West Midlands | Artists taking the lead

Shortlisted:

Louise Richards, Kevin Finnan and Motionhouse

Louise Richards and Kevin Finnan . © Matthew Andrews. 2009.

Motionhouse proposes Crow, a large-scale performance event to animate the streets of Birmingham and a truly unique collaboration between Motionhouse, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre and Welsh National Opera. Crow will feature singers in giant moveable costumes, dancers in the streets and moving buildings alive with aerialists and free runners. Over 150 of the UK’s finest dancers, 40 opera singers, community choirs, free runners and aerialists in the streets of Birmingham will perform to music composed by the acclaimed Errollyn Wallen. Drawing together four of the country’s most significant national companies for the first time ever Crow explores the notion of a fantastical city with its many different and wonderful inhabitants coming alive to reinvent itself before our eyes. The crows are the people of our city – crows, rooks, ravens, magpies and jays flock and gather in city locales, in their gritty urbanity each representing the old industry and culture of Birmingham. Two and three storey buildings will be the mobile stages for dance action whilst the singers will each be transported atop giant crow mechanicals. As well as the core mobile performers there will be interludes and staging points along the way – each one peopled by local young participants as performers. The scale of this project combines the retinal burn of never to be forgotten images of true spectacle with the visceral immediacy of standing feet away from the very, very best performers in the country. Reflecting Birmingham’s capacity to re-invent itself both physically and culturally, and inspired by Birmingham's multi-faceted population, Crow will examine the role of the new as a catalyst for change, the incomer as observer and themes of alienation and redemption. Crow is a story about urbanism and draws on Birmingham's history to create its colourful characters and imaginative world. Crow is a story of the beauty of cities and the gritty realism that underpins this world. The crow is not a pretty bird but a creature of steely resolve, an inhabitant of the city which struggles to survive and, through imagination and perseverance, learns to thrive. The crow family is emblematic of particular sections of the heritage of Birmingham, the jewellery trade will be represented by the charm of Magpies that have an eye for the bright and beautiful and are entrepreneurial in their survival techniques. The rag trade is represented by the band of Jays with their bright flashes of colour, making them the most ornate and attractive of the birds. A clattering of Jackdaws from their occupation of abandoned buildings, castles and cathedrals will be the citizens who turn any opportunity into a home and a future. Those who work together in industry or retail are represented by the parliament of rooks. The powerful are an unkindness of Ravens majestic in their power to appear as portents for the future, feared for what they might do as a bird that plays with toys, people and things. Quick to seize a chance the crow is a creature that lives on its wits and it is this quality that the performance celebrates in crows, cities and especially Birmingham.

Mudlark

Rachel Jacobs and Matt Watkins. © Matthew Andrews. 2009.

Mudlark proposes to create an interactive game & artwork in the West Midlands over the Olympic summer. On the first day, twenty portable and intriguing electronic devices, symbolic of the Olympic Torch, will be released into the centre of Birmingham at a launch ceremony. Each 'Torch' will be connected via the web and will be constantly GPS tracked. Each device will build up a live log of photographs, names and places which will evolve into a series of organic visualisations and sound that will grow with the data. Six weeks later, the Torch that has travelled the furthest - having passed through the most hands and reaching the most unique locations round the region - will win.

Andrew Spackman

Andrew Spackman proposes to create a large grass covered hill in the middle of Birmingham or Coventry. The hill offers both an aesthetic juxtaposition with the cityscape, and a space for people to experience and interact. It will be a place to meet, to sit, to climb up, to roll down, to share and to view and experience the city from a fresh perspective. A programme of activities will take place, including summit photos, concerts, cinema screenings, cheese rolling, nature tours, discussions and star gazing. The hill’s intention is to create a familiar yet magical intervention in the city that has a constantly changing visual aesthetic and seeks to stimulate social interactions and fresh experiences. The work is a reminder of the importance of naïve play, which is often forgotten, discouraged or abandoned as we move into adulthood.

David Lang

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group proposes to commission American composer David Lang to create an original hour long piece for several thousand people, entitled The Shouting Olympiad. The piece will not be in any specific language but will invite people to shout together, not out or rage or unhappiness but out of joyfulness. Participants will be drawn from diverse communities across the West Midlands and beyond. David Lang will teach his piece to around 60 musicians from the region who will then teach the music to groups from those countries participating in the London 2012 Games. After rigorous coaching, the members of The Shouting Olympiad will convene in the West Midlands in 2011 to create a celebratory performance in a sporting stadium.

The panel felt that ‘Godiva Awakes’ had a strong idea at the heart of it, which would represent the skills and creativity of the West Midlands region and reflect the values of the Cultural Olympiad. The panel were excited by the participatory opportunities that would be offered to artists and young people throughout the region and the partnerships, particularly with Coventry City Council and local businesses that were already in place. Finally the panel welcomed the opportunity to link activity in the West Midlands to London 2012 through the journey that Godiva will take from Coventry to London, providing a large scale spectacular event for audiences in the West Midlands and beyond.

Dr Mitra Memarzia

A freelance artist working in a variety of media. Her other activities include associate lecturing, curatorial and creative production, workshops, and live performance. Mitra is on the board of directors for a-n The Artist Information Company and advisor to AIR- Artists Interaction and Representation.

Paul Sutton

The Artistic Director of applied theatre company C&T, he has over twenty years experience in participatory theatre work and an innovative approach to using digital and social media. Co-author of Drama, Education and Technology, and Honorary Research Associate at the University of Worcester.

Mark Ball

Artistic Director and Chief Executive of LIFT. Previous roles: Head of Events and Exhibitions (Royal Shakespeare Company), establishing Director (Fierce Earth), Governor (Southbank Centre), Board Member (Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and Director (Creative Republic). Clore Fellow 2006/7, named the Institute of Director’s Young Director of the Year.

Tanya Raabe

A Painter and Digital Artist, devising images of a disabled self within a disabling world by exploring the Social Model of Disability as a visual art construct. Winner of DaDa International Festival 2008 Visual Arts. Published works: Representation of Sex, by H. Hagiwara, Osaka Women's University, Japan.

Ola Animashawun

Independent producer of site-specific/street theatre events and dramaturg. He is currently Diversity Associate of the Royal Court Theatre and an Associate Artist at the Cheltenham Everyman Theatre. Former head of the Royal Court Young Writers programme, he was the recipient of The 2007 TMA Eclipse Award for Diversity.

Linden Walcott-Burton

One of the young people involved in the Ballet Hoo! Project with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Youth at Risk and Leaps and Bounds. He then went on to play Tybalt in the Ballet Hoo! production of Romeo & Juliet. He is currently employed as a Dudley Young Advisor under Connexions and Dudley Council.

Ros Robins

Director of Arts at Arts Council West Midlands, previously administrator and project manager at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool.

Paul Kaynes

Paul was previously chief executive of the region’s audience development agency, Audiences Central, was the co-founder of Birmingham’s audience development event ArtsFest and has a background in culture marketing and research.