Juneau Projects – I Am The Warrior

We are excited to announce that ORT will be working with Juneau Projects in May for an instalment of “I Am The Warrior” an exhibition that may feature your work:

You Bring It We Show It!

Be part of this totally open Exhibition at Ort Gallery by bringing your work to the gallery from 10th May onwards. All creative work wanted*!

Dates for your diaries:
Saturday 3rd May – Board Painting & Wallpaper Workshop with Juneau Projects
Saturday 10th May – Opening
Friday 6th June – Closing Party
TBA – a.a.s. Performance

Josephine Reichert

www.ortgallery.co.uk

Cleanascene at Ort

I popped in to see cleanascene exhibition at Ort Gallery  last week, and had a chat with our very own HGA  Ian Edwards, also a photographer, and part of the team of people who helped coordinate the event with cleanascene.

I recorded a quick podcast with ian explaining more about the event on 7th july 2013, where over 1000 people converged on Nelson Mandela/ Spark Green Park (collecting litter the whole way) for a celebratory arts day, the exhibition now on at Ort, and the ambition for Balsall Heath in the future.

listen to ‘Cleanascene exhib’ on Audioboo

Critical Meeting Space

Meeting, listening, talking - first steps in critical thinking

So what do you mean by critical?  A question artists generally spend a minute or two considering when they meet up - critical we work together, critical of 'art' and what it achieves, and critical that you make these kind of meetings - Birmingham Critical Spaces met for first time (after pilot) on Wednesday 10 April, 2pm to 4.30pm at Ort Cafe.  I'm sure there's a few other criticals - please forward if you have a minute.

This was a first meeting, so not surprising we started with basics, but pretty quickly we were into interesting territory.  Matt 'opened up a can of worms' starting with the New Library of Birmingham and recent project work related to the week long opening festival controversially replacing 'Artsfest' this year.  Is it meeting the needs of Communities?  Where is engagement outside of city centre?  Where is engagement outside the Custard Factory?  How are community libraries involved?  Some of the many questions raised.  Also how many Artists have had meetings with Brian Gambles in the last couple of weeks?

Does money change our language - is there an art to the application form, and how can we present our ideas and meet the needs of 'communities' more accurately?  Tom Jones, Brum's own Community Arts Champion questioned whether it was really possible to separate art from life, the danger of working within institutions, and the risk art supported by institutions of all kinds can become self-(institutionally speaking)-serving.

How can we wrestle significant public spaces from the architects, and their take on 'public art?  Is it the community artists' lot to transform derelict spaces ready for re-development?  We heard from Ort cafe Josie about how the Ort mission has successfully created a vibrant community arts venue and achieved sustainability.

Then there's the big question of artists successfully collaborating rather than competing, of sharing information, issues of open access and trust.  Here's hoping Critical Space - Locally-national network approach will succeed in developing some interesting partnerships.  In Birmingham, it already has.

For more info see

http://criticalspaces.wordpress.com/

Next meeting Wednesday 5th June 2:00-4:00 location to be confirmed, but if you're missing meeting local artists, check out your local art forum.

Ort Gallery open for business

The wonderful Joanna Greenhill opened her art exhibition last night at Ort Gallery - the first exhibition to be held there as part of the 12 month 'Emerge' project funded by the Arts Council.


Ort have already established themselves locally as an important arts venue, supporting a range of activities for local people by local people, many of which are free or very cheap - see sunday workshop programme below.

The Emerge programme supports exhibiting work reflecting the diversity of the area. It will deal with issues on a human level, like unemployment and poverty - issues important to many residents locally.

The programme, and the Ort mission, will go further in reflecting all in our local community, promote debate about issues important to us, and take action to nurture and develop our community.

We are delighted to be associated with Ort, an impressive art venue with a growing reputation. Hope to see you there soon!


For more Ort stuff, visit: http://ortcafe.co.uk

HuGAs at Ort

Another memorable evening at Ort cafe, this time for our Convention.  After minor blip me failing to arrange childcare and turning up late, on positive side also doubling our under 12s presence (5), total of 39 people over course of evening, convention began without some of the visuals I had been preparing, but in hindsight, emphasis should be on chat anyway, so all for the best.

Brief 2 min presentations ran well and plenty of comment on usefulness of format to increase opportunity for everyone to let us all know what we're up to and where projects going.  Also plenty of time after to find the people you want to find.

Next convention I'd like to introduce 'the HuGAs' - awards for achievement and commitment to the cause of HGA - spreading arts and culture across our district!  Not sure what the categories should be, and budget restraints means it'll probably be more an honorary thing, but I think special mention should go to some of the dedicated folk out there.

You've all been wonderful, and I'm sure I've missed loads of what's been going on, but I'd like to mention a few people by name - my nominees (please add more on comments):

Josephine Reichert from the Ort has been great in hosting events, and work for Ort Gallery - I missed the Gambian band last night, but it's impressive how much else is going on at the old printworks too.

Catriona Heatherington was outstanding at Hall Green winter market and worked hard to make arrangements (and deliver workshops) with Sarah Robbins for the fantastic Springfield Creative Family Festival.

Michael Donalds working hard for neighbouring Billesley community, represented at HG Winter Market, and probably travelled the furthest from across our extended District to make it to our Convention.

John Hill-Daniel who sadly couldn't be at our Convention, but has filmed with the young folk of Calthorpe Park (Field for the Olympics), at Paganel Primary for their Archives, and is now leading Space Exploration across our district.

Foster Darby, Tony Spencer and Pyn Stockman for pulling off a fantastic event at Calthorpe Park for Torch relay and is keeping on plugging away for local communities despite major cutbacks and setbacks, and Laura Watts from Park4Play as partners and digging deep into own resources when we ran out, to host Kings Heath Park Olympic Celebrations

Clare Bell and family who have made it to most of our meetings, including Convention.  Fantastic artists, all of them, and writers too, always generous with contacts, funding sources, everything.

Siobhan Hebert treasurer of Kings Heath Community Centre Playgroup, and her family also artists who supported the Moseley Folk Festival with wand magic, and arranged the Kings Heath CC Art fete before xmas

Big Huggies, or HuGAs to all of you! and to everyone I didn't mention.

Enclosed is comments for you to read.  One not so positive one makes me realise how important it is to keep plugging at being an inclusive friendly bunch, and to make sure our structure and attitude to open dialogue and open access should reflect that.  We've worked on social media representation with open access to all information we have, a googlegroup (like a mailing list) where anyone can write directly to all our members (just email hallgreenarts@googlegroups.com), place our meetings deliberately in public spaces like cafes, and in libraries (not a room at the back, but in the library itself).  Thanks to David Hunt, and I still owe him a bit for refreshments from last Ort - will make sure refreshments sorted in advance for next one.  But as per report, I'm aware we are not having enough art surgeries to be properly sustainable, or in enough different venues.  There has been an offer to run one in a children's centre, and I'd love to do a park one sometime too (last years was rained off).  Please send suggestions how we can make our group open and inviting.

Hall Green Arts Convention

We're going to keep this as an informal event to get together (like surgeries).  It'll be a chance to review last year, make plans for future of arts and culture in Hall Green Constituency at Ort Cafe.  If there is material, promotional stuff for tabletops, stuff that can be projected onto walls, anything you want to bring along, please do - please arrange beforehand with me if requires a lot of space or set up.

Meet people interested in arts, culture, in Balsal Heath, Moseley, Kings Heath, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Hall Green for informal chat, events, funding, opportunities, and biscuits (maybe - let's see how far our budget will stretch! If not, we are in a cafe...).

This is important date in HGA calendar - lots of changes and opportunities to be announced/ confirmed/ discussed both for HGA and from Bham City Council Arts Team.

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Ort Surgery at Art Gallery

First Surgery at Ort

Ort Cafe is a great venue opposite Balsall Heath Library, ideal for our first surgery.  We had a decent turnout, and was commented the 'Surgery' type approach relaxed and made meetings more approachable and inviting to new people.  The Cafe was set up by artists, and not surprisingly is great for meeting artists, but as one attendee commented:


'I liked the Ort venue meeting, and the relaxed table mix, but not sure we're reaching the school and neighbourhood communities yet'

This one, I think is a bit of a priority, so first off, the surgeries will be at a range of different settings.  I'm also hoping the people from that venue will help us attract a range of people they already know from their communities.  So the next one will be Kitchen Garden Cafe (early July, date to be confirmed) and I'm looking into having a picnic on Cannon Hill Park and meeting in a school or two - Robin Hood Primary and Kings Heath Primary are more obvious choices, as we already know people there.

We are looking for more venues for this year, but the only (and most effective) way to do this is to find people with a venue willing to help organise surgeries.  Please contact me if you think you can help.

I'll be placing some of the comments on our facebook page to encourage people to write responses, to develop conversations.  Last, but not least, we need actions, art stuff to come from the surgeries. Only one surgery so far so early days, but from the conversations I was a part of, it's clear we are already bringing people together who are setting up workshops, events, other things.

• Notes from meeting
• Map updated
• Field for the Olympics