Hello.  As it’s a new-ish year I have resolved to do my best to post here a bit more often.  I can run a little hot and cold with my engagement with the digital and virtual and tend to get a bit tied up in the real.  I will try much harder this year.

Artists on the Edge is the name of the (con)temporary artist collective/support group formed by the participants on our Walking Over Coals artist development programme. We’re having a really great time with this experimental project and it’s going so well (so far).

Walking Over Coals is a responsively-focused developmental programme for early and mid-career artists (post-emerging) who want to take that next step and need some help to do so.  The programme aims to develop their practice alongside their ‘business’ skills and is a safe environment to take risks and try out new approaches which may have seemed impossible to do alone. Everything about the programme is responsive to the needs and direction of the group and there is no set curriculum, instead the tutors design workshops and exercises based on what the group needs at this point in their development.   There is no distinction between artform and the first cohort includes classically-trained musicians, visual artists, theatre-makers, performance artists, video artists, spoken word performers and an architect.  One thing they all have in common is an interest in making work which is participative, either in the making or distribution.  We help them to push their work forward, to try out new approaches, put them in touch with other artists who can help them in their field, focusing hard on the development of their practice.  Alongside this we help them develop themselves as a ‘business’, give them open and honest insights on how you really survive in the arts economy (and outside it) and  help them to plug the gaps that the arts education system has left in their knowledge (if they have had one – we don’t just take on arts grads). This happens over 6 months or so – there’s no set timetable, that’s responsive, too – meeting together one evening a  week and every other  Sunday, with self-directed work and one to one mentoring in between. We also work closely with individuals on how  to scale-up their projects and help them with funding applications and other fundraising. We don’t just recruit for this, instead we take on previous volunteers or participants and people we know (or know of) already or who are recommended to us through our networks and ‘audition’ open applicants – it’s not output-driven, it’s about the quality of the people we select to participate.  The current group ranges in age from  19-58 and is properly diverse in regards to education, background and skillset.

We believe it’s a unique model and we’re keen to continue this as an annual programme (funding pending of course) as we’ve already seen huge differences in the participants through the programme.  One of the participant’s housemates jokingly calls it ‘Life Club’ due to her weekly reports on returning from sessions. We’re loving it on lots of levels, not least through the strength of the groups cross-peer mentoring approach and the equality between participants and mentors, everyone gets to contribute and take the lead at different times but with constant support and input. So far there’s been 100% retention and almost 100% attendance, people often move long-standing appointments rather than miss a session, which is a great measure of the groups commitment.

Well, you can judge for yourself soon enough as they will be putting together a group show for Artists on the Edge, appropriately enough at the Edge, over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.  In the meantime we’ll be hosting a couple of fundraisers for the show, over the two preceding Digbeth First Fridays in March and April.  First up on March  6th at 8pm is a cabaret-style ‘Fabarray’ which will feature music from ‘Fanny Jam’ and members of Inclement Quartet, performance from the Prozac Diva and Dr David Ethics will be deconstructing himself and Utopia in under 12 minutes. More tbc, and all for a small negotiable door fee and of course refreshments will be available.

As you may be aware, we’ve been doing our thing for almost a quarter of a century now, so for us it’s a good point to make a few changes.  We’ve  always  been the kind of people who abhor waste and have a tendency to avoid chucking anything away, which is one of the reasons we  keep taking on progressively larger studios every few years.  Seriously, I’ve got bits of wood that I’ve re-used so many times in shows and installations that they’ve become old friends (some of them are teenagers).  In an effort to avoid moving – we like our home at the Edge- we’re  selling off some of the treasures and artefacts we have collected making our hundreds of projects.   These objects range from the massive – a real red telephone box, a replica bombed-out house – to the antique – a 1930s Bulgarian bakelite telephone – to the downright WTF – a talking Snoop Dogg doll, still in the box.  We’ve got literally thousands of items to unload during the sale, some gorgeous furniture, most  of a pub interior  – I could go on for  a very long time.  Instead, every day up until the sale, we’ll be tweeting a  picture or two so you know what you’ll be able to get your grubby hands on, come the day.

It’s going to be quite a nostalgia fest for us, each item in the sale carries a story or a memory of a project or a person we’ve worked  with over the last 23 years, so it’ll be a cross between a retrospective and a yard sale. If you like the weird and wonderful, vintage and heritage items, are a theatre designer, artist, collector of curiosities or just a nosey parker, this sale is right up your street.

Anyway, whilst I’m here, we’d also like to quash any rumours that we’re leaving the Edge – we’re not, we’re just making it bigger by emptying it a bit, whilst raising cash for some much-needed repairs to the building, and shedding some weight in a post-christmassy way.

Friction’s  Januarish Sale

Saturday 24th January 2015 – 1st Feb

Opening times – Saturdays 1-6pm, Sundays 12-4pm

Monday to Friday 10am-6pm (by appointment please)

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For all fans of The King, a special night to celebrate his  life and works.  Starting at 8pm at the Edge, we’ll  have film screenings and live concert footage on the Big Screen,  followed by lots of lovely Elvistainment in the form of records and singalongs.  Irony free and free entry  – bring some stuff to share (e.g. deep fried squirrel, gallon bottles of soda, etc).

international artists development on the mainland

Friday 2nd May
19:30-23:00

For our very first Digbeth First Friday event, Friction arts invite you to the Edge to celebrate our (collective) part in the ‘New Europe’.  What does it mean to be European? Is that the English Channel, or did we dig a massive moat?   How do we as artists create supportive networks across the moat, to create valuable intercultural exchanges and interventions?  What can we learn from, and teach, the rest of the EU?
Join us for an informal chat, European alcoholic and comestible refreshments and Euro sounds at the Edge

Admission £2 or a completed disloyalty card

From 11pm our neighbours, MSFAC will be hosting a Punk Heritage Brum Late Night Record Party –

‘Come along and rifle through our records.  Tell us your vinyl stories.

From 11 pm till late (ms)FAC will be hosting an open record party. So as not to clash with PunksAlive Collective’s Birthday Bash down at the Adam we will be running this as a special late night event. Open fire and records all night!’

Free

Up and Coming – Art Club For Adults

Saturday 26th April, 2-5pm.

Turn Up. Bring Ideas. Make things happen.

Building on the success of our existing Art Club for young people, practising artist Nita Newman is starting an Art Club for Adults.

Art Club for Adults will be a weekly workshop offering adults of all ages the chance to experiment with all sorts of different art forms.

The first Art Club for Adults will happen on Saturday 26^th April and will coincide with our regular Yard Talk event. There will be the usual Yard Talk food, drink and conversation, as well as the chance to see for yourself what Art Club for Adults is all about. We look forward to seeing you there!

Art Club for Adults Description:

Art Club for Adults is a weekly art workshop for adults of all ages, led by practising artist Nita Newman. Art Club offers adults the chance to experiment with different art forms. Activities will change over time and Nita will be supported by visiting professional artists, who want to work with you to develop extraordinary ideas and projects.

Experience Animation, Sculpture, Drama, Photography, Graphics, Print, Film, Drawing and Writing. Meet artists and other people with an interest in art. Explore your world by making art, expressing your thoughts and communicating your ideas with others.

Art Club for Adults is about real art for real people and takes place in a working art studio – The Edge, run by Friction Arts.

And don’t worry if you don’t have any experience of making art. Art Club is suitable for total beginners – all you need is your imagination.

Art Club for Adults Information:

Art Club runs from 2-5pm every Saturday at The Edge (79-81 Cheapside, Digbeth).

All materials and supplies are provided.

The cost of Art Club for Adults is £5 – speak to Nita if you are on a low income or out of work and we can arrange a concession.

If you have any questions, please give Friction Arts a call on 0121 772 6160 or send an e-mail directly to Nita on nita@frictionarts.com

Many years ago Sandra was involved as lead punk wrangler for the filming of Mark Lynall’s excellent Digbethan short film, “The Westerner”. We’ll be screening it on Saturday 29th March at 8pm as part of Punk Heritage Brum, a celebration of Brummy punk culture including a newly recovered recording of an Au Pair’s gig and interviews with Irish anarcho-punk collectives, as well as discussions. Here’s an interview with Mark about the creation of the film by our intrepid PR chap Dave Freak:

Q&A Mark Lynall

Q: You’re from Birmingham, but you’ve been based in the US for a decade now – what took you Stateside and what are you up to?

Mark: I was born in Selly Oak but I grew up around The Lickey Hills in the Rubery and Rednal area. We shot a lot of the opening sequence to The Westerner there, in fact we drive by The Longbridge factory which has since been torn down.

I moved from Birmingham to Southern California in 2003 because I had just got married and that was where my wife was from. We divorced a few years later but I enjoy the American life style so here I’ve stayed. I’ve moved around a bit since then and at present I live in Chicago with my girlfriend and our five year old daughter.

I make a living as an Audio Visual Technical Director running events and conferences. For the past few years I was based in Los Angeles where I was in charge of running AV for the Screen Actors Guild (or SAGAFTRA as they’re now called). I’ve also run my own video production company, mainly making promotional videos for a medical corporation, that gave me the opportunity to travel all over USA.

Q: You made The Westerner back in 2000: how did it come about? 

Mark: The Westerner was originally made as part of Central Televisions’ First Cut scheme. Each year they would produce a series of five minute and 10 minute short films with a common theme. I had worked as an assistant producer on one of the films the previous year while I was studying Film and Video as Fine Art at Wolverhampton University. So after graduating I decided I would apply to write and direct my own film. The theme I had to base it around was Town and Country.

Q: Were you part of the city’s punk scene?

Mark: I was always into the punk and ‘alternative’ music scene and had played guitar with many bands over the years. One day when I was in my teens I picked up an acoustic guitar and played a country version of Anarchy in the UK. I was just messing around at the time but I guess that was the original spark that later became the idea for The Westerner.

Q: There’s a few familiar faces in there: Wolf, Jock from GBH … can you tell us a bit about the casting? 

Mark: Sean Mchale, who played the cowboy, I’d worked with on the film ‘It Could Be a You’ which was written and produced by my friend Mark Pressdee and directed by Nerina Villa. Sean had the comic look that I wanted and I knew he could pull off the fish out of water / man out of his depth character.

The punks came on board through my friendship with Stu Pid who used to own a novelty horror shop in the city. Pid is the singer for punk band Sensa Yuma (now based in Spain) and at one time I played guitar for them too. Pid had all the connections and without his help I don’t believe we would ever have got the film made.

There were a lot of amazing coincidences that happened with the making of the film. I can only put this down to some kind of cosmic magic. I don’t know how else to explain it.

I needed a kid with a Mohawk and I was introduced to Kane Mazzoni. His mother Cristina Mazzoni was studying fashion design and she ended up designing costumes for the film. She made the cowboy outfit and put together Wolfs costume too.

I was looking for some original punk bands music for the film and Jock (GBH) introduced me to Dave Harris. Dave had a record label that Jocks band The Wernt were part of and I ended up using their song Pig Dog Killer in Wolfs scene. As it also turned out Dave’s wife Sarah was a line dance teacher! A punk line dance teacher! What were the odds on that?

So I had my cowboy, I had the kid with the Mohawk, I had costume design, I had music, I had a line dance teacher and a whole crew of spiky extras. One thing I didn’t have was Wolf.

Wolf had the tough aggressive look that I wanted. He was famous for it. Gladiators had been hugely popular and he was the main face. I couldn’t think of anything funnier than sticking a Mohawk on his head and watching him perform a line dance. I also had no idea how to get hold of him. An internet search had turned up nothing. So I did what anybody else in that situation would do. I went to the pub.

It was a pub in Hockley and I went there to meet my old friend Dave Peebles. Dave is the manager of the Custard Factory in Digbeth and at the time was also managing the Big Peg in Hockley. (If you go to the Custard a Factory you can see what Dave looks like because he is painted on the side of building towering above the green man statue like a scene from some bizarre Japanese monster movie). He also drove an old Mini Cooper and I wanted to ask him if I could borrow it and paint confederate flags on the side. After a few drinks he agreed. I told him how I’d got the first cut commission and the ideas I had for the film and who was involved. I explained that I really wanted Wolf from the Gladiators but had no idea how to get him. I guess the conversation got a bit loud because sat at a table nearby was Roulla Xenides of S&X media. She knew Dave because her office was based in the Big Peg. I had a meeting with her the next day and in return for handling the films PR she called Wolf and set up the deal.

Q: Over the years, the film has taken on something of a mythical status; when did you first realise the film was starting to get a life of it’s own…?

Mark: Winning the 2000 BBC Drama Award at the Birmingham Film Festival was a great moment. I never imagined the film would be as popular as it has become. My main focus was just to get it made and see it on TV. I hadn’t really thought past that. A lot of its popularity is due to the cast involved and with the advent of YouTube it has gained an even bigger audience.

Q: The film was recently screened at a German film festival, how did it do down? And any more screenings planned after The Edge show?

Mark: The Westerner recently played at the Kontrast Film Festival in Bayreuth Germany. It was very well received there by the audience and the festival staff. It was screened twice and was seen by about 600 people over the festival weekend. I was even asked to sign autographs!

I’ve recently had more requests by people wanting to screen the film and I’m more than happy for them to show it. As screenings come up we’ll be announcing them via The Westerner Facebook page:

Facebook.com/punkwestern

Q: What are you up to at the moment?

Mark: These days I’ve been concentrating more on writing music. I recently wrote some of the score for Mark Pressdees film ‘Titanic Love’. I’ve got a few more music projects lined up and maybe a film or two. I just take each day as it comes.

* For more information on Mark, see: www.marklynall.com

We’re halfway through the first part of our residency in Leeuwarden, and I’m just taking time for a very brief catch-up before getting stuck back in.  It’s been a bit of a whirlwind ever since our arrival last Tuesday, to a welcoming committee, including local ‘paparazzi’.  We’ve cycled many a kilometer in our research of the city, on our rubbish bikes.  I like cycling in the Netherlands, it’s flat, you potter along, and rarely get some lycra-clad twonk’s bum in your face.  We met dozens of people in our first few days, including hosting a fantastic dinner on our second night.  The dinner was attended by artists, social workers and local residents and we had some great discussions.  We found our new friend Carmen, hooning around on her mobility scooter in the northern suburb of Vrijheidswijk who immediately agreed to come to dinner, and was definitely the ‘star turn’, saying that ‘we need to stop calling people poor, it doesn’t help them’.  A really great ‘find’.

Blokhuispoort

We went on a graffiti tour of the city with independent worker Douwe and two local street artists.  They have organised over 3500 square metres of legal graffiti space which really adds some colour to the city, and allows artists to develop great work, as they can really take their time making it.  We’re hoping to bring some artists over to Brum later on in the year, and help lobby for some legal sites at home.