for the next time I’m out and about. If anyone else has a go I’d be interested to hear what you think.
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Comedy, Digital || Tags: 230 miles of love, Comedy, m6, sat nav 0 comments0 Deadline
January 5, 2009Deadline is a collaboration between Antonio Roberts and Jon Harington.
It’s a year-long project by myself and Jon Harrington about deadlines and waiting. It’s possible that we may post more information about it, but in time
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Others || Tags: antonio roberts, deadline, jon harrington 0 commentsDeadline started on January 1st and since then one still image from Antonio’s film and one sentence from my short story have been going live every day
0 GZEAN
January 5, 2009GZEAN is a quartely zine produced by Moseley’s Gallery of Owls. It’s been created to:
harbor all those crazy little snippets of ideas that we all have from time to time in the format of photos, drawing and collage (any 2D images)
It costs £1 (plus postage) and you can get hold of one in person or by emailing galleryofowls@gmail.com.
If you’d like to see something of yours included, there’s some info about submissions here.
0 Damian Frey at Modulate
January 5, 2009Last year Modulate put a call out for a ‘Sonic Beatnik’ to undertake a three month International Artist Fellowship and, of 24 applicants, New Zealander Damian Frey was selected.
In May 2008 Damian re visited us in Birmingham and we took the opportunity to talk to him about his experience of being here, and how the residency had impacted on his creative path since then. We also collaborated on a piece of work, something we hadn’t done much during his residency.
These conversations are in the form of three videos:
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Art, Music || Tags: damian frey, international artist fellowship, modulate 0 comments1 Changing Birmingham - Highgate Demolition
December 31, 2008Printmaker Phil Wilkinson’s latest work:
The demolition of a residential highrise block of flats on Sherlock St in the Highgate area of Birmingham was the basis for this work. With the dramatic jagged pinnacle and exterior walls removed the tower made for a tempting subject
The pic is of the finished print but Phil’s blog post shows how it came together.
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Art || Tags: artfall, highgate, phil wilkinson 1 comment0 Links for December 31st
December 31, 2008- Ones to watch in 2009 « West Midlands Dance
The Guardian recommends a couple of Birmingham-based shows in its preview for 09 - by the light divided
Jack reviews gigs for Birmingham Live and this is his blog - Our next production - The Rage Ensemble
The Rage Ensemble “are looking for people to be part of the ensemble cast for a production which we will be putting on at a Birmingham theatre”. Get in touch if you’re interested in getting involved - Regional Youth Arts Conference for the West Midlands
“This free one-day regional conference brought to you by ENYAN (English National Youth Arts Network) and the Regional Youth Work Unit will act as a forum for the development of youth arts across the West Midlands region” It’s at The Public in West Brom on 24 March 09 - Setting the Scene | Crescent Theatre Blog
The latest edition of the Crescent Theatre’s brochure crescentscene is out - Fullrange Media are moving to Fazeley Studios
And here’s a set of Flickr pics - The Hearing Aid: Envy & Other Sins / The Heathers / Mr Bones and the Dreamers / Tom Peel
Review from the gig at The Rainbow, Digbeth Thursday 18th December 2008
0 Paul Willocks
December 27, 2008
Paul Willocks is a graphic designer who makes digital art. He also produces music under the name Tech Star - he designed the above CD cover for the release of his most recent single ‘Switchblade’.
There’s quite an in-depth interview with him on Abduzeedo.
(Found via Behance)
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Designers, Digital, Music || Tags: abduzeedo, paul willocks, tech star 0 comments0 VIVID’s Feb 09 programme
December 26, 2008A couple of events from VIVID:
INSPIRATIONS (Sat 07 Feb 2009) invites five UK based individuals who have played a major role in the critical, artistic and curatorial development of moving image, to select one moving image work that has made a significant impact on their own practice.
VIVID is delighted to announce 2009 selectors David Curtis, Catherine Elwes, Malcolm Le Grice, Sarah Wood and John Smith. The selections will be screened at VIVID on Sat 07 Feb 2009 and is accompanied by a 500 word text by each of the selectors explaining their choice.
FIGURING LANDSCAPES (Wed 25 – Sat 28 Feb 2009) is a remarkable collection of moving image works that has grown from the background of the political and cultural history that links Australia and the UK and the close relationship that continues between them.
More infom on the VIVID website’s homepage (scroll down).
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Film || Tags: vivid 0 comments1 Mediabox
December 26, 2008From Creative Alliance:
0 David Gonçalves - industrial designer
December 26, 2008
David Gonçalves moved from his native Portugal to do an MA in Science in Design and Transport at Coventry Uni. Having passed that with distinction, he now works in Birmingham as an industrial designer.
The picture above is of The Scarab, a single-passenger urban transporter that received a write-up from Wired.
(Found via Behance)
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Designers || Tags: david gonçalves, scarab 0 comments2 Details for Flatpack 2009 start to emerge
December 26, 2008Flatpack 2009 will launch at Town Hall on 11 March with ‘Curzonora’, a show featuring ‘musical whirlwind’ The Destroyers and celebrating Mr Jeffs’ legacy and that of 1900s film-shows in general. Here’s the poster:
The Mr Jeffs referred to is film showman, and patron saint of Flatpack 3, Waller Jeffs who, from 1901 to 1912:
introduced hundreds of thousands of Brummies to the delights of cinema through his annual seasons at the Curzon Hall, Suffolk Street, with light opera, military bands, live sound effects and intriguing novelty acts
Nicky from DiG has been keeping a better eye on the Flatpack website and blog than I have and reports:
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Festivals, Film || Tags: 7 inch cinema, flatpack festival, town hall, waller jeffs 2 commentsThe festival, taking place 11-15 March, is set to make the most of Digbeth and Eastside ‘in venues ranging from Floodgate Kino, a warehouse in Birmingham’s Eastside district which will be transformed into a picturehouse for the weekend, to art project spaces IKON Eastside, Eastside Projects, The Edge and the Electric…’ It also looks like they’ll be bringing the poor, neglected Curzon Station to life.
0 Mr Underwood and dotPlay();
December 23, 2008Sam from Stereographic has emailed with info about a couple of his projects:
Mr Underwood (and various other names, depending on musical genres)
a variety of projects from creating soundtracks and effects for animations to wowing crowds with his all hardware improvised liveset. When time permits he also dabbles in the design and build of obscure musical instruments
A dumping ground for other bits and pieces including the effect of smearing vaseline on a camera lens, fun with kaleidoscopes (pic above) and a project called Your World. For the latter, Sam says:
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Art, Music, Photography || Tags: dotplay, mr underwood, stereographic 0 commentsI give you a disposable camera and a stamped addressed return envelope; you fill the camera with photos of Your World and send it back to me for processing
0 Steve Tromans - Bomb
December 23, 2008I’ve had an email from Steve Tromans, a Birmingham-born composer who’s been globetrotting for a little while and, well, I’ll let him tell it:
I’m emailing to tell you about my upcoming return to Birmingham - specifically at the Yardbird Jazz Club, Paradise Circus, on Thurs 8th January 2009. I’ll be presenting the premiere performance of my musical setting of Gregory Corso’s “Bomb”, which is part three of a project I have called “Beat Series”. Back in 2003 I was commissioned by Birmingham Jazz to write “Howl”, part one of the series.
Fellow composer and poet Sid Peacock will be narrating and vocalising, Birmingham jazz scene favourites Chris Mapp and Miles Levin are on bass and drums respectively.
There’s a load more info about Bomb here.
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Music, Poetry || 0 comments0 2009 - The Year of Readers
December 23, 2008With party season in full flow, you may have a rueful eye on a resolution or two for the new year. Vying for your attention is The Year of Readers.
The organiser is Jodie Baker and she’s based in Birmingham. Here’s her explanation:
It’s an easy concept (which is probably why I thought of it). You pick a literary charity that you want to support in 2009. You sign up to be part of The Year of Readers, get people to sponsor you and just start reading whatever you like. If you’re going to read next year why not join and help a bookish charity at the same time?
Not to be confused with 2008’s National Year of Reading.
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Literature || Tags: national year of reading, year of readers 0 comments0 St Patrick is recruiting
December 22, 2008
If you want to get involved with the St Patrick’s Festival in Digbeth then follow the instructions on the poster (or that link).
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Festivals || Tags: st patricks day 0 comments0 JKB Fletcher at Coffee Lounge
December 21, 2008JKB Fletcher is a super-realism artist whose canvases are currently being displayed at the Coffee Lounge on Navigation Street.
Some kind soul has done a short video tour of the artwork (warning - may not be pleasant if you suffer motion sickness).
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Art || Tags: coffee lounge, jkb fletcher 0 comments1 Claire Burgess radio documentaries
December 21, 2008Claire Burgess has won a competition to spend some time at a Dubai radio station on the strength of a documentary she made about The Big Issue.
She also made a series of ‘audio portraits’ for the council’s ‘Sister Cities‘ project including:
- Steve Stirling - a city taxi driver
- Dannii Killilea - a Roller Girl
- Carl Speigel - sells fresh vegetables in the Bullring Markets
- Mr Ali - runs one of the cities most famous Indian restaurants
- John Mostyn - a Music Promoter working with a wealth of talent in and around The Custard Factory
All the documentaries are up online on the respective websites.
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Radio || Tags: claire burgess 1 comment0 Tru Life Magazine
December 21, 2008
Tru Life Magazine is a free, A5 publication I picked up a few weeks back when in the city centre. It’s a
new urban chic lifestyle magazine for aspirational young women
Justice Williams, the editor in chief, has her own blog over at Amariah’s World and the magazine has a Facebook page too.
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Publications || Tags: justice williams, tru life magazine, trulife 0 comments0 Win an urban art weekend (in Birmingham)
December 21, 2008
I have two reasons for posting this:
- It amused me that the site talks up ‘free entry to the splendid Birmingham Artsfest’ when entry is free anyway
- It’s good to see Birmingham being talked about as a destination for an arty getaway
There’s a few other items bundled into the package that might make it worth throwing your name into the hat. Link to the competition.
Elsewhere on the site there’s a good profile of Studio 4 and mentions given to the Outcrowd Collective, Them Lot, Capsule, Beat13 and Fluid’s Lee Basford. ‘Log’ Roper from Studio4 ‘paints a rosy picture of a thriving, supportive scene, where musicians and artists intermingle’
Chris Unitt || Filed under: Art, Competitions || Tags: artsfest, beat13, capsule, competition, fluid, outcrowd collective, studio4, them lot 0 comments-
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