Update for 2010/11
In the first year (09/10) of the Artist’s Residencies programme a wide range of arts and creative activity was delivered including; environmental practice and urban permaculture; film, media and digital animation; visual arts, painting and mosaic making; storytelling and drama. Artists worked in one host location each and developed work plans with hosts to deliver arts activity on site and in the local community.
Over 1200 people took part, with just over 100 taking part for 3 days and 1100 taking part for a day. Following an external evaluation and an end of year review by BCC Arts, a second year of the programme was announced with some new artists, new partnerships with host venues and the expansion of the programme. The original plan was for all of the city’s constituencies to have their own Artist in Residence in a community venue - and in year two there are five residencies in operation (covering half of the city’s ten constituencies).
The revised line up for 2010/11 is as follows;
• Annette Lucas is a milliner who makes hats out of felt and she is based at Frankely Community Library in Northfield
• dna3d create performance through dance, film and audio and are based at St Mark’s Church Centre in Perry Barr
• Eleanor Hoad is an environmental artist who is based at Twickenham Primary School in Erdington
• Mohsen Kieany is a painter and is based at the newly refurbished stable block at Aston Hall in Ladywood
• Reel Access (Laura Breakwell & George Fleming) are film makers who continue to be based at The Pump in Hodge Hill
Arts Residencies 2009/10
Birmingham City Council have set up four arts residencies in local arts and community venues to encourage long-lasting relationships with residents, artists and constituencies. Each residency will build the opportunity for participatory arts activities, productions and events to link local experiences to cultural events in the city centre. The Arts Residencies are currently planned to run over a 12 month period, from April 2009 until March 2010 and are located in each of the four ‘inner city’ Constituencies.
The artists and artists groups commissioned to lead them are listed below. To find out more about the artists and what they are doing, go to their individual sections on the website or see the calendar of events.
• Annamation (Anna Conomos, Susanna Willetts, and Anna O’Brien) are storytellers and are based at Rookery School in Perry Barr
• Eleanor Hoad is an environmental artist who is based at Kingstanding Leisure Centre in Erdington
• Mohsen Kieany is a painter and is based at Nechells Green Community Centre in Ladywood
• Reel Access (Laura Breakwell & George Fleming) are film makers who are based at The Pump in Hodge Hill
This web site has been set up by Dan Burwood who is a Photographer and is the official documenter for the project. Over the next year he will be posting some of the documentation photos that he takes as he follows the artists’ progress.
Background
The work of the Birmingham City Council Arts Section encompasses a range of arts development functions, from grass roots activity to strategic initiatives across the city that link communities and the city’s cultural life. As well as bringing high quality work to communities they also want to develop an approach to local arts development that can be creatively shaped in response to local situations. These residencies will help them to identify what conditions are needed for successful and sustainable arts partnerships and what types of residencies can work in different settings.
Showcase Event
There will be an exhibition of all the artists work produced during the residencies, alongside work made with communities and documentation photos, in the Community Gallery at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery starting in April 2010. Events and workshops are planned to run alongside the showcase exhibition, which will be an opportunity to see how all of the residencies have developed and the artwork that has been produced as a result of them.
Funding
The Arts Residencies and documentation project are funded by Birmingham City Council (Arts Section) and have been made possible by a range of dedicated partners and people.
Entries