Archive

1. CCCS events

   May 5, 2014 11:22 am Comments Off on CCCS events

   Throughout June Vivid Projects cast an eye over the key areas of feminism, cultural identity and activism and bring together people who started out in the Centre with those curious about its legacies to explore the wider impact of Cultural Studies in Birmingham. Artists, writers, social networkers, cultural provocateurs, new young feminists, archivists and more will be holding weekly salons to unpick the legacy of CCCS.

   WEEK 1: 06-07 June

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   FRIDAY 6 JUNE | 6PM | VIVID PROJECTS
   LAUNCH: SUPERSTYLING!

   A month-long season of exhibition, provocations and events investigating the impact of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies aka the Birmingham School launches at Vivid Projects with a party celebrating style and identity on 6 June.

   Admission Free. This event is presented as part of Digbeth First Friday.

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   SATURDAY 7 JUNE | 11AM – 4PM | VIVID PROJECTS
   WORKSHOP: SOME GIRLS 2014

   Unfortunately this event has been cancelled. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

   In response to the legacy of the 1980s Some Girls research project, Some Girls 2014 is an exploratory workshop tackling the social issues, cultures, and concerns facing young women. Led by photographic artist Kirstin Barnes and including a talk by one of the original Some Girls project workers, Carola Adams, this insightful and experimental session will bring merge ideas, art and social action to create works that speak volumes for young women. In association with Little Miss Creative.

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   WEEK 2: 12-14 June

   THURSDAY 12 JUNE | 7.30PM | THE VICTORIA
   DISCUSSION: HOW POPULAR IS POP MUSIC?

   Convened by the Birmingham Salon

   Pop music has lost its power over the hearts and minds of the young. Chart hits have lost their era-defining quality. Everything from the collapse of NME sales to the rise of the reunion tour seems to indicate that British pop music has lost its way. Is it simply that we have exhausted the possibilities of the three-minute record and the thematically-unified album, or is there a broader malaise?

   Some people point to the impact of digital technologies or blame X Factor. Others look at social trends, such as the seductive pull of nostalgia in all areas of cultural life, stay-at-home adults or the relentless war on public drinking and shared space. Others argue that reports of the demise of pop music may be much exaggerated. After all, music has always moved along with technological and social shifts, and today’s pop hotspots, such as US cities Nashville and Austin, prove that the talent is still out there.

   So is it business as usual for British pop music or does the lethargy at the heart of today’s youth culture mean no more heroes anymore?

   Advance tickets £5. Book your ticket here.  

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   WEEK 3: 19 – 21 June

   THURSDAY 19 JUNE | 4PM | VIVID PROJECTS
   POP-UP SALON: ‘DALAL ARCHIVE’ FILM SCREENING + Q&A

   Documentary photographer and ‘Archival Activism’ founder Inès Elsa Dalal resurrects an archive of family photographs from an album given to her by her Grandmother earlier this year and dated 1958-70. ‘Archival Activism’ is a public, participatory arts project inviting you to share archival photographs and anecdotes.

   This salon is an opportunity to bring your own family photographs with the intention of evoking a desire to research into your ancestral heritage.The more we know about ourselves, the better we can relate to one another.

   The ‘Dalal Archive’ film screening (6m, 28secs) is followed by a Q&A session.
   @ArchivalAct  #ArchivalActivism

   Admission free. Booking recommended, reserve your place here. 

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   THURSDAY 19 JUNE | 6.30PM | VIVID PROJECTS
   SCREENING: BIRMINGHAM FILM AND VIDEO WORKSHOP

   A selection of rarely seen works from Birmingham’s cultural history, collectively produced by the Birmingham Film and Video Workshop (BFVW). Selected by Professor Roger Shannon, Edge Hill University.

   Advance tickets £2.50 + 80p fee | £3.50 on the door. Book your ticket here.

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   FRIDAY 20 JUNE | 7PM | THE DRUM
   DISCUSSION: CITIZENSHIP, DEMOCRACY AND ACTIVISM

   In memory of Professor Stuart Hall and perhaps begin to determine the legacy of his work, The Drum host a discussion on citizenship, democracy and activism. Chaired by Professor Gurminder Bhambra, University of Warwick, the panel includes Professor Danielle Allen, Princeton, Professor John Holmwood, Discover Society and Dr Paul Warmington, University of Birmingham.

   Admission Free.

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   SATURDAY 21 JUNE | 1-6PM | VIVID PROJECTS
   DISCUSSION: FILM/FEMINISM/IDENTITY/ACTIVISM

   Join Vivid Projects for an afternoon of informal illustrated discussions exploring the key themes of the exhibition and the CCCS legacy. All events are free, but booking is recommended.

   1PM: THE FEMAIL PROJECT

   In 2013 artist/curator Emma Leppington curated hundred of images submitted by feminist artists worldwide in a quest to present a single collective image of ‘feminism’. What does feminism mean to you? Convened by Emma Leppington & Mo White* plus a contribution from Sarah Taylor Silverwood.

   **Sadly Mo will not be able to attend on Saturday due to unforseen circumstances. An overview of Mo’s early 80s zine Smart Verbal will be presented by Yasmeen Baig-Clifford.

   2.30PM: BIRMINGHAM BROADSIDE

   A round table discussion looking at the aesthetics, politics  and methods of grassroots media from 1970s to the present day. Convened by Brian Homer, Sarah Silverwood and Keith Dodds.

   4PM: WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO IS MAKE POPULAR POLITICS:  THE BIRMINGHAM FILM AND VIDEO WORKSHOP

   The BFVW was a pioneering collective co-ordinated by CCCS post-graduate Roger Shannon and included members Jonnie Turpie, Alan Lovell and Heather Powell. This illustrated discussion situates the work of the BFVW in the socio-political context of the 1970s and 80s, the UK workshop movement and its relationship with the establishment of Channel Four Television.

   Convened by Roger Shannon, Professor of Film and Television at Edge Hill University, and Paul Long, Professor of Media and Cultural History at Birmingham City University.

   Admission free, booking recommended. Book your place here.

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   WEEK 4: 26-28 June

   THURSDAY 26 JUNE | 7PM | VIVID PROJECTS
   EVENT: SHOOP SHOOP – AN EVENING WITH DICK HEBDIGE AND MIKE HORSEMAN

   We are delighted to welcome Dick Hebdige for a talk on subculture in the 70s. Hebdige is renowned for his book Subculture: the meaning of style which remains one of the seminal studies of post-war British youth culture. For this event, he is joined by photographer and legendary ex DJ Mike Horseman who ran the Shoop Shoop at The Golden Eagle.

   Advance tickets £5.00 (+ 95p booking fee). Book your ticket here. 

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   SATURDAY 28 JUNE | 2PM | VIVID PROJECTS
   WORKSHOP: FEAR OF BLACK SPACE

   In the making of Fear of a Black Space, Ian Sergeant and Black Sauce Collective ask a series of questions using the establishment and abandonment of the Muhammad Ali Centre, Hockley, Birmingham as a motif. What did the building represents to the local community? Why does the space still cause anguish within the “black” community? How do you as an artist, your project, venue or organisation contribute to shaping the identity of a community, neighbourhood or the city?

   Join Black Sauce (Ian Sergeant, Bobbie, Gardner and Faisal Hussain), Josephine Reichert (Ort Gallery), Yinka Danmole (The Loft) and others to share your experience of how your arts, cultural and regeneration activities are helping to transform the image of the city of Birmingham.

   Admission free, book your place here.

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   Vivid Projects reserves the right to change times – please check the website for details of any schedule changes.

2. FILM/ FEMINISM/ IDENTITY/ ACTIVISM: Looking out from the CCCS

   March 24, 2014 10:32 pm Comments Off on FILM/ FEMINISM/ IDENTITY/ ACTIVISM: Looking out from the CCCS

   Vivid Projects presents a month-long season of exhibition, provocations and events investigating the impact of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS).

   ‘Looking Out From The CCCS’ is a snapshot into four decades of Birmingham culture, and the exhibition takes in indie print to film workshops, 70s clubbers to style magazines, grassroots activists to contemporary artists working with social media and data. We will see how the Centre broke down barriers and made ‘pop’ culture critical as we cast an eye over the key areas of feminism, cultural identity and activism.

   Founded by Richard Hoggart in 1964 and later directed by Stuart Hall, whether you were inside or outside the CCCS, the impact of what became known as the ‘Birmingham School’ is unquestioned.  The Centre was one of the first academic bodies to take ‘mass’ culture – pop music, television programmes, fashions – seriously. From Stuart Hall to Paul Gilroy, Dick Hebdige and Angela McRobbie, former staff and students set up daring and provocative publishing and arts projects that changed the way we engage with culture.

   During the exhibition, Vivid Projects hosts a series of weekly public salons. These bring together people who started out in the Centre with those curious about its legacies in Birmingham. Artists, writers, social networkers, cultural provocateurs, new young feminists, archivists and more will be unpicking the astonishing cultural legacy of the CCCS.

   Click here to view the full events programme.
   Click here to download a PDF version of the full press release.

   This exhibition is curated by Vivid Projects as part  of CCCS50, a collaborative project between University of Birmingham and mac.

   The Vivid Projects exhibition is dedicated to Michael Green, a key member of the CCCS and Board member of VIVID 1996-2003. 

   Image credit: Courtesy of Brian Homer archive.