Some things for the Weekender! The programme for this year’s Birmingham Weekender in Digbeth is shaping up nicely
SOMETHING for all the family is promised when the Birmingham Weekender returns this October. The event will see everything from dance, music and theatre to exhibitions and participatory activities. The free programme will take place in cultural venues, galleries, bars, cafes and public spaces across Digbeth and in Southside between October 4 and 6.
Produced by Culture Central, Birmingham Weekender will be a collaboration between individual artists and small and large regional arts organisations and will shine a light on the city’s rich arts and cultural offer.
Independent producer and project manager Emily Labhart has been appointed by Culture Central to produce the event.
From managing education workshops on tour, to devising and delivering festival programmes across indoor/outdoor sites, to producing international projects working with partners in Germany, Canada and Jamaica, Emily is passionate about bringing people together for transformative experiences through arts and culture.
She said: “I’m so excited to join the team at Culture Central to work on Birmingham Weekender. The festival is a huge celebration of the dynamic arts and cultural scene in the city. It presents the perfect opportunity to showcase the artists and organisations that work year round to make great things happen for the people of
Birmingham. With everything from exhibitions to workshops, to performances through to walking tours, I can’t wait for us to shine a spotlight on this part of Birmingham.”
Here are some of the highlights...
Big Bear Music presents Leaving Mississippi Birmingham Bound which traces the history of the blues from the cotton fields of Mississippi through Memphis, New Orleans and Chicago to rock and heavy metal, presented over the three nights.
Break Mission presents a weekend of hip-hop events for all, with dance, music, street sports and art including an international dance competition with live music, and DJ and rap battles indoors and outdoors. There will be an open skate tournament along with a street sports showcase including some of the craziest BMX stunt riders and parkour free runners.
Try out African Drumming with a master drummer from Senegal. Led by Ansoumana ‘Vieux’ Bakayoko, a ‘djembefola’ (djembe player), each workshop introduces the art of playing the djembe drum to a traditional African rhythm.
The sound of vibrant, contemporary South Asian and world music fills Digbeth as Kefaya, alongside percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger, offers short pop-up solos and duets around Digbeth.
Join professional West Midlands writers BOLDtext on a sometimes giddy, often unhygienic, revealing theatrical walking tour of Digbeth’s hidden history titled Follow Me. Expect to be guided through childhood memories and ushered past passionate exchanges on the one-hour stroll.
The Glue Collective will bring their sensory Yurt to a quiet safe space where children and adults can make potions and mud pies, build and create, and try out interactive art works.
Weekender visitors will decide the winner of internationally celebrated performance artist Symoné’s Fierce Flow, which brings New York’s Eighties voguing culture to Digbeth. Expect an exciting fusion of ballroom (voguing) and circus arts with the warmth of cabaret.
Jakub Jan Ceglarz & Marta Marsicka present Digbeth at Midnight – an interactive story-telling trail for anyone who enjoys spooky, wacky, weird and mysterious tales. Visitors make their way through the nooks and streets of Digbeth to find a series of plaques with QR-codes. Scan the code to hear and read hair-raising stories that might (or might not) have happened at that site.
Roll up your sleeves and Play with Clay with Sundragon Pottery. ‘Throw’ a pot, make a tile or sculpt a creature and visit a ceramics exhibition.
In addition, expect dance from Birmingham Royal Ballet, live graffiti and much more.
Steve Ball, director of Culture Central, said: “The programme is shaping up to be really exciting. There’s music, dance, hands-on activities for children, performance, visual art and an opportunity to try something new at every turn.”