Blogs

Learn some printing techniques while you make your own Christmas Cards and wrapping paper with art collective MSFAC and Redhawk Logistica. 

Write Down, Speak Up are a new collective of poets from the Midlands. Last weekend they put on a great event at the Library Theatre, on the Saturday evening of Artsfest.

Last weekend saw Birmingham host the 15th annual Artsfest. The weather was fantastic, and the atmosphere in Birmingham city centre was electric. I spent a lot of time in the Dancing for the Games tent, watching a two-day event of performances and workshops programmed by DanceXchange. There were over twenty performances with varying dance styles including but not limited to street dance, tap, jazz, swing and line dance. 

The Guardian dubbed Poppy and The Jezebels ‘clever, intriguing, funny and devastatingly cool,' and they're certainly living up to that today. Their songs are as fun and fluffy as they always were, but the lyrics have a sharper edge to them. They explore heartache, happiness and the pursuit of dreams, all the while underscored by bouncing, pop and Reggae-inspired beats.

Barbara Nice is aptly named. No sooner have I taken my seat in the Hexagon Theatre than an announcement relocates me to an outside seating area, where Ms Nice takes the stage. "You're never too old to have fun," she explains, "as long as you don't let it pass you by." And so begins half an hour of joy.

By the end of it, we've danced around to 80s classics, played a large-scale game of 'What's The Time, Mr Wolf?' and generally had a right good giggle. And do we feel silly? No. Well, not half as silly as we probably should.

By the end of Stage2's hour-long taster workshop, only the bright red t-shirts differentiate the company’s members from their new temporary recruits.

"Our number one rule at Stage2 is that nobody is left out at any time," announces Lucy Bailey, who leads the workshop. At it rings true: soon the kids are working and playing together as if they've known each-other for years.

The sneak-peak of the Midlands Fashion Designers 2012 is a very local affair, with the designers, models, hairdressers, make-up artists, compare and DJ all coming from Birmingham and the surrounding areas.

When the DanceXchange Arts Champions take their bows at the end of The Odyssey, their wonderfully raw and expressive dance piece, the crowd erupts into cheers, and rightly so. The group of dancers move as one great beast, changing and growing until they unleash real animalistic energy, bringing the Dance Marquee to life.

It's
8:30pm, darkness is descending on Chamberlain Square and anticipation is
rippling through the gathering crowd. Then Sampad
South Asian Arts set the Town Hall alight. The performance begins in a
beautiful yet carefully controlled manner. But soon, it crescendoes up into an
inferno of explosive physicality. The precision and passion of these gifted
dancers never fails to hold the crowd captivated beneath them.

Visit http://vanessajackson.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/capital-theatre-festival/ to read artist Vanessa Jackson's blog following the Capital Theatre Festival. This particular project aimed to show how television drama is filmed and was a collaboration between the Screenwritiers Forum and Birmingham City University (BCU).

OlyBox is part of the 'Birmingham Our Games' project aiming to give everybody the opportunity to showcase their talents on the big screen!

Description

To celebrate the Olympic Torch Relay Birmingham City Council & Holomedia have teamed up with the iconic Mailbox to allow the people of Birmingham to showcase their amazing talents.

‘A Mixed Palette’

25 April – 5 May 2012

Our exhibition showcased a spectrum of painting by RBSA Members and Associates including an assortment of subjects, mediums and techniques, giving a vibrant take on the mixed styles of painting.Through the exhibition our aims were to inspire an open-minded approach to art and expand perceptions of painting and the use of paint. Different types of paint achieve different affects and our goal was to broaden attitudes and views of painted artworks.

Hands-on Creative Media Workshops for Teens!

Got big ambitions? You could get a taste of your dream career at Birmingham City University's Future Creatives workshops for 13-16 year olds!

Course Overview

We're looking forward to seeing lots of events for 2012 on Filter, and hope to receive plenty of visits from  young people and Arts Award candidates.

The Play House is an established and respected educational theatre company.

Young People from ROC (Rights of Children) Drama visited ArtsFest on Saturday 10 September and gave Filter their feedback on some of the activities they had taken part in and seen.

The group visited the CBSO to watch Dudley Performing Arts (DPA) dance theatre group and witnessed a number of spontaneous happenings; in particular some very energetic free-running.

After months of hard work, Filter has officially launched! If you’re looking for arts, sports and heritage events and activities across Birmingham, then we are your one-stop shop. 

Using the ‘filter’ you can search by date, location and activity so whether you’re looking for something specific or just something close to where you live, all of the options are at your fingertips.