Balsall Heath Biennale Newspaper by Chris Poolman

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Balsall Heath Biennale

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c e t a l s

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www.balsallheathbiennale.com

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WHAT IS THE BALSALL HEATH BIENNALE ALL ABOUT? The Balsall Heath Biennale is a contemporary art project that will be ‘live’ in Birmingham between July and September 2013. It is conceived and co-ordinated by artists and Balsall Heath residents Chris Poolman & Elizabeth Rowe.

marking sites of cultural interest and listings for a broad range of cultural activity occurring between July and September this year. These activities, combined with the various biennale projects, suggest a depth of cultural activity that is worth celebrating.

A biennale is normally a contemporary art festival that happens every two years. The Balsall Heath Biennale interprets the concept of the biennale differently, being a project with a commitment to a specific geographical area for a two-year period.¹ Since March 2012 we have been researching Balsall Heath, meeting people, exploring the local area and developing the projects you are going to read about in this newspaper.

Ultimately, the biennale project is interested in how contemporary art might have a useful, functional role within a given community. This though, is dependent upon local people coming forward and participating. So if you have always thought of yourself as a creative type, now is the time to get involved. Enter the Decorate Your House and Garden Competition, put up a Public Sculpture Colouring In Poster or if you want to go one step further, why not turn your own front window into a Cat Gallery?

The Balsall Heath Biennale is made up of a number of different elements. Many of these invite you, the local residents, to take part - be it in a competition, an exhibition or a performance. This newspaper (delivered to all 6000 homes in the local area) contains information on all of these activities and how to get involved. This element of participation is important - underpinning the biennale project is an interest in the ‘common’. Put simply, the common is concerned with sharing. Historically, this idea can be related to how people have (or haven’t as the case may be) shared ‘common ground’: ‘When, in the sixthteenth and seventeenth century, first in England and then all over Europe, the meadows, where animals grazed, and the forests, where everyone could gather wood, were privatised, the conflict about common ground was born.’² Today, the common has relevance in terms of the selling of natural resources (such as oil) to private enterprises. In the era of the internet we can think of the ‘creative commons’; open access to cultural products such as information and ideas. The common therefore, is about the politics of sharing - be that space, a community, information or natural resources. In light of this, and in relation to Balsall Heath, we might ask the following questions: how do people from many different cultures and faiths share a common public space? How do these different cultures function as a community?³ The common seems a particularly appropriate concept for Balsall Heath. It is an area renowned for its strong community infrastructure and modern history of community activism.� But Balsall Heath also has a continual problem with fly-tipping, dumping and litter - the abuse of shared, common public spaces. The projects that form the Balsall Heath Biennale explore these different sides to the area. Half of the projects aim to contribute towards Balsall Heath’s community infrastructure (and provide opportunities for local people), whilst other projects invite people to think about their use of shared public space or re-imagine how this space might be used differently (and creatively). The biennale is just one of many cultural activities occurring in Balsall Heath this summer. In the centre of the newspaper, you will find a map

e: info@balsallheathbiennale.com w: www.balsallheathbiennale.com www.elrowe.com t: @BH_Biennale www.chrispoolman.com f: /balsallheathbiennale p: 07769530557 / 07792736125 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------¹ The project took as it’s starting point, and continues to be framed by, a proposition put forward by Lucy Lippard at the 2010 Falmouth convention: the ‘community biennial’. At the Falmouth convention, Lippard asked: ‘What about a Community Biennial, subverting the notion of high art by inserting a practice often scorned by the global art world. Curators could consult with various agencies and non-profits to discover the root social issues in the location, the community and activist organizations dealing with them, and seek out artists who could provide models for thinking and acting about these issues.’ The biennale project is also interested in what it might mean for an artist to work ‘locally’. Francis Frascina argues that the modern biennale is captured in Roman Abramovich’s 377ft super yacht mooring alongside the Giardini at the 2011 Venice Biennale: as ‘members of the recent global-traveling elite, they are opaque to the particularities of locality - a phenomenon associated with the biennialisation of the contemporary art world.’ The Balsall Heath Biennale is conceived in response to the ‘particularities of locality’, with the projects developed for the summer of 2013 emerging directly from the idiosyncracies of the local area. ² Pg.3, Community Art: The Politics of Trespassing, Paul De Bruyne & Pascal Gielen. ³ Indeed, common and community are linked, with both words deriving from the Latin communis. � For those of you who are not from Balsall Heath or Birmingham, and not familiar with the history of the area, until 20 years ago Balsall Heath was one of the worst areas in the country for crime and prostitution. Resident activism saw the area transformed and Balsall Heath is now one of the first pilot areas in Britain creating a neighbourhood plan under the 2011Localism Act. Like many inner city areas, Balsall Heath today is home to a diverse population of different faiths, nationalities and cultures (including artists).

We would like to thank all of the people who have supported us on this project. This list is for everyone who isn’t mentioned elsewhere in the newspaper. Ian Edwards, Kate Pryor-Williams, Abid Hussain, Lee Saunders & the Conroy Maddox Estate, Balsall Heath Forum residents groups, Dr Dick Atkinson and Abdullah Rehman (and the Balsall Heath Forum), the Yasin family, Rachel and Genevieve from Eastwood Road, PC Tom Olphin, Reverend Catherine Grylls, Dr Saskia Warren, Joe Holyoak, Foster Darby, Andy Monroe, Josephine Reichert, Gabriel Weir, Ian Francis, Mr Bassett, Naseem from Cheddar Road, Alison Moore, Sophie Handy, Phil Barber.

THE BALSALL HEATH BIENNALE IS SUPPORTED BY:

This image shows an artwork by Juneau Projects called ‘Gleaners of the Infocalypse’. Originally commissioned in 2012 by Tatton Park Biennial, this work has been relocated to Calthorpe Park next to the Belgrave Middleway as part of the Public Sculpture Colouring In Posters. This is what the artists say about the work: “The piece utilises a hand-painted tail section of a BAe 146-200 aeroplane, made into a feral wildlife artists’ studio and hide.The piece imagines the aftermath of a global information and technology disaster where the remnants of 21st century society are re-used by the survivors. The title references both Millet’s 1857 painting ‘The Gleaners’ and Neal Stephenson’s contraction of ‘information’ and ‘apocalypse’ from his 1992 sci-fi novel, ‘Snow Crash.’ The aircraft fuselage contains homemade easels and paintings of the local wildlife alongside crash helmets decorated with painted camouflage and deers’ heads, used by the inhabitants to get closer to their subjects.” Poster coloured in by Sanjeev Lohia, age 11. 2

Balsall

Balsall Heath is undoubtably Birmingham’s number one tourist destination, so much so that it now has its own tourist information centre.

Heath

The Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre will be popping up outside local heritage sites, such as the Old Portacabin and appearing at community shindigs throughout July - September 2013.

Tourist

At the Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre you will be able to:

• PICK UP INFORMATION

Information Centre Saturday 6th July Balsall Heath Carnival Pickwick Park 12-4pm Sunday 7th July Balsall Heath Clean-Up Parade Sparkgreen Park (behind Nelson Mandela School) 12-3pm Saturday 20th July Longmore Street ‘Street Watch’ Portacabin 12-4pm Thursday 25th July Calthorpe Park Play Centre Safer Neighbourhood Family Fun Day 12-4pm Saturday 3rd August George Street Park 12-4pm Saturday 17th August Old Print Works as part of Musikstan Moseley Road 12-4pm Saturday 31st August Balsall Heath Park 12-4pm Saturday 21st September Calthorpe Park Community Fun Day 12-4pm 3

about the exciting range of cultural activity occurring in Balsall Heath. From Ort Cafe to Brian Cleavers enormous scale model of the Belgrave Middleway constructed from whiskey box cardboard, we’ve got it covered.

• READ & BORROW articles from our library on a spectacular range of Balsall Heath related subjects: super-diversity, fast cars, faster food, community politics, gentrification, carnival, Khat, crafts and superstitions amongst taxi drivers to name but a few.

• VISIT the BIENNALE SHOP and purchase postcards of Balsall Heath heritage sites and landmarks: Zaffs, the Old Portacabin, Raja Brothers supermarket, Apna Ghar...... and more!

• DISCOVER other information related to the biennale including how to enter our numerous competitions and win

LARGE CASH PRIZES! (Please see: Public Sculpture Colouring In Posters and the Decorate Your House or Garden in a Surreal Way Competition).

• TAKE PART in hands on activities such as silk screen printing at the Biennale Merchandise Sweat Shop.

Look out for the Balsall Heath Biennale A-Boards around Balsall Heath marking out special sites of cultural interest.

Images opposite, clockwise from top left: *Apna Ghar (meaning ‘Our Home’) provides a range of services, including day care, for men and women aged over 45 years who are physically frail and disabled and who are predominantly from the South Asian community. The Centre also offers catering services to the public (a maximum of 50 people) at a very competitive price. www.apnagharservices.co.uk *The River Rea flows through Balsall Heath largely hidden from view. This image is taken from one of the bridges in Calthorpe Park. *Hana’s Pizza House (formerly The Coach & Horses Public House) on Edward Road. Changes in the pub trade and a predominantly Muslim population mean that there are not many pubs left in Balsall Heath. Across the local area there are numerous ‘shells’ that architecturally resemble pubs, but are now occupied for other purposes. 100 metres up the road from The Coach & Horses is The New Inn which is now a business centre. Unlike The Coach & Horses however, The New Inn lives on. It’s entire contents - of Victorian decor, tiles and furnishings - have been brought up and shipped to Las Vegas to be installed in an Irish theme bar. It now has a ghost like existence 2000 miles away from it’s original home. * Old Streetwatch Portacabin, Longmore Street. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Balsall Heath was one of the worst areas in the country for prostitution. The portacabin was used as a base from which residents held pickets and deterred kerb crawlers. It is now used by the charity Bright Future who organise sport for children in Balsall Heath. * Cars Wanted For Cash. Unfortunately, this wonderfully painted facade is no longer in existence. Image: Ian Francis *SMS Supermarket, Edward Road. * Zaffs Mosaic. Arguably the most famous fast food restaurant (and there are many) in Balsall Heath, Zaffs is open most hours. It even has its own mosaic by the front entrance on Moseley Road. * Welcome to Balsall Heath. This sign, on Haden Way, marks one of the seven entry points to Balsall Heath and forms part of the Balsall Heath Britain in Bloom trail. In 2012 Balsall Heath received a silver award. Hopes are high for a gold award in 2013.

‫آپ کے عالقے میں ہونے والی ثقافتی سرگرمیوں کے بارے میں معلومات جاننے کے لیئےبالسال ہیتھ ٹورسٹ انفارمیشن سنٹر میں تشریف الیئے۔‬

‫بالسال ہیتھ برمنگھم میں سیاحوں کے لیئے ا ّولین منزل ہے‬

‫منطقة بالصل هيث في مدينة برمنغهام مقصد السياح رقم واحد‬

‫زر مركز بالصل هيث لالستعالمات السياحية للحصول على معلومات عن النشاطات الثقافية اجلارية في منطقتك احمللية‬ ‫‪4‬‬

TALKS

‫مفتوحة للعموم‬

‫مناقشات مجانية‬

WILD BEES, GREEN ROOFS AND URBAN ENVIRONMENTS Followed by a special tour of the ONE PLOT URBAN FARMING PROJECT

DR ADAM BATES WEDNESDAY 17TH JULY 6.30 − 8.00PM ST PAUL’S TRUST HERTFORD STREET B12 8NJ Dr Adam Bates will explore the role of wild bees within a healthy urban ecosystem and the design of bee friendly green roofs. Find out about how bees respond to the pressures of urbanisation and what environments you can create for them that replace habitats lost through urban development. Be warned, you may leave this talk with a desperate desire to return home and landscape your roof. Dr Adam Bates is a Research Fellow at Birmingham University in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Adam’s research focuses on the ecology of bees, beetles, spiders and green roofs in urban and riparian systems. He is currently employed on the Open Air Laboratories project facilitating scientific learning in local communities. The talk will be followed by a special tour of the One Plot Urban Farming Project, located at St Paul’s Trust, by founder Thai Chitsaga. www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/gees/bates-adam.aspx www.oneplotfarmers.weebly.com

LOCALISM, NARRATIVE & MYTH PROFESSOR ANTONIA LAYARD & MARTIN MAUDSLEY TUESDAY 23RD JULY 6.30 − 8.00PM BALSALL HEATH LIBRARY MOSELEY ROAD B12 9BX What does it mean to live ‘locally’? How do stories help us understand the ‘local’? What is ‘local’? Professor Antonia Layard & storyteller Martin Maudsley will discuss ‘Localism, Narrative & Myth’, a project that brings together academics and storytellers to consider how narratives of the local and local governance can help us understand different perspectives of ‘the local’ that the Localism Act is so busily trying to regulate. Antonia Layard is Professor of Law and Geography at Birmingham Law School. Antonia’s research is in law and geography where she explores how law, legality and maps construct space, place and ‘the local’. She has particular interests in the legal provisions and practices involved in large-scale regeneration and infrastructure projects and teaches courses on property, planning and environmental law. www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/law/layard-antonia.aspx Martin Maudsley is a professional storyteller based in the South West of England. He programmes and performs ‘Storytelling’ at the Brewery Theatre (Tobacco Factory) in Bristol and runs a storytelling stage at Shambala Festival. In 2007 he established Bristol Storytelling Festival and was its Artistic Director for a successful 7 years. He also has a doctorate on the population ecology of cereal aphids. www.martinmaudsley.co.uk 5

BALSALL HEATH WORLD CUP

Calthorpe Park Community Fun Day Saturday 21st September This event is a world cup without any football. It involves a number of team based activities and craft challenges

Satellite Dish Kite Making

Number Plate Carving

Flag Making

‫كأس بالصل هيث العاملي‬

‫بالسال ہیتھ عاملی کپ‬ ‫ُفٹ بال کے بغیر عاملی کپ کی ایک تقریب‬ DECORATE YOUR HOUSE & GARDEN COMPETITION - SURREAL THEME ENTRY FORM NAME

ADDRESS

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - you might want to include an explanation of what you have done and why. Go on to a seperate sheet if necessary.

Fill in, cut out and post/drop off at 58 Eastwood Road, B12 9NB to submit your entry to the Decorate Your House & Garden Competition

Fictional Minutes from Balsall Heath Residents Meetings ISSUE

ACTION

Rats

People with rat problems can ring 0121 3039900.

Rats continue to be a problem across the local area.

A resident proposed the idea of asking the local councillors to adopt faux Pied Piper personas and lead a ‘Rat Dance’ out of Balsall Heath. Donations of chicken bones and old pairs of tights are requested for making the councillors’ ‘Rat Dance’ costumes. If you have any experience of dance or free movement please can you get in touch as we need a choreographer. There also seems to be an outbreak of cockroaches and the 0121 3039900 number can be used for that too. [Depending upon the success of ‘Rat Dance’ we may develop a ‘Cockroach Disco’].

Stray Cat Fur Trade Reports have emerged that fur traders are illegally sourcing stray cat fur in Balsall Heath. They are targeting our area due to the large numbers of stray cats (the ginger ones are going for £50 a pelt). The goods produced are being sold in boutiques in Sutton Coldfield and Harborne.

Residents were concerned that precious local resources are being absorbed by better off neighbourhoods [otherwise known as the Harborne Factor]. A task group has been set up to investigate why local people aren’t taking advantage of this lucrative business opportunity. We are looking for people to contact local businesses to see if they would support a start-up fund for entrepreneurial local youngsters wanting to develop a legitimate fur business. [If you want to know more about stray cats please see page 8 of the talks programme].

University Students Chewing Cat

Emergency fish oils to be distributed to combat hairballs.

University students new to the area have been spotted chewing ‘cat’ instead of Khat / Quat (the plant known for it’s stimulant properties).

Voluntary organisations to set up spelling sessions. Complaints made to local universities about standards of student literacy. A local Khat house has agreed to run an open day to educate the new generation.

Cricket Ground Tunnel Update Residents on Eastwood, Constantine, and Cannon Hill Roads are continuing to tunnel into the ground.

Dumping along the River Rea

The Calthorpe Parkkeeper is becoming suspicious of the amount of earth appearing on the park and the number of local people whistling the ‘Escape to Victory’ theme tune.

Ray Mears is to be invited to run a course on survival shelter building from polystyrene fast food containers.

Residents have expressed concerned at the increased dumping along the River Rea.

‘Super’ Pigeon We’ve heard reports that a ‘Super’ pigeon has been spotted hoovering up crumbs and rats on Cheddar Road and Pickwick Park. There is one report of the ‘Super’ Pigeon crashing through a roof on Cheddar Road because of its weight.

Mice Mary Street Residents Group are seeking intellectual copyright and a patent on wire scourers as the best deterrent for mice. 7

Written warnings have been issued to people who have been feeding the bird. The Environmental officer is commissioning an outsize net to be made to capture the bird and Cannon Hill park nature centre is building a cage to house the beast. Councillors are in talks with David Attenborough to produce a film, provisionally entitled ‘The Bird of Balsall Heath’. They are in talks with Brillo over a potential multi-million pound deal.

ISSUE

‫ مستقبل متصور‬:‫لقاءات السكان‬

Police Residents have been asking for more police presence on the streets. Due to increased pressure on police time and resources, Balsall Heath is going to be a pilot area for inflatable policemen.

101 A resident noticed that the police number was the same as Room 101 in Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

ACTION

Several inflatable policemen have been stolen with reports of them being used as rafts along the river Rea [apparently a new late night elicit sport]. Someone suggested that this should be rolled out as a way of tackling teenage obesity and early onset diabetes in Balsall Heath. The group wishes to thank the police. There was the suggestion that the Police have an Orwell Literature Club and are very philosophically minded. The police are to be asked to give a reading at the next meeting.

The old Joseph Chamberlain College Site

A resident suggested that the site could become the Merry Hill of Balti.

Proposals for the development of the site are still being put forward by interested parties.

He was asked to leave the room.

Dumping signs

The new signage is causing problems at local council offices and police stations.

As dumping continues to occur at ‘No Dumping’ signs, a new approach is being pioneered that will involve a fresh approach to the psychology of signage [‘No Dumping: £10,000 Reward’].

There was a queue at Balsall Heath police station of 500 people suggesting that they hadn’t dumped at several sites. Police are assessing enquiries by asking people to fill in an application form that involves giving a 1000 word answer to the following question: Does a tree in a forest make a noise if it falls down and nobody is there?

Balsall Heath & Rio Twinning / Carnival Exchange A motion has being put forward in the Brazilian parliament that Rio de Janeiro should be twinned with Balsall Heath [on account of its carnival].

Balsall Heath Mineral Water The Balsall Heath Mineral Water project continues to pick up pace.

Cannon Hill Park sign

50 representatives from Rio Carnival are coming to Balsall Heath Carnival on a research trip to see how Rio Carnival could be improved. As a welcoming event, 2000 local residents are preparing a ‘balti-samba’ welcoming dance along the Ladypool Road. The artesian well under the swimming baths has now being bored to a depth of 727 ft. First tastes of the water suggest it resembles the flavour of a strong Lucozade. Council officials have yet to comment.

A proposal has being put to the city council to put up a sign in Cannon Hill Park with an arrow pointing towards Balsall Heath.

THE RESIDENTS MEETINGS

RESIDENTS WANTED FOR RADIO PLAY

The Balsall Heath residents meetings, organised by Balsall Heath Forum, are a long established component of the community infrastructure in Balsall Heath.

We’re looking for local residents who might be interested in taking part in the recording of a radio play, partly based on these fictional minutes. The recording of the radio play will take place at 7pm on TUESDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER at Balsall Heath Forum and be ‘broadcast’ on the Balsall Heath Biennale website in September. The radio play will offer a comical and fictitious interpretation of life in Balsall Heath that will be captured for future generations to enjoy and be baffled by. Email info@balsallheathbiennale.com or call 07792736125 to find out more.

In this fictitious bumper edition, we bring you a taster of what’s been happening over the last six months in your local area.

DECORATE YOUR HOUSE & GARDEN COMPETITION Surreal Theme 1st Prize ‫اپنا گھر یا باغیچہ سورئیلزم (شعوراورتصور کے تخلیقی) انداز میں سجائیں‬

£300 2nd Prize

£150 3rd Prize

£75

‫جوائز نقدية‬ THE COMPETITION Open to anyone in Balsall Heath. The competition has one rule: decorate your house or garden in a ‘surreal’ way. Whatever you decide to do to your house or garden, (you may not need to do anything, it could be surreal all ready) it needs to be up from: FRIDAY 23RD AUGUST - SUNDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER TAKING PART To enter you need to either fill in the form on page 6 and send it back to: 58 Eastwood Road, Balsall Heath, B12 9NB or email info@balsallheathbiennale.com and a copy will be sent to you.

THE JUDGES Dr Stephen Forcer is a Lecturer in French Studies at Birmingham University whose main research areas are Dada and Surrealism in French literature and film. His books include, ‘Dada as Text, Thought and Theory’ and ‘Modernist Song: The Poetry of Tristan Tzara.’

Roger Shannon is Professor of Film and Television at Liverpool’s Edge Hill University and executive producer at Swish Films, Birmingham; previously visiting Honorary Professor in International Film Business at Glasgow Caledonian University and Birmingham City University’s Film Fellow.

Free Associations by Conroy Maddox. Oil on Canvas. 1948

‫ غیر منطقی‬،‫ خواب کی طرح‬،‫سورئیل = عجیب‬ DEFINITIONS Surrealism is a 20th century cultural movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the imaginative unconscious mind. Surreal = bizarre, dream-like, irrational. See the biennale website for more information and ideas on surrealism or pick up a guide to surrealism from the Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre. DON’T FORGET THE TALK ON SURREALISM on the 20TH AUGUST! CONROY MADDOX, BALSALL HEATH & SURREALISM A famous English surrealist called Conroy Maddox used to live in Balsall Heath in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He conducted his surrealist operations from his home territory of Varna and Alexandra Roads, where he was known as the leader of the ‘Bohemians of Balsall Heath.’ Festivities were common in Maddox’s surrealist villa. Tim Hilton, described his experiences of visiting the house, ‘I attended carousals there with other undisciplined children, women in Gypsy dress, poets, communist intellectuals from the University of Birmingham, and early postwar Caribbean immigrants’. The Guardian, Wednesday 19 January 2005.

‫لیئے بالمعاوضہ‬

‫ عام لوگوں کے‬TALKS STRAY CATS OF BALSALL HEATH: ORIGINS, HISTORY AND USAGE CHRIS POOLMAN TUESDAY 6TH AUGUST 6.30 − 8.00PM BALSALL HEATH CHURCH CENTRE CORNER OF MARY STREET & EDWARD ROAD

Local cat expert Chris Poolman will discuss, amongst other things, the origins, history and usage of stray cats in Balsall Heath, scraggology (the ethics of feral cats), the social order of New York cats, contemporary art (and cats), the local stray cat fur trade and the enduring allure of clowders (feral cat colonies). After completing his MA in Balsall Heath Studies at Oxford University in 2011, Chris Poolman joined Balsall Heath Academy of Contemporary Art as a junior researcher in 2012 where he is currently working on a PhD exploring the links between stray cats and Art Povera in the West Midlands. www.chrispoolman.com

CONROY MADDOX, BALSALL HEATH AND THE BIRMINGHAM SURREALIST MOVEMENT DR STEPHEN FORCER TUESDAY 20TH AUGUST 6.30-8.00PM 508-510 HILLAC RESTAURANT (UPSTAIRS, WEDDING SUITE) MOSELEY ROAD, B12 9AH ‘The Museum of Dreams. ‘ Conroy Maddox

Conroy Maddox was a key figure in the Birmingham Surrealist movement of the late 1940s and early 1950s, directing operations from his Villa in Balsall Heath. At the beginning of the 1960s, slum clearance and town planning ended the Balsall Heath bohemia and Maddox moved to London. During the next 30 years Maddox frequently contributed to surveys of European surrealism, and held some 20 solo exhibitions after his first one-man show at the Grabowski Gallery, London, in 1963. This talk will explore Maddox’s work in Balsall Heath within the wider context of Surrealist and Dadaist thinking. Dr Stephen Forcer is a Lecturer in French Studies at Birmingham University whose main research areas are Dada and Surrealism in French literature and film. His books include ‘Dada as Text, Thought and Theory’ and ‘Modernist Song: The Poetry of Tristan Tzara.’ www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/french/forcer-stephen.aspx

BALSALL HEATH CULTURAL CALENDAR

JULY Wednesday 3rd 6-8pm Saturday 6th 12-4pm

The Darkroom Birmingham The Old Printworks Balsall Heath Carnival Pickwick Park

Saturday 6th 12-4pm

Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre + Balsall Heath Peerages @ Balsall Heath Carnival Ort Cafe: The Matchsellers supported by Tom Lenthall & Tom Lingard Balsall Heath Cleanup Parade Sparkgreen Park www.cleanascene.com

Saturday 6th 8pm Sunday 7th 12-4pm

Sunday 7th 12-4pm

Activity Day The Old Printworks

Monday 8th 6-8pm Tuesday 9th 7pm Wednesday 10th 8pm Thursday 11th 7.30-10.30pm

The Darkroom Birmingham The Old Printworks Ort Cafe: Philosophy Discussion with Kirk Surgener Ort Cafe: Big Tent and the Gypsy Lantern

Saturday 13th 7pm 13th - 15th Sunday 14th 2-4pm Sunday 14th 12-4pm

Ort Cafe: Grandma Chic Fashion Show + Live Music The Old Moseley Arms Beer Festival Creative Writing Workshop Ort Gallery Activity Day The Old Printworks

Wednesday 17th 6pm Wednesday 17th 6.30-8pm

Malgorzata Adamowska ‘Front Room’ Ort Gallery TALK, Wild Bees, Green Roofs and Urban Environments, Dr Adam Bates + One Plot Urban Farming tour St Paul’s Trust Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre @ the Old Portacabin [corner of Balsall Heath Road and Longmore Street] Ort Cafe: The Indigo Kings www.theindigokings.co.uk Activity Day The Old Printworks

Saturday 20th 12-4pm Saturday 20th 8pm Sunday 21st 12-4pm Tuesday 23rd 6.30-8pm

Muzikstan The Old Printworks courtyard

Making negatives from Black and White film (course) £20 pp including chemicals and paper Taking the theme of ‘Butterflies, Bees, Bugs & Blooms’ this year’s carnival, in partnership with ‘Balsall Heath Britain in Bloom’, local housing organisations, schools, community groups, art organisations and passionate individuals, presents a spectacular range of activities and events for all of the family. Discover the cultural offer of Balsall Heath at the Tourist Information Centre. Take part in activities such as print making and badge making. Plus a once in a life time opportunity to purchase a peerage. See advert on page 27 for details. Live Music: Folk, bluegrass, and your ass www.thematchsellers.wordpress.com Everyone in Balsall Heath is invited to join an event that aims to have our whole neighbourhood walking/working together to address and find a definite solution to an important issue: rubbish on our streets. There will be three processions, arriving at the park behind Nelson Mandela School - and then some GREAT MUSIC! [Children’s Recycled Orchestra , The Dhol Blasters, The Destroyers, Aa’shiq Al--Rasul, Khaliq and Misty’s Big Adventure]. And loads of FREE FOOD! Tutorials, exhibitions, live musical acts, craft stalls, demonstrations from unit holders, and much, much more! Pop on down to get a taste of what the Old Print Works has to offer. Making negatives from Black and White film (course) £20 pp including chemicals and paper Come and discuss a particular problem in the history of philosophy with a real philosopher, subject to be announced. Live Music: Punchy vocal harmonies, fast and thick riffs with a delicate and beautifully crafted texture. Muzikstan is a new live music lounge founded by Zirak Hamad. Muzikstan provides a unique platform for musicians from around the world to bring their passions to life. A fashion show showcasing local designer ‘Grandma Chic’ Sam Budgen accompanied by live music and more! www.lovethatgrandmachic.blogspot.co.uk Up to 15 real ales plus live music. Writer Beth Charis runs a workshop for children and adults in creative writing. Tutorials, exhibitions, live musical acts, craft stalls, demonstrations from unit holders, and much, much more! Pop on down to get a taste of what the Old Print Works has to offer. Local artist Malgorzata will unveil her solo exhibition ‘Front Room’, a participatory installation about cultural assimilation. www.adamowska.co.uk Find out about the role of wild bees within an urban ecosystem and the design of bee friendly green roofs. The talk will be followed by a tour of the One Plot Urban Farming project. See page 5 for more information. Discover the cultural offer of Balsall Heath at the Tourist Information Centre. Take part in activities such as print making and badge making.

A 7-piece band that plays original ‘vintage pop’, inspired by the jazz blues and swing beats of yesteryear. Tutorials, exhibitions, live musical acts, craft stalls, demonstrations from unit holders, and much, much more! Pop on down to get a taste of what the Old Print Works has to offer. TALK, Localism, Narrative & Myth, This talk will explore what it means to live locally and the role of storytelling in Professor Antonia Layard & Martin Maudsley this process. See page 5 for more details. Balsall Heath Library

JULY Thursday 25th 12-4pm Thursday 25th 7.30-10.30pm

Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre @ Calthorpe Play Centre Safer Neighbourhood Family Fun Day Muzikstan The Old Printworks courtyard

Thursday 25th 8pm Thursday 25th 7pm Saturday 27th 2pm Sunday 28th 2-4pm

Ort Cafe: Nomad presents Mostly Comedy

Tuesday 30th

Gabriela the Ukulele Lady Balsall Heath Church Centre

Balsall Heath Local History Society talk St Paul’s Venture Malgorzata Adamowska, artist workshop, Ort Gallery Activity Day The Old Printworks

Discover the cultural offer of Balsall Heath at the Tourist Information Centre. Take part in activities such as print making and badge making. Muzikstan is a new live music lounge founded by Zirak Hamad. Muzikstan provides a unique platform for musicians from around the world to bring their passions to life. Comedy, Live Music and more! A history of Handsworth Park 1882 - 2012 by Simon Baddeley. £2 for non-members Artist Malgorzata Adamowska runs a workshop for children and adults about her exhibition ‘Front Room’ Tutorials, exhibitions live musical acts, craft stalls, demonstrations from unit holders, and much, much more! Pop on down to get a taste of what the Old Print Works has to offer. Free musical event

THE OPEN PROJECT, mac, Cannon Hill Park, 25 July - 8 September, Thursday - Sunday, 12 – 8pm THE OPEN PROJECT is mac Birmingham’s innovative reworking of the ‘open’ exhibition format. Testing the conventions of the gallery, THE OPEN PROJECT has been devised as a platform to explore democratic and collective approaches to exhibition curating. THE OPEN PROJECT will be a series of four exhibitions curated by Young Curators from mac Birmingham’s Next Generation programme and an opportunity for artists across the West Midlands to exhibit and sell their art in mac Birmingham’s prestigious first floor art gallery. All eligible artworks submitted to the project will be considered by the curators for each of the weekly exhibitions and in addition all artworks are guaranteed place in the closing SALON exhibition, between 22 August and 8 September 2013. Details on how to submit your art can be found at www.macarts.co.uk/event/theopenproject ONE PLOT FARMERS St Paul’s Centre, Hertford Street, Balsall Heath, Birmingham, West Midlands B12 8NJ. www.oneplotfarmers.weebly.com One Plot Farmers are an urban non-profit organisation based in Balsall Heath. We provide quality training at affordable prices in horticulture, cookery and food preservation. In partnership with St Paul’s Community Trust. We have lots of great courses available from basic horticultural skills, to mushroom growing and drip irrigation. Look at our website for details and don’t forget to come and have a look around after Adam Bates Wild Bee Talk on the 17th July! YOGA & PILATES CLASSES IN THE ZOODIO 2ND FLOOR, THE OLD PRINTWORKS CONTACT: ILDIKO ON 075992 93833 NAGYILDI@GMAIL.COM Pilates - TUESDAYS @ 18.00 - 19.00 Hatha yoga - TUESDAYS @19.15 - 20.45 Vinyasa Flow Yoga - WEDNESDAYS @19.00 - 20.30 Please Book In Advance Places Are Limited, £10 / £7 CONS Laughter Yoga every other Thursday @19.30 - 20.30 1st class free for every newcomers, then £5 / £3 cons. afterwards Find & Like Zoodio On Facebook Join The Group: Zoodio Events

RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION MEETINGS - 7-8pm Tuesday 16th - Court & Cheddar, Jakeman, Hallam & Lincoln St Wednesday 17th - Mary St Thurday 18th - Chesterton, Colville, Queen St, Alfred St Monday 22nd - Alexandria Tuesday 23rd - Sherron Gds, Cobden Gds,Vincent Rd Wednesday 24th - Tindal St, Homer St, George St, Edgbaston Rd & Cromer Rd Thursday 25th - Kinver Croft Monday 29th - Clifton, Roshven, Taunton, Kensington Ave Tuesday 30th - Severn St Wednesday 31st - Strensham, Beaconsfield Rd CONTACT ABDULLAH REHMAN AT BALSALL HEATH FORUM FOR INFORMATION ABOUT VENUES: 0121 4466183 www.balsallheathforum.org.uk

10. Ort Cafe / Ort Gallery 500-504 Moseley Road, B12 9AH ORT is a cafe, a wine bar, a real ale bar, a live music venue, a great night out in Birmingham, a Jazz venue, a gallery, an exhibition space, a vegetarian food specialist offering Vegan and Gluten-Free options, an inexpensive place to eat, drink and enjoy events, a comedy venue, a place to buy handmade gifts, a place to spend an afternoon, family and child friendly, a place to meet new people and a place to learn a new language to discuss philosophy, science and share skills and so much more… www.ortcafe.co.uk www.ortgallery.co.uk --11. The Old Print Works 498-506 Moseley Road, B129AH Hub for designer-makers to work & share making-skills with the community. Speedwe ll Rd www.oldprintworks.org

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--9. Moseley Road Swimming Pool Moseley Road, B12 9BX One of Birmingham’s finest Edwardian buildings. Opened in October 1907, it stands out as an impressive Gothic Renaissance structure made of red brick and terracotta. Pool of Memories is a three year oral history project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund exploring the history of the baths. www.poolofmemories.co.uk

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--Lebanese Bakery 167 Mary St, B12 9RN --Balsall Heath Church Centre 100 Mary Street B12 9JU 0121 440 1138 --The Old Moseley Arms 53 Tindal St, B12 9QU Pub --Eco House Tindal Street Completed in 2009, the UK’s first and only retrofit house to ‘zero carbon’ standard.

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1. Cat Gallery / Balsall Heath Academy of Contemporary Art 58 Eastwood Road, B12 9NB HQ of the Balsall Heath Biennale project. www.balsallheathbiennale.com --2. Calthorpe Park Playcentre 257 Edward Road, B12 9LF 0121 446 4047 Offers a wide range of physical, social and intellectual activities, experiences and resources that include child-led play and activities, arts and crafts, sport and games, visiting artists and workshops. --3. Balsall Heath is Our Planet C/o Jericho Building, 196197 Edward Rd, B12 9LX A community initiative that aims to cut the carbon emissions of our inner city neighbourhood.

17. One Plot Farming St. Paul’s, Hertford St, B128NJ An urban farming project that helps people learn to grow, cook and preserve www.stpaulstrust.org.uk/community/balsall-heath-city-farm healthy, tasty, affordable organic food. --www.oneplotfarmers.weebly.com 15. Balsall Heath Children’s Centre --10 Malvern Street, B12 8NN 18. Balsall Heath Local History Society / Award winning children’s centre. Digital Balsall Heath Project www.stpaulstrust.org.uk/childrens-services-0-11/balsall-heath-childrens-centre C/o St. Paul’s, Hertford St, B12 8NJ --Local history society founded in 1979. 16. St Paul’s Community Development Trust Open to new members. Hertford Street, B12 8NJ www.digitalbalsallheath.org.uk Founded in 1973, the Trust aims to work with www.balsallheathhistory.co.uk and alongside the people of Balsall Heath and --the wider neighbourhood to promote 19. Balsall Heath Forum education, recreation and life-long learning. The Tree Nursery, 82 - 89 Balsall Heath Carnival, the Balsall Heathan St. Paul’s Road, B12 8LS magazine, Balsall Heath City Farm and Local neighbourhood lead organisation Balsall Heath Children’s Centre are all part of Hig which acts as a link to the service providers. St Paul’s. hga te Buckminster Fuller-esque HQ. Rd www.stpaulstrust.org.uk www.balsallheathforum.org.uk --20. Cleanascene 22 Balsall Heath Clean Up Parade Sparkgreen Park www.cleanascene.com A

12. Darkroom Birmingham 498-506 Moseley Road, B12 9AH A fully equipped traditional analogue darkroom and community photography resource based at the Old Printworks. www.darkroombirmingham.co.uk --13. Hilaac Restaurant 508-510 Moseley Road, B12 9AH Somalian food

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24. The Ceol Castle 402 Moseley Road, B12 9AT Great Irish pub. --25. mac Cannon Hill Park, B12 9QW The Midlands’ most visited arts centre, with more than 850,000 visitors a year for live performances, coures, films and free exhibitions. www.macarts.co.uk

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What’s the triangle? Known as the ‘Balti Triangle,’ this area is famous for it’s curry houses. Stretching between Stratford Road and Moseley Road with the greatest number of restaurants lying along Ladypool Road & Stoney Lane. www.balti-birmingham.co.uk 14

BALSALL HEATH CULTURAL CALENDAR

AUGUST Saturday 3rd 12-4pm Sunday 4th 12-4pm

Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre @ George Street Park Activity Day The Old Printworks

Tuesday 6th 6.30-8pm

TALK: Stray Cats of Balsall Heath: Origins, History and Usage. Chris Poolman Balsall Heath Church Centre The Darkroom Birmingham The Old Printworks Muzikstan Festival 2013 The Old Printworks courtyard

Friday 16th 5.30pm onwards Saturday 17th 12 noon - LATE Saturday 17th 12-4pm Saturday 17th Sunday 18th

Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre @ Musikstan, The Old Printworks courtyard The Darkroom Birmingham Weekend Full Analogue photography course The Old Printworks Tuesday 20th August Talk: Conroy Madox, Balsall Heath & the Birmingham 6.30-8pm Surrealists Dr Stephen Forcer, The Hillac Restaurant. Friday 23rd AugustDecorate Your House & Garden Competition: Sunday 1st September Surreal Theme Thursday 29th Ort Cafe: Les Bonbons 8pm Thursday 29th Muzikstan 7.30-10.30pm The Old Printworks courtyard Saturday 31st 12-4pm

Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre @ Balsall Heath Park

Discover the cultural offer of Balsall Heath at the Tourist Information Centre. Take part in print making and badge making. Tutorials, exhibitions, live musical acts, craft stalls, demonstrations from unit holders, and much more! Pop on down to see what the Old Print Works has to offer. Learn everything there is to know about stray cats in Balsall Heath. See page 10 for more details. Friday Photo-Social / Clinic 10 live acts from around the World! Activities include: Pixie Craft workshops and stalls, drumming and dance workshops, delicious homemade food, cakes and Cider Stand. Discover the cultural offer of Balsall Heath at the Tourist Information Centre. Take part in print making and badge making. Covering camera skills, developing film/making negatives & contact sheets/beginner-intermediate black & white printing. £90 for film, chemicals, paper and refreshments. Find out about the history of surrealism and the work of surrealist artist Conroy Maddox who lived in Balsall Heath in the 1940’s. See page 10 for more information. In exchange for cash prizes, local residents are invited to decorate their houses in a surreal way. Melodramatic popular music. www.myspace.com/wearelesbonbons Muzikstan is a new live music lounge founded by Zirak Hamad. Muzikstan provides a unique platform for musicians from around the world to bring their passions to life. Discover the cultural offer of Balsall Heath at the Tourist Information Centre. Take part in activities such as print making and badge making.

COMMUNICATION MATTERS. (term time only) BHIC, HERTFORD ST, BALSALL HEATH, B128NJ Weekly art group encouraging parents and children to develop their communication skills through working together on various craft activities. www.stpaulstrust.org.uk

BALSALL HEATH LIBRARY: POETRY IN RESIDENCE EVERY THURSDAY DURING TERM TIME. 5PM-6PM Drop in to talk about poetry from different cultures. Take a look at the poetry books in the library and tell us what you love - or hate - about poetry. For anyone aged 16 or over. For more information, contact Chris Fewings on 07952 909804 www.birmingham.gov.uk/balsallheathlibrary

CHAOS ACOUSTIC NIGHT THE OLD MOSELEY ARMS 9.00 PM ONWARDS 53 Tindal St, B12 9QU

FOODBANK/HELP POINT. BALSALL HEATH CHURCH CENTRE EVERY THURSDAY BETWEEN 10AM -12PM Anyone recognised as being in a crisis situation can call the Balsall Heath Forum on 0121 4466183 so they can be referred to the food bank. Anyone can drop into the church centre for the help point.

Live music every Sunday

SOME CITIES Some Cities is an innovative look at the city around us conceived by photographers Andrew Jackson and Dan Burwood. During the summer of 2013 we’ll train residents in Balsall Heath, Birmingham to use photography to tell their stories in their own voice. Do you want to get involved? Do you want to learn how to share your thoughts and feelings with others through photography? Do you want to help preserve the history of your community? Join us and we’ll show you how. The training is free to the unemployed and unwaged - get in touch for more details.Your photographs will form part of a photographic exhibition and be viewable online via the Peoples Archive of Birmingham. To express interest in the workshops or to receive further information sign up here: www.somecities.tumblr.com

VOICES OF THE OLD PRINT WORKS. Coming Soon (early August 2013) An exhibition bringing the stories of the Old Print Works in the heart of Balsall Heath alive. Come and hear about the Print Works in the past, through the voices of the people who worked there from the 1930s onwards. See what it offers today and share with us what you would like it to be tomorrow. The exhibition will be accompanied by inspiring workshops for all ages around printing and its practices. www.voicesoftheopw.wordpress.com

ARTIST DESIGNED LIMITED EDITION BIN BAGS Arriving in August for residents of Eastwood Road Can a bin bag designed by an artist solve the Balsall Heath litter problem? Will local cats appreciate that the bin bag is an art work? Is this a rubbish idea? The limited edition bin bags form one element of a larger project on Eastwood Road that seeks to improve the physical fabric of the road

‫آیئے کوڑا کرکٹ کے بارے میں بات کریں‬ If you don’t happen to live on Eastwood Road, but would like to take part in the project (or simply keep a limited edition bin bag for posterity) please visit the Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre in August

Photo of Eastwood Road Street Party. June 2013 16

BALSALL HEATH CULTURAL CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER Monday 2nd Wednesday 4th 6pm

Launch of Public Sculpture Colouring In Posters Pil and Galia Kollectiv ‘Suck the Living Labour’ Exhibition Opening, Ort Gallery www.kollectiv.co.uk

Thursday 5th 8pm Tuesday 10th 6.30-8pm Wednesday 11th 6-8pm Thursday 12th 7.30-10.30pm

Ort Cafe, Cocos Lovers supported by Heart of a Dog TALK: Public Art: How Does it Get Made? Ort Gallery, See pages 23&24 for more details. The Darkroom Birmingham The Old Printworks Musikstan The Old Printworks courtyard

Tuesday 17th

Bangra Balsall Heath Church Centre The Darkroom Birmingham The Old Printworks Calthorpe Park Fun Day Calthorpe Park Balsall Heath World Cup & Tourist Information Centre @ Calthorpe Park Community Fun Day

Friday 20th 5.30pm onwards Saturday 21st 11.30-4pm Saturday 21st 11.30-4pm

Saturday 21st 8pm Saturday 21st Sunday 22nd Wednesday 25th 6-8pm

Ort Cafe: It’s Electro Bayleaf supported by Friends of the Animals (FOTA) The Darkroom Birmingham Weekend Full Analogue photography courses The Old Printworks The Darkroom Birmingham The Old Printworks

Primary Schools across Balsall Heath. Pil and Galia Kollectiv’s project explores geriatric vampirism. Working towards a new film, the artists are hosting two events at Ort Gallery including a reading seminar on Marxist demonology to encourage both younger and older residents of the community to attend and getinvolved in the project. Live music: Kent coast folk with an African twist www.cocoslovers.com Claire Doherty, Director of Situations and artist Ruth Claxton discuss the public art commissioning process. Making negatives from Black and White film (course) £20 pp including chemicals and paper Muzikstan is a new live music lounge founded by Zirak Hamad. Muzikstan provides a unique platform for musicians from around the world to bring their passions to life. Free musical event Friday Photo-Social / Clinic Games, arts, stalls, face painting, singers, dance groups and entertainment. Discover the cultural offer of Balsall Heath at the Tourist Information Centre. Take part in activities such as print making & badge making. Plus exciting tests of physical & mental agility! See page 6 for more details. Live experimental electronic music www.soundcloud.com/its-electro-bayleaf Covering camera skills / developing film / making negatives & contact sheets and beginner-intermediate black and white printing. £90 including film, chemicals, paper and refreshments. £20 pp including chemicals and paper Making negatives from Black and White film (course) & Introduction to B+W printing in a darkroom (course) Comedy, Live Music and more!

Thursday 26th 8pm Thursday 26th 7.30-10.30pm

Ort Cafe: Nomad presents Mostly Comedy MUZIKSTAN The Old Printworks courtyard

Muzikstan is a new live music lounge founded by Zirak Hamad. Muzikstan provides a unique platform for musicians from around the world to bring their passions to life.

Thursday 26th 7pm Friday 27th 4-9pm

Balsall Heath Local History Society talk St Paul’s Venture Balsall Heath Biennale International Open 58 Eastwood Road, B12 9NB

‘Projecting Britain, how Ealing films presented Britishness’ by Chris Sutton. £2 for non-members. Exhibition + David Sherry Performance + Biennale Balti

Saturday 28th 8pm

Ort Cafe: Del Ray supported by Abie’s Miracle Tonic

Live Music: Bluegrass, Americana and Blues www.hobemianrecords.com/delrey.html

RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION MEETINGS - 7-8pm Tuesday 10th - Court & Cheddar, Jakeman, Hallam & Lincoln Wednesday 11th - Mary St Thurday 12th - Chesterton, Colville, Queen St, Alfred St Monday 16nd - Alexandria Tuesday 17th - Sherron Gds, Cobden Gds,Vincent Rd Wednesday 18th - Tindal St, Homer St, George St, Edgbaston Rd & Cromer Rd Thursday 19th - Kinver Croft Monday 23rd - Clifton, Roshven, Taunton, Kensington Ave Tuesday 24th - Severn St Wednesday 25th - Strensham, Beaconsfield Rd 17

CONTACT ABDULLAH REHMAN AT BALSALL HEATH FORUM FOR INFORMATION ABOUT VENUES: 0121 4466183 www.balsallheathforum.org.uk

CAT GALLERY

‫القطط العصرية حتب الفن احلديث‬

AISHA KHALID NATHANIAL PITT

JULY

AUGUST

IMRAN QURESHI DAVID SHERRY

SEPTEMBER

PERFORMANCE SEPTEMBER 27TH 6PM

LOCATION Cat Gallery is situated at 58 Eastwood Road, Balsall Heath, B12 9NB. Between July-September Cat Gallery will host a number of exhibitions during which it’s occupants - Benny and Roger - may or may not interact with the art-work on display. OPENING HOURS Everyday, 7am-11pm (sorry no dogs allowed) RELATED EVENTS & INFORMATION Visit the biennale website to find out more about cats in contemporary art. See talks: A Lecture on the Stray Cats of Balsall Heath.

‫آپ اپنی سامنے والی کھڑکی کو کیٹ گیلری میں منتقل کیوں نہیں کر دیتے؟‬

Why not turn your front window into a Cat Gallery?

Meow do you translate culture?

THE HISTORY OF CAT GALLERY After almost two years painstaking work, the Balsall Heath Biennale Cat Team have successfully translated artist Marcel Broodthaers Interview with a Cat, recorded at the Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles, Düsseldorf in 1970. Scholars have long agonised over the cat’s responses to Broodthaers’ questions ( ‘Is that one a good painting?…Does it correspond to what you expect from that very recent transformation which goes from Conceptual Art to this new version of a kind of figuration, as one might say?’ ) and we can now reveal the following: the cat was telling Broodthaers that he should not rest until every house in Belgium featured a ‘Cat Gallery’. Only then would Conceptual Art be complete. 18

BALSALL HEATH ACADEMY ‫بال معاوضہ آرٹ سکول‬ “You need two things for an art

The art school syllabus is designed in response to the wider biennale project and the idiosyncrasies of the local area. If you are interested in attending the Balsall Heath Academy of Contemporary Art please see page 22 of the newspaper and the advert FREE ART SCHOOL for more information or visit the website www.balsallheathbiennale.com

PART A. WEEKS 1 - 4: DIFFERENT ART-WORLDS WEEK 1. WHERE ARE WE NOW? Idea: Introduction to the course. Alongside a talk about the Balsall Heath Biennale project and The Balsall Heath Academy of Contemporary Art, participants will introduce themselves and their interest in art. Question: What is the role or job of an artist? How can contemporary art exist in the ‘real’ world? WEEK 2. SCREEN-PRINTING MERCHANDISE Idea: A screen-printing workshop in which we will print merchandise for the biennale (posters, bags, T-shirts) as a way of getting people to think more closely about their relationship with their neighbourhood and what cultural production might mean. Question: Which comes first - thinking or making?

Map of Balsall Heath with remote control ice cream vans

WEEK 3. ‘COMMUNITY ART’ Idea: Looking at the similarities and differences between contemporary art, craft and design through a case study of the arts organisation Grizedale Arts. Question: What is ‘community art’? WEEK 4. RADICAL FELT MAKING Idea: Led by artist Rafal Zar, this workshop on felt-making will explore how a traditional craft activity can be subverted in new and interesting ways. Participants will be encouraged to experiment with this process in a practical hands-on making session. Question: Why felt? www.rafalzar.blogspot.co.uk

Silk screen printing

PART B. WEEKS 5 - 8: THE WAYS THINGS GO (IN BALSALL HEATH) WEEK 5. CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING Idea: Explore how everyday objects can be art-works. We will look at the work of Jessica Stockholder, Hew Locke and Donald Judd in relation to objects - mattresses, furniture etc - that are normally dumped around Balsall Heath. Question: Can anything be art? WEEK 6. FISCHLI/WEISS AND PARKING SPACE SAVERS IN BALSALL HEATH Idea: Continuing to focus on the theme of context from the previous week, we will watch ‘The Way Things Go’ by Fischli/Weiss. We will then develop a series of sculptural ‘parking space savers’ or other interventions at street level. Question: Can art prevent you from being bored ever again?

Felt figures. Rafal Zar

OF CONTEMPORARY ART school - a room and a kettle” *

‫مدرسة فنون مجانية‬ WEEK 7. ALTERNATIVE CURRENCIES: THINGS YOU LEAVE OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE AND ‘BALSALL HEATH CREDIT’ Idea: Looking at non-monetary systems of exchange, we will discuss the work of artist Caroline Caycedo within the context of the ‘Balsall Heath Credit’ (items or objects that people leave outside their homes that may be of use to other people). Question: Why are artists concerned with systems of value?

Homemade trainer. Robert Grose

WEEK 8. MIMICRY & THE ‘MOCKSTITUTION’: HOW TO SCULPT A PAIR OF TRAINERS FROM LOCAL RESOURCES Idea: Led by artist Robert Grose this workshop will explore ideas around mimicry and copying originals. Using the biennale project ‘The Balsall Heath Tourist information Centre’ as a starting point, this workshop will involve using recycled materials to make sculptural, homemade trainers. Question: Why would artists imitate corporate identities? PART C. WEEKS 9 - 11: ART & THE REAL WORLD WEEK 9. PUBLIC ART & THE BALSALL HEATH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN Idea: Taking the Balsall Heath neighbourhood plan as a starting point we will explore ideas around public sculpture by looking at two biennale projects: Public Art Shares & Public Sculpture Colouring In Posters. Question: Why do we need art in the public realm?

Objects left in the street in Balsall Heath

WEEK 10. ‘UNADOPTED’ SPACES IN BALSALL HEATH & WASTELANDS TWINNING Idea: Led by curator & writer Beth Bramich, this session will explore how Wasteland Twinning - a world-wide research initiative - and other projects working with art in the public realm, seek to re-use, map or transform abandoned urban environments. Participants in this session will take part in a series of fast-paced group performances with the aim of physically recreating public sculptures at each of the ‘unadopted’ spaces on a tour of Balsall Heath. There will be opportunities to perform as part of a group, be part of a documentation team to capture the ‘sculpture’, to discuss why these spaces have become neglected and make proposals for how they could be used in the future. Question: What is the relationship of art to other disciplines that deal with neglected urban environments, such as architecture or urban gardening, ? www.bethbramich.com WEEK 11. THE FUTURE FOR YOU & THE BALSALL HEATH ACADEMY OF CONTEMPORARY ART Idea: A detailed exploration of the art world beyond Balsall Heath. We will spend the day visiting Eastside Projects, Grand Union, Friction Arts, Ikon Gallery and BMAG. This will involve taking in exhibitions, introducing professional development programmes in the region and discussing the benefits of volunteering to gain further experience (where possible we will arrange for members of staff to give introductions). Question: How does the art world operate? Who are all these people? How do they earn a living?

Wasteland Twinning Rounders Tournament, 2012. Wasteland Twinning Nottingham Photograph by Julian Hughes

* If anyone has a kettle please get in contact

INTERNATIONAL OPEN SUBMISSION ART COMPETITION You are invited to submit art work to a truly international exhibition. This inaugural Balsall Heath Biennale Salon is open to anyone. Come forth artists of merit and be part of a glorious moment in Balsall Heath art history. All work accepted. No questions asked. Prizes will be awarded by the following judges:

ZOE LIPPETT

Curator, The New Art Gallery Walsall Lippett Award for Technical Tenacity

SARAH SHALGOSKY

Curator, Mead Gallery Shalgosky Prize for Brilliant Brilliance

GAVIN WADE

Director, Eastside Projects Wade Award for Conceptual Cunning

CHERYL JONES

Director, Grand Union Jones Prize for Dexterous Daftness

GRAND OPENING FRIDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER 4.00 − 9.00

58 EASTWOOD ROAD, BALSALL HEATH, BIRMINGHAM, B12 9NB

FEATURING A PERFORMANCE AT CAT GALLERY BY

DAVID SHERRY

+ THE BIENNALE BALTI

Living Luggage. David Sherry. 2010

GENERAL INFORMATION • All works must be accompanied by a completed application form available by emailing: info@balsallheathbiennale.com • If you don’t have access to the internet, phone 07769530557 and an application form will be posted to you or pick one up at the Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre

FREE ART SCHOOL la e

n n ie

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b h t

a e lh

l a ls

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JULY - SEPTEMBER 2013 Learn new skills, meet INTERESTING people, gain hands-on experience, debate and discuss, screen-print, street sculptures, philosophy, stray cats, public sculpture, homemade trainer making, guest lecturers SCHEDULE 11 sessions (Thursday evenings and Saturdays) EXCHANGE ART SCHOOL is offered FREE of charge in exchange for your time volunteering on the Balsall Heath Biennale APPLY You must be 18 yrs + and live or work in Balsall Heath to qualify Places are limited. Selection by interview All applicants will be offered an interview Email Liz at info@balsallheathbiennale.com or call/text 07769530557 to book an interview slot

INFORMATION For more information about the wider project and to view the ART SCHOOL syllabus visit DEADLINE: NOW 22

PUBLIC ART SHARES

TALK

PUBLIC ART: HOW DOES IT GET MADE? CLAIRE DOHERTY & RUTH CLAXTON TUESDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER 6.30 â&#x2C6;&#x2019; 8.00PM ORT GALLERY 23

The Balsall Heath Neighbourhood Plan contains a number of recommendations for public art to be sited at the seven entry points to Balsall Heath. The biennale Public Sculpture Colouring In Posters visualise what public art might look like in Balsall Heath and this event explores the thinking that informs public art commissioning and the practicalities of how public art works get made. Some of the questions that the event will consider include: What are the different types of commissioning process? What are the challenges to the public art commissioning process? How long should public art last? Who should pay for public art?

JUST IMAGINE, THE PEOPLE OF BALSALL HEATH BUYING ART TOGETHER

WATCH THE COMMERCIAL ON THE BIENNALE WEBSITE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS EXCITING OPPORTUNITY!

Claire Doherty is Director of the public art commissioning agency Situations. In 2009, Claire was awarded a prestigious Paul Hamlyn Breakthrough Award as an outstanding cultural entrepreneur. Claire directed One Day Sculpture in 2008-9 with David Cross, a year-long collaborative series of 20 commissioned, 24-hour public artworks across New Zealand. In 2010, she was Co-Curatorial Director of Wonders of Weston for Weston-super-Mare. Doherty lectures and publishes internationally. She is editor of Contemporary Art: From Studio to Situation (Black Dog Publishing, 2004) and Documents of Contemporary Art: Situation (Whitechapel/MIT Press, 2009). She was also an external advisory member of the Olympic Park Public Realm Advisory Committee.

Ruth Claxton is an artist and associate director of Eastside Projects. Ruth was awarded the 2012 Arts Foundation Sculpture Fellowship. She was commissioned to make a site-specific installation for the Guangzhou Triennial 2012, China, and has recently completed a permanent sculptural installation for the Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, acquired by the Contemporary Art Society, London. Recent solo exhibitions include: SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe; Spike Island, Bristol; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Oriel Davies, Newtown, Wales; Faye Fleming and Partner, Geneva; and Ingleby, Edinburgh. She has completed public art works for Situations (Wonders of Weston, Weston-super-Mare) and Meadow Arts (House of Beasts, Attingham Park).

www.situations.org.uk

www.ruthclaxton.info

PUBLIC SCULPTURE £50 1st prize

COLOURING IN POSTERS

‫پبلک سکلپچر (مجسمہ سازی) کے پوسٹروں میں رنگ بھرنا‬

‫ان میں رنگ بھریئے اور اپنی کھڑکی میں آویزاں کیجئے‬

Enter our Public Sculpture Colouring In Poster Competition and win a cash prize!

This image shows a sculpture called ‘The Third Attempt’ by the artist Andy Holden. This is what he says about the work:

In September 5000 Public Sculpture Colouring In Posters will be distributed through local schools in Balsall Heath. These posters will re-imagine the local area by integrating seven large public sculptures into the Balsall Heath landscape, (at the seven entry points to Balsall Heath as identified in the neighbourhood plan).

“The Third Attempt was the third in a series of large, temporary, outdoor structures. The boulder like forms are made from wrapping thin ply wood over an elaborate timber frame and are meant to be seen as incongruous to the landscape in which they find themselves. They are related to the architectural idea of the ‘folly’, something that is deliberately wrong within the landscape, often being only a facade to imply something much grander, although the other meaning of folly is not irrelevant. Perceived as round from the position that the structure is viewed from, the objects are only semi-circular, giving an illusion of full roundness, as a folly might imply a castle behind, without there having ever been a castle there at all. They want to find a new way to think about monuments, without being simply monumental. Being temporary they are thought of as events rather than simply sculptures; the performance of building the work, often an excessive effort for a structure that will only be there a single day, is as important as the object itself, that lives on only through the film of it in its temporary landscape. It is part comet, part boulder from a Roadrunner cartoon, part pre-historic monument.”

If you're not lucky enough to still be at school and would like to put a Public Sculpture Colouring In Poster up in your window, the posters will be available from August onwards from the Balsall Heath Tourist Information Centre (and also available to download from the website). Featuring sculptures by: Juneau Projects, Andy Holden & five more international artists to be announced soon! We will be judging the competition by walking around the entirety of Balsall Heath in the middle of September so if you decide to put a poster up, please keep it there until this time. If you want to make sure that your poster is seen then get in touch. e: info@balsallheathbiennale.com t: 07769530557

We have put Andy’s sculpture in Calthorpe Park on Longmore Street and asked one of Balsall Heath’s best colourers in, Sanjeev Lohia, age 11 to work his magic.

What a great idea! The colouring in posters originated with the Balsall Heath Carnival. Well done for keeping the art of colouring in alive.

‫‪£20‬‬ ‫‪3rd prize‬‬ ‫تلوين منحوتات عمومية في معلقات‬ ‫لونهم واعرضهم في نافذتك‬

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‫‪£30‬‬ ‫‪nd prize‬‬

Balsall Heath Peerages A CHARITY AUCTION

WITH ALL PROCEEDS GOING TO ISLAMIC HELP

Balsall Heath Carnival July 6th 2013, 1.30pm Cash For Honours ‫بالسال ہیتھ کی پیرئیج خریدنے کے لیئے کارنیول تشریف الیئے‬ Lots include: LORD AND LADY OF LADYPOOL ROAD DUKE & DUCHESS OF ST PAUL’S COUNT OF CANNON HILL BARONESS OF MOSELEY ROAD EARL OF EDWARD ROAD VISCOUNT & VISCOUNTESS OF CALTHORPE If you were to purchase the Lord and Lady of Ladypool Road these would be your rights and responsibilities:

BIENNALE MERCHANDISE The Sweat Shop

Produce merchandise for the Balsall Heath Biennale at FREE screen-printing workshops from our secret merchandise factory located in a polytunnel in deepest Balsall Heath otherwise known as ‘The Sweat Shop’. At the Sweat Shop you can learn screen-printing whilst producing posters, t-shirts and tote-bags displaying a range of biennale slogans. The screen-printing workshops are aimed at groups of up to 6 people. If you are interested in a workshop please email info@ balsallheathbiennale.com with details of your group (i.e. you might be a community organisation or a group of neighbours). Visit the online shop to buy your official biennale merchandise! WARNING: UNOFFICIAL BIENNALE MERCHANDISE IS APPARENTLY BEING SOLD IN BALSALL HEATH. DO NOT PURCHASE THESE INFERIOR ITEMS!

‫بال معاوضہ آرٹ ورکشا پ‬

LAND: the fertile grazing pastures between Stoney Lane and the Ladypool Road POWERS: exclusive parking rights along the Ladypool Road RESPONSIBILITIES: protection and upkeep of a flock of 1500 royal pigeons ETIQUETTE: local residents to greet you with an exaggerated bow to the toes

‫ورشة عمل فنية مجانية‬

‫زر الكرنفال لشراء لقب نبيل بالصل هيث‬

TOURS

e: info@balsallheathbiennale.com t: 07769530557

The biennale team are looking for people who have something to say about their experiences of living in Balsall Heath. Whether you have lived here all of your life (and seen the many changes the area has been through), just arrived from somewhere else, or simply have an interesting anecdote to tell (that would never make it into any official history book) please get in touch. The interviews will be incorporated into a film which will be screened in Balsall Heath in 2014.

ARTISTIC HEALING SERVICES POOLMAN & ROWE FROM BIRTH GIFTED BALSALL HEATHAN ARTISTIC HEALER AND ADVISOR No Matter how difficult your problem there is a creative solution to it For all your problems artists is the answer, no disappointment. Quick results Guaranteed ‫برائے مہربانی اپنے مسائل کے بارے میں خاموش مت رہیئے آرٹسٹس سے مدد حاصل کیجئے۔‬

PLEASE DON’T REMAIN IN SILENCE WITH YOUR PROBLEM SEEK HELP FROM ARTISTS We can help you with Arts Council Application Writing Black Magic, IMovie Voodoo, Website Building Impotency, Visual Transformations, Utopian Thinking, Wildcard Scenarios, Aesthetic Difficulties, Incomprehensible Philosophical Concepts, Curatorial Curses, Easter Egg Decorating, Studio Alchemy, Neighbourhood Gentrification Heartbreak ‫ اسع للحصول على مساعدة من فنانني‬،‫رجاء ال تبقى صامتا مع مشكلتك‬ WE WILL WARN YOU GRAVELY, SUGGEST WISELY AND EXPLAIN FULLY Phone: 07792 736125