11-11-11

Fused Fave Mr Jon Bounds – the man behind the wonderful ‘Birmingham its Not Shit‘ site has this wonderful idea that could be either a complete sign of madness or genius – you decide:

The fine folks of Birmingham are invited to spend eleven hours on the famous eleven bus (which takes you on a tour of Birmingham’s outer circle – the longest urban bus routes in Europe) on the eleventh of November - hence 11-11-11.

On the eleventh of November we’re inviting anyone with an interest to spend eleven hours on the eleven bus starting at eleven am in “Birmingham: It’s Not Shit’s 11 11 11” (yes I know there’s four elevens there really, but even the alliteration starts to drag after a bit). The rules are

• Get on the 11C at 11am (or as near as dammit) on 11/11.
• Get off the 11C at 10pm — 11 hours later — (or as near as dammit) on 11/11.
• You can get on and off the bus as many times as you like (don’t spend more than an hour off bus).
• Document your journey; photos, film, writing, cross-stitch, knitting, amigurumi, poetry, blog, twitter, however you like.
• Meet up with others as mad as you, if you want.
• Record everything here — or on your own space and link us up.

The idea is that a snapshot of the real Birmingham from a number of different people will emerge, one that’s unedited, unspun, and unwashed. Circling the city will force the gaze inward, focussing our attention exclusively on our municipality. It’ll also freak out the drivers, who normally expect passengers to have a destination in mind.

We look forward to seeing the results which will hopefully make a wonderful archive and a potentially great art exhibition.

Buy Art from the Underground

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the roundel – the symbol for London Underground and London’s transport system – Art on the Underground has commissioned 100 artists to make new works that celebrate this design classic.

A special pair of prints of all 100 works have been produced. One of each pair will be included in the London Underground permanent collection along with works by Man Ray and Edward McKnight Kauffer. The other – signed and numbered – is to be sold by online auction.

Among there great artists involved there is a brilliant Birmingham presence from Simon and Tom Bloor:

and Juneau Projects:

They sit happily amongst Peter Blake, Jeremy Deller, Mark Ticthner and loads more… Go to ebay to see all 100 and check out the prices.

Online bidding is open until 21:00 on 29 October.

<!–You can view these works at the A Foundation Gallery in East London until October 30.

You can bid online at the auction which starts at 21:00 on 19 October and closes at 21:00 on October 29. Terms and conditions apply.

–>All prints are 1016mm x 635mm and can be purchased framed or unframed.

LTD Edition Art Market this Sunday

LTD EDITION Affordable Art Market – This Sunday 28th September at the Custard Factory

Come and join Fused Magazine at the Custard Factory’s Sunday Flea where we will be presenting the work of over 20 artists all selling affordable contemporary art.

The fun kicks off from 11am until 4pm.

Please note: LTD Edition is held indoors at the Reception area of the Custard Factory while the Flea is held along Gibb Street and is part of The Sunday Flea which takes place every Sunday along Gibb Street.

Hope to see you there.

DETAILS
Entry to the event is free of charge.
Address: The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA
Forthcoming Dates: 28th September / 26th October

Artists taking part in Septembers event include:

Them Lot artist collective

Sue Rowe – Vinyl images

Steve Rack – Illustrations

Ken Hurd – painting and graphics

Trav Art – Prints and tees

Emma O’Brien – Soft Sculptures

Ruth Green Design – Soft pieces, bags, accessories

Bonnie Styles

Francine Schokker

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BT DIGITAL MUSIC AWARDS 2008 NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

Fused is very happy to announce that we will be sponsoring the Best Urban Act at this years BT Digital Music awards and you can help shape them by voting for your favourite artists and music sites at www.bt.com/dma.

And if that isn’t enough we’ve got 5 x pairs of tickets to give away for you to attend the awards which will be held at Camden’s Roundhouse on Wednesday 1st October. And you’ll be able to catch all the action when the awards are broadcast on ITV2 on 7th October.

This past year has seen newspaper headlines dominated by British music artists making good use of digital with Radiohead launching their album ‘In Rainbows’ as a ‘pay what you like’ download experiment and Coldplay releasing ‘Violet Hill’ as a free, download-only single.

The competition includes 19 award categories in total and here is the Urban one so get voting now.

Best Urban Artist in association with Fused Magazine
Akala
Beardyman
M.I.A.
Roots Manuva
Wiley

There is a whole range of categories with everyone from Kylie and Coldplay to Sam Sparro and The Ting Tings shortlisted.

COMPETITION – If you want a chance to win a pair of tickets just tell us the name of M.I.A’s debut album. Deadline for entries is 5pm on the 24th September, 2008.

Send your answer along with your name, address, telephone number and date of birth to competitions@fusedmagazine.com. Please put BT DIGITAL MUSIC AWARDS in the Subject box.

Fused Student Issue

Check out the new Fused Student issue here.

Packed with loads of info about Birmingham and Wolverhampton plus some handy tips including:

The Twangs Guide to Birmingham

How to make money as a student

Secret Wars Birmingham

Shopping with Poppy & The Jezebels

Your guide to Wolverhampto

Plus there are some FANTASTIC competitions to enter here.

The mini guide is A5 and very cute so if you are a student make sure you pick one up at either Wolves or BCU Freshers Fairs and around campuses and the usual bars and shops.

News from PLUS +

The PLUS INTERNATIONAL DESIGN FESTIVAL 2008 has now been launched. The first week of November between the 5th to 8th in Birmingham, the venue will be announced shortly.

The 2008 Festival takes as its theme ‘Hybrid’ which will be applied across a range of activities including exhibitions, talks, walking tours and demonstrations. Hybrid has been chosen as the focus of this year’s event as it not only aptly describes Britain – which is a unique country that has developed in an exceptional way – but it also expresses the current state of graphic communication.

Call for Speakers and  Exhibitors is now open as is the registration, please go to www.youplusus.net, submissions link for more information.

Comedy Classics

Steve Lilly presents his exhibition – Comedy Classics as part of the Birmingham Comedy Festival

The Old Joint Stock Theatre, 4 Temple Row West,Birmingham, B2 5NY
Wednesday 1st October 2008, Friday 17th October 2008
Open to public: 11am – 6pm Monday to Friday

Working predominately in graphite, Steve specialises in large group portraits depicting famous comedy casts, including Dad’s Army, Only Fools and Horses, Carry On and Fawlty Towers. He says “graphite creates bold theatrical contrasts which help him capture the essence and humour of each individual character.”

Steve’s works have received praise from figures within the comedy industry including: British Sitcom Guide, Cult Tv, walliamsandlucas.com, Whispers from Walmington and Rob Reel at Carry On forever, with work being showcased on numerous fan sites as far away as America.

Limited edition prints and greetings cards are also available for all work on show.

News from Eastside Projects

Exciting news from Eastside Projects – The opening event on Friday 26th September 7-10pm.

This is the Gallery and the Gallery is Many Things – with…

Marc Bijl, Chen Shaoxiong, Spartacus Chetwynd & Marte Eknaes, Bill Drummond, Jimmy Fantastik, Peter Fend, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, Liam Gillick, Joseph Hallam, Matthew Harrison, Barbara Holub, ISAN, Ben Kinmont, James Langdon, Kelly Large, Heather & Ivan Morison, Magnus Quaife, SCUPA, Mithu Sen, Support Structure,
Mark Titchner, Laureana Toledo & Rain Li, Lawrence Weiner.

From 27 Sept  – 22 Nov 2008

This is the Gallery and the Gallery is Many Things is the inaugural exhibition of Eastside Projects, a new artist-run gallery as experimental public space, set at the heart of Birmingham’s City Centre Eastside regeneration zone.

Over a 9 week period the exhibition and gallery space will evolve from a highly constructed ‘empty’ space to a layered and complex gathering of artworks, events and processes in various stages of convergence and divergence.  The exhibition purposefully includes a wide range of UK based and International artists revealing different practices and approaches to the production of art in order to produce a unique explosion of ideas and possibilities as Eastside Projects comes into being. This is the Gallery and the Gallery is Many Things sets an ambitious framework for the future of the gallery and a diverse scope of relationships and connections designed to make visible cause and effect in the future life of the gallery.

This exhibition initiates the examination of the potential of cumulative artworks across the programme of the gallery for the coming years and the potential of a constantly evolving architectural space also in collaboration with the artists and architects connected to the gallery.

Public Talk Events: Peter Fend Saturday 27th September, 4pm.
More to be confirmed.

Eastside Projects, 86 Heath Mill Lane, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AR, UK
Thursday – Saturday 12-5pm

Jack Daniel’s Competition

We have an amazing competition for 2 people to fly to Nashville, Tennessee to help celebrate the Birthday of Jack Daniel. It’s an excellent opportunity to see some great musicians and singers play in a unique venue. Click here to get the details.

The Bloors at New Art Gallery Walsall

Here is some news from New Art Gallery Walsall with regard to Birmingham based artist duo Simon and Tom Bloor.

Artists’ Projects

Artists’ Studio

Simon & Tom Bloor

1 September – 28 November 2008

During their residency, Birmingham-based artists Simon & Tom Bloor will be constructing functional. nomadic ‘flat pack’ furniture for the studio, using materials found in and around the gallery.

Open studio events:   Wednesday 29 Oct, 2pm-4pm; Wednesday 26 November, 2pm-4pm