Issue * 01
DEC
*FREE*
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLIVAN
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By the 1950’s the old Bullring site seemed to have everything, from shops like Chapmans selling birds, the Army & Navy store, and the largest Woolworths of its day.
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BIRMINGHAM
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introduction 11 An introduction into the magazine, the concepts and ideas which inspired us into creating relevant articles and portray our corperate identity .
‘the accent’ 19 A tongue in cheek look into the local dialect of Britain’s 2nd city. From the rolling vowels to the extended sentences, if you are not familiar with Birmingham’s unique accent, after this article, you will!
love digbeth 23 It’s beautiful, inspiring and has a rugged aesthetic you either adore or detest. This insight into Birmingham’s Art & Culture epicentre will deffinately leave an impression.
galleries The very best and non biased guide to galleries and exhibitions deffinately worth paying a visit to. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLIVAN
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36 conversations A beautiful article with an artistic twist. Alot of the editorial within the piece is formed from recorded conversations from the unsuspecting common folk roaming the streets of Birmingham.
49 survival A comedic retail guide to surving Birmingham’s most widely used shopping outlet, the Bullring. What to avoid, things to consider and tricks of the trade, fly over to page 49 before heading into the dangerous shopping enviroment and equip yourself!
54 cheers A gracious thankyou can be found on page 54 written by Ben O’Sullivan and extended thanks from the OWAMYA team.
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Ben O’Sullivan - Illustrator -Graphic designer -Photographer “To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams”.
Ash
- Graphic -Illus -Photog
‘Creating this m been a great ou test my indivud of illustration w of laid a hand t had the oppert aswell as honin graphic design
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Evans
c designer strator grapher -
magazine has utlet to try and dual style. Areas where I wouldn’t to before I’ve tunity to do so, ng my primary n discipline’.
Laura Tranter - Graphic designer -
“Today isn’t just another day, today I’ll create something beautiful”. I try and keep to this moto as much as I can and usually come out on top.
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BONJOUR PAREV H O lA W
elcome. Owamya is a magazine about Birmingham art & culture and everything in between. Flicking through these pages you will find articles on the best and well hidden art galleries in the city, exhibition highlights and fantastic articles. Another thing to look out for will be our very own art & culture correspondent who will be exploring the city for aesthetic gems that would otherwise be left unturned. You will encounter photography of this beautiful city, illustration and insightful
editorial all put together and accumilted by our creative team. Birmingham has creativity in abundance and through this magazine we hope to make that clear, a message we want to portray whilst having a cultural twist. The introduction on the proceeding page will delve deeper into the cultural meaning of the phrase, but “Owamya” is a greeting coined by people inhabiting Birmingham and more so the Black country. Meaning “how are you” it would give perspective readers a sensory
tingle of wanting to know what this peculiar letter assemblage meant. Enticing the reader is a must, modesty is Birmingham’s arch nemesis. She has glamour and cultural wealth, we aim to prove that.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BYASH EVANS
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLIVAN
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ultures, lives and demographic. Owamya isn’t so much a word as it is an identity. This city is a superhero, “Owamya” the catchphrase exhaled in smug victory when a critic is forced to eat his proverbial after being not so pleasently surprised that
the 2nd city hasn’t just quite lived up to it’s “ most boring city in europe” title just yet. We are all proud of our heritage, and often biased when defending it. Maybe the reason why Birmingham has slipped under the radar recently is because when it comes to this most human trait we are not, arrogant that is. Humble goes hand in hand with ignorance. Brummies don’t yet know how diverse, cultured and brilliantly exhilerating the jungle they
inhabit really is. With Galleries coming out of her ears and new ones popping up every where, let alone one of the most prestigous museums in the country, art is deffinately in abundance. The aesthetically flavoursome culture pocket that is Digbeth finally attracting the flock it has deserved for many years. Boutiques, showrooms and fantastic permanent installations to wonder at, all in a 1 mile radius of what used to a be smog churning industrial stronghold. This magazine is to help cast a bathing glow on those dusty gems that this great city has to offer. -BenO’Sullivan
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eing the sprawling expansive sea of concrete Birmingham is, finding something exciting can sometimes be hard to do, if you don’t know how to find it. Owayma sent out its very own art and culture correspondant in the form of a hand painted paper counterpart. Advertising is the problem. There is dozens upon dozens of fantastic little galleries and exhibitions hidden away in allies and sidestreets which are completely unknown to the majority of people who live in the city, let alone the wider public. The galleries themselves are not to blame, most of them trying their best to promote the artists they cently highsupport and push forward the movement lighted digbeth they are part of. But you will not see in a segment, flyers or promotional material for unfortunately relatthese niche little artistic wonders ing to the title the city outside small little boutiques had aqquired as being the and cafes in the custard “most boring city in europe”. factory or a step further The segment itself was abit Digbeth. The tides are tongue in cheek and didn’t quite do changing though. the art scence in Digbeth justice, but The say any pubat lease it was recognised. Recognition licity is good is the first step to fame, with many steps publicity. The inbetween, but it is a start. Throughout the Culture magazine you will see our correspondant in varishow ous parts of the city in the never ending adventure rethat is looking for art in Birmingham.
“most boring city in Europe”
- Ben O’Sullivan
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
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The modern site of Digbeth was first settled upon in the 7th centur by Beorma, founder of Birmingham (Anglo-Saxon for Beorma’s Home).
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DOW CROSS
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thebrummie
‘accent’
the people of brum B irmingham. BURN-ING-HAM a big city inside a small country.
Although the country is one of the smallest it has a diverse range of regional dialects, specific to individual cities. Some can seem rather nice and pleasant while on the other hand some sound awkward, you know that moment when someone says something and your standing there saying ‘what’, i cant understand you’. However of all the dialects and backgrounds in the UK, the one that seems to be most known is ‘the brummie’ accent. The accent itself isn’t really hard to understand, unlike other accents like Geordie. Its not hard to learn either its just a quicker way of saying something like how are you, its OW-AMYA. It annoys people because of how it sounds literally. If your here you might aswell learn some. ‘OY’ is used instead of ‘I’. ‘OY KWOYT LOIK IT’ meaning ‘I quite like it’.
English ‘ Birmingham is one of the largest cities in the United Kingdom. It is probably most famous for the Bull Ring and Spaghetti Junction, but it has alot more to offer. The national Exhibition centre is a great source of pride to the local inhabitants and steps have been taken in recent years to improve the appearance of the city’. Brummie Translation ‘ Berminggum is wun uv the Larges citays in the u-nyted kingdem. It is prrobeblay moest faymus fer the bullring und spegette jungshun, but ittas alot mor to offa. The nashnel eksibishun senta is a grayt sawss uv proid te the lowkel in-abitents und steps av bin tayken in resunt yeers to improov the appeerents uv the citay
BERMINGGUM IS WUN UV THE LARGES CITAYS IN THE U-NYTED KING-DEM - Ash Evans
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLIVAN
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLIVAN
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High street Deritand
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igbeth is a checkpoint deffinately worth marking on the map when visiting Birmingham on anything art related or even just passing through with time to kill. The area itself is just south of the city centre and has its history set in the industrial revolution of the 19th century when Birmingham was a major manufacturing centre of the empire. Due to this the architecture found in Digbeth is very characteristic and easily recognisable. Huge monolithic buildings with echos of former glory and derelict warehouses, now empty shells turned into organic art galleries, with the area holding another title, the cities and counties best place to witness street art culture at an incredibly high standerd.After the stagnent period of
Thatcher induced recession and politicaly fueld violence in the 80’s, (Digbeth having a predominantly Irish packed workforce), the IRA and anti-thatcher slogans turned into echoes in the 90’s thus leading into an era of enlightment for the area. The empty space left behind by the industries now redundant have began in recent times being turned into gallery spaces.
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here are over 30 independant fantastic galleries in this square mile alone, ranging from the small galleries on floodgate street to the bigger council backed ones in the custard factory. Small or large they are deffinately worth a visit, if art isn’t your fancy there are equally as many shops you quench your retail induced thirst. -Ben O’Sullivan
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
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The Custard Factory complex is set in five acres of factory buildings, originally constructed by Sir Alfred Frederick Bird (1849–1922), the son of Alfred Bird (1811–1878), the inventor of egg-free instant custard.
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custard factory Jog on down to the custard factory! Its only 5
minutes walk from the Bullring. The 5-acre ‘factory town’ was built 100 years ago by Sir Alfred Bird, the inventor of CUSTARD. In 1990 a team began to restore the buildings and annonced that it would become an art gallery capturing Birmingham’s young creative talent. Since then its built a reputation and is kind of a city in itself with giant tree men and fiery dragon public art. So if your new to the city get down there quickTime.
My Trip To Custard I like Custard, who doesn’t?. I heard about the
Custard factory and never really knew what it was, I took a trip down there on a DJ set with a friend. As you approach the Alley like entrance, it was like entering a different world from where I had just walked from. The tall buildings and vintage architecture raised high and the sound of water dropping. The people that I met there were on another level, it was nice to be around a group of people who had similar interests as me. As I zoned out to the bassline I felt the rush from the Southern Comfort I had downed and realised that i Love the Custard factory.
- Ash Evans
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
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Birmingham’s revolutionary arts and media quarter
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A new pedestrian walkway next to St Martin’s Queensway has been called ‘Swan Passage’ after the nearby ancient route of ‘Swan Alley’, which appears on the 1731 plan of the city. Other names to reappear include Spiceal Street .
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLIVAN
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Want to keep up to date with the latest trends and up and coming artists in the art world? Here you will find the very best art institutions & galleries and a guide on where to find them aswell as what they have to offer.
as extensive collections of fine and applied art, social history, archaeology and ethnography. The Museums Collections Centre in Nechells has brought together 80 per cent of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery’s stored collections under one roof. Find out more about the Museum Collections Centre. -Main entrance
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irmingham Museums and Art Gallery is the largest local authority museum service in England. There are over 500,000 objects in the collections, dating from 200,000 years ago to the present, and originating from each of the continents. BMAG is home to one of the world's finest collections of Pre-Raphaelite art, as well
Spotlight Sessions :
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ut your own object under the spotlight bring it to the museum for our experts to tell you all about it. Sessions are held on the third Wednesday of each month between 1pm and 3pm. They will take place in the Industrial Gallery on the 2nd floor. Please note that the curators cannot give valuations.
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- Shop interior
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tudio4 Gallery is a subver- to get a step on the ladder as sive arts and crafts gallery well as allowing a healthy and exhibition space right in experience the kid in the candy the heart of shop feeling for yourself Birmingham's bohemian ego bubble Digflow of fresh contemporary beth. Situated in the Custard aesthetics that create healthy factory it is perfectly placed competition. I urge you to within undoubtedly the most stroll through whenever you creative part of the city. get a chance and experience
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personally believe it is by far the most exciting and inspirational gallery in the city for a number of reasons. The shop itself is crammed to the rafters with art, your senses are immediately overloaded with works of art from people from all walks of life leading me onto my next point. One of the most exciting things about studio4 they are very happy to exhibit pieces from artists who are still in the inception stage of their artistic careers allowing them
- Ben O’Sullivan
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLIVAN
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recording
conversations PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
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wat yo lukin at
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THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY
THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY Is taking photographs wrong? is taking pho-
tographs of people who dont know wrong? i dont care. The brummie accent is one thing but some of the conversations I overheard when on the train and bus were...different. Birmingham has such a wide range of different people, this is why people like it, different culture’s different backgrounds. I get on the train everyday and its around a 40 minute trip, besides the buisness men who push past and take up double seats because there ‘bag’ is sitting there, it aint too bad. Most of the time I have to stand because of the lack of seats on the train. I cant help but look at the people standing next to and infront of me, blastin away on BBM and FACEOOK. I start turning my head slowly left 90 degrees to read what they are typing, I notice ‘yeah, it would be funny wouldnt it, people walking around Birmingham dressed as babies. Im thinking to myself WTF, thats some trippy visionary, looking at the man I realise im looking at him funny, this is a full on middle class bussniessman. It gave me the idea to illustrate people with these funny quotes and sentences using different types of typography.
The interpretation of peoples conversa tions was an interesting task. I began recording different conversations with a pen and paper and also on my mobile phone. I began taking photographs of people without them realising, It was a fun task wondering if I would get caught. A few people had asked me if I was taking pictures of them but I always had a backup. ‘erm no mate, im taking some of him behind you... I took photographs of people on the bus, train and in shops. I took photographs and drew from them but in a different style, I would write what I thought, like the man on the mobility scooter saying BRAP in a tracksuit reconising the youth of the future.
- Ash Evans
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adidas tracksuit Youth of the future
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BIG IS BROTHER
WATCHING...
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
‘You watch GLEE last night’ 41
‘i need change. like obama.’ 42
‘ Im bearing a bag of clothes and a lottery ticket.’
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Theres a Special discount this month only
just for you
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLIVAN
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how to survive the bullring blues editorial by laura tranter The Bullring is situated in the core of Birmingham city and whether you’re visiting by bus, train car or plane you’ll find the Bullring is easily accessible by all the major transportation systems. With 3 car parks boasting over 3,000 spaces, 2 train stations and plenty of bus stops close by, you’re merely a hop skip and a jump from the spacious, shopping site that is Birmingham’s Bullring.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH EVANS
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irmingham Bullring is a war zone, particularly before the Christmas period dawns. We are about to indulge you into the art of surviving the bullrings many crowds and other obstacles including the bag snatchers and pick pocketers otherwise referred to as the ‘ming’ of Birmingham. In order to side step the tourists and dodge the slow movers, one needs to assess the perfect shopping times in order to maximise the shopping achieved to time spent ratio, the only way to do this is to start with the facts; i.e the Bullring opening times.
‘the bullring is a warzone’ Now the next thing to consider is the time you have to shop for example if you are a 9 to 5 homosapien, I advise you gulp down a coffee after work and hit the shops, you’ll have a good three hours of shopping and you’ll get the same amount of shopping done than you will with six hours on a Saturday, and with plenty of coffee shops to choose from you can have a selection lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos, mochas or hit Starbucks for a winter warmer gingerbread latte or a praline and cream latte courtesy of Costa Coffee. If you start to feel peckish with your coffee slide up the escalator to Muffin Break with the sweetest of treats await or if you have savoury flavour in mind duck in next door to Druckers for a hot Panini or delicious jacket potato.
Now rejuvenated, you can storm the shops with a warm tum and your adrenaline pumping. My advice, dear reader, would be to make a list of the things needed in order to stay on track. With the bullrings glitteringly inviting shop windows and promises of discounts and “must haves” one can be easily side tracked into a world of too many bags verses too little money, trust me I’ve done the leg work. So with your determined head and fast pace you can be in and out of the shops in no time and be home with the kettle on before you know it.
- Laura Tranter
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HOW TO
SURVIVE SURVIVE IN THE BULLRING Whether you are a shop-
ping lover or a ‘get me out of here’ moaner, the worst time to bulldoze a shopping trip in the bullring would be on the stupidly swarming Saturday. Where the whole world and it’s children and grandparents seem to appear. You’d have to practise your dodging skills for a year in order to get anywhere in a hurry. If Saturday is your only shopping day, be prepared for a long day ahead with knocking elbows and to finish the day with trampled toes and sigh of a thousand tired woes. But do not fret dear Saturday shopper as tips for you I have, the secret of taking the stairs will be a time saver by anyone’s account and you won’t be able to hold back a smile as you stroll past the winding escalator queues. An early start will be the key to avoiding the ever dawning crazy haze of the inevitable brimming bullring to come. A further issue is the lunch rush, which ironically is a competition of patience rather than a rush of any sort, so queue armed with your comfiest of shoes and one of iTunes most time wasting apps in the form of several angry birds or a jumping doodle you’ll be eating too many slices of pizza at the Pizza Hut lunch buffet (unlimited till 3pm) before you know it.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLUVAN
So, as promised a guide to avoid the thieves, bandits, cheats and swindlers of the midlands. You know the saying keep your friends close but your enemies closer? In the world of shopping, I have come up with an equivalency; keep your bags and belongings close but your pepper spray closer.
I also advise keeping small shopping bags in a larger shopping bags or indeed your hand bag or male bag/pockets with the addition of profusely checking every zip, button, buckle and popper is done up.
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‘keep your head about you’ Avoid at all costs being flashy with your flashiest of items and to keep aware of your surroundings. If these tips aren’t comforting enough the Bullring have security guards to help control any riff raff which may cause harm to the public. And lastly fellow shoppers keep your head about you and you will breeze the shops like walking through a field of poppies.
GOOD
& LUCK BESTWISHES dear reader - Laura Tranter
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLUVAN
THANK YOU
This magazine has taken alot of hard work and dedication. We pride ourselves on being able to say it is our product, our achievement and more importantly our testimonal to this beautiful city. We hope you had as much fun reading it as we did creating it, everything from the photography, illustration and words have been authentic and lovingly put together for your enjoyment. -OWAMYA team
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN O’SULLUVAN