Category archive for: Art

Here’s news of an interesting and thought-provoking exhibition heading to the Vaad later this month. It’s an interactive experience, as all the best ones are, and well worth a visit….

The cream of the Custard’s crop is set to grace the Vaad Gallery later this month, thanks to Bryn Tranter and his gang. And with Christmas looming into view now with alarming rapidity, why not pop inside for a natter and a chance to invest in some vibrant, original art? Highly recommended.

One for chocoholics and bird-fanciers everywhere, a raven-tastic exhibition set to soar at the Vaad Gallery in December. Caw blimey!

We’ve an exciting new exhibition of local artist Farshad Sanaee’s work at the Vaad Gallery next week. Admission is free, so shelter from the storm and browse some new and vibrant art at the same time!

Claire Farrell of EC Arts sent through a load of information about a public art project she’s involved with in Digbeth. Here’s the artist’s sketch:

The final piece, she says, will be “181 linear meters spanning Mill Lane, Bradford St and Rea Street, standing at lowest point 2.2 meters per sculpture/haunch and rising to 6 meters tall” and is due to be finished next Autumn.

Here’s the artist’s statement by Rob Colbourne & Stuart Mugridge:

Digbeth Public Art Artists Statement

Here’s a photo of the prototype being built and tested:

And a video:

Bryn has produced a short film showcasing the art on display during the Lost In S.P.A.C.E. group show from artists based at the Custard Factory that ran in the Gallery at the end of October:

Laundry, “an association of multi-disciplinary artists”, are taking over the Custard Factory Gallery from November 6th to 9th under the banner Laundry Open Lab.

This girl has inner beauty by Helena Roos

The main draw is a show from Galleri 54 from Gothenburg.

Galleri 54 is a not-for profit, artist-run gallery in Gothenburg. The gallery is run by Group 54, formed in 1954, as a reaction to the Gothenburg art scene which was considered confined and conservative.

The gallery has existed since 1959, and is run by a board consisting of 8-12 artist working in Gothenburg. The board members are replaced on a regular basis. The gallery’s aim is to offer interesting and varied exhibitions showing local, national and international artists giving artists the opportunity to show their work and to formulate ideas without commercial pressure or influence.

Portable - G54@Custard Factory has artworks by nine individual artists who are actively working with the gallery and is a taster of what is currently happening in the Gothenburg arts scene. They’ll be exhibiting a wide variety of forms such as drawings, black and white painting on the wall, performance, sculpture, video, installation and collage. The artists are Ann-Sofi Roxhage, Anita Paakonen Ahl, Paula Wallmark Nilsson, Helena Roos, Sara Lännerström, Stina Pettersson, Jonathan Jarl, Theo Ågren and Björn Hellström.

The launch is on Thursday November 6th at 7.30 pm and the show continues on Friday, 2 pm - 8 pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon - 5 pm.

I could be dreaming by Paula Wallmark-Nilsson

Alongside this they’re running Laundry Open Lab sessions on Saturday and Sunday evenings:

Saturday November 8th @ 5.30 pm: Interactive Installations: Gary Stewart, Iniva (the Institute of International Visual Arts)

Sunday November 9th @ 5 pm: Art is my Business: Ania Bas

Sunday November 9th @ 6 pm: Off the map - art in Nodar, Beirut, Alexandria: Alicja Rogalska

Sunday November 9th @ 7 pm: Crossing Borders: Brendan Jackson

Full details of the talks can be found here.

Found on YouTube, a nice film from Platform 01 that took place in the Custard Factory Gallery in March:

PLATFORM 01 was a multi-media collection of work by predominantly local artists, and featured contributions from painters, photographers, sculptors, printmakers and digital media artists, some of whom have been featured in Elle Deco, presented work internationally, worked with Supergrass and The Young Knives, exhibited at the Tate, and won numerous awards. The diversity of techniques alongside the potential audience resulted in a wide spectrum of artists, art, and collectors representative of Birminghams rapidly expanding art scene.

Shows off the space rather nicely too. If you want to book it call Jonathan on 0121 244 7775. (Shameless plug over…)

Lucienne Cole’s Here + Now + The Future closes this year’s Ikon residency in Eastside on October 31st. As with last year’s Halloween party they’re making a big deal of it with “performance, film, music, dancing and marshmallows” and a strictly black and white dress code.

Providing a welcoming environment for ‘kooks’, Ikon Eastside hosts a closing party to The Eternal Now: Warhol and Film ‘63 – ‘68 by artist Lucienne Cole & friends, including Steve Woods and film-maker Chris Keenan. Paying an affectionate homage to ‘The Exploding Plastic Inevitable’ and The Velvet Underground and Nico, “the most influential and unpopular band in history.”

But fear not, arts fans. They’ll be back in Digbeth in the Spring.

Jibbering’s Shambala Art Exhibition launches tomorrow night at the Wild Building on Floodgate St, from 7-11pm and then continues until Friday 17th October.

Over thirty street artists have been brought together to help raise money for two small grass roots charities based in Africa. The boards that the artists painted during the Shambala Festival 2008 will be exhibited, along with donated pieces that will be sold through closed bids to the highest bidder.

All profits (with no administration charges) will go to Banunule School For Orphans, Kampala, Uganda and Malawi Education Project, Malawi.

The exhibition has already been shown in London @ Cordy House, Curtain Road, Shoreditch, 18th - 21st September. The launch night on Thursday 17th September saw over 500 people through the doors. With buyers knowing that the exhibition was on for three days in London and then open in Birmingham for 7 days, we saw several large bids on the opening night.

Full details here.