Say Hello

Glad to be working with Maverick and Fierce as well as Rewired PR on Say Hello – the public participatory programme of Hello Digital.

Some of the planned activities are Film Dash – a 48-hour film challenge organised by Chris Unitt; My First Email; News Dash; Kahani and Urban Legends. For more information, please visit the Hello Digital website as well as the HD and Say Hello blogs.

There are also plans for a series of roadshows in the next few months in the run up to the 2010 Hello Digital conference. The next few months truly looks exciting on the digital front here in the Midlands.

CSI Birmingham

You may or may not agree, but one of the best shows ever made is CSI (yes, including Miami and New York) and so I got rather excited when I found out that the award-winning CSI The Experience is being hosted at the Bullring. I am very thankful to have been invited by Big Cat, the lovely people that made this dream happen here in Birmingham.

It’s more than just an exhibition. What is so special about it is that it’s interactive. You start with a briefing area (you have to choose a case), then you head to the crime scene, labs and the autopsy room. Finally, you submit your report to Grissom (sadly not in real life)… I had a lot of fun and yes, as a massive CSI enthusiast, I was in awe when I stepped in Grissom’s replica office. Here’s a very excited me trying to compose myself… note the agent’s certificate on the table (you get this when you solve a case).

The exhibition, based on the hit US TV show, was developed by folk at Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. It’s a fantastic thing to have here in the city and it really gives you quite a good insight into forensic science. Here’s a video made by I Am Birmingham – a sneak preview into CSI The Experience.

So if you fancy cracking a mystery yourself, head to the Bullring.  For prices and information, visit the event website.

Interchat 2010

Interchat is a two-day event in April (7th and 8th) held at The Drum. Creators Laundry and Birmingham City Council describes Interchat as:

It is an opportunity to share practice with artists working in both local and international contexts, and to explore case studies of a range of projects involving cross-cultural practice, community engagement, cohesion and issues of diversity. The event is being organised by Birmingham City Council Arts Service in association with Laundry and The Drum.

Interchat features:

• Airan Berg, Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture (Austria)
• Francois Matarasso (UK)
• Fundacja Pogranicze (Poland)
• Laundry (UK)
• Nova Kultura (Bulgaria)

Fierce! Festival’s artistic directors will also be there along with Mariana Assenova (New Culture Foundation, Bulgaria).

Day one will be of specific interests to artists and practitioners (whether as individuals or as part of an organisation) wishing to develop their practice in the context of community engagement and internationally.

Day two targets artists, arts organisations, NGOs, local authority officers and regional agencies interested in cross-cultural practice, community engagement and international perspectives.

This is not a free event. Costs are:

• Day one: Individual artist £15; organisation £20
• Day two: Individual artist £15; organisation £25
• Both days: Individual artist £25; organisation £20

To book and pay, you can download the registration form from The Drum website and return by e-mail or post. For queries, call The Drum box office on 0121 333 2444.

Interchat is on Twitter (@interchat10). The hash tag is #interchat10.

British Dance Edition

One of my projects is working with DanceXchange as their Marketing and New Media Officer for the upcoming International Dance Festival Birmingham 2010. But I’ve also been working on British Dance Edition – a four-day industry focussed festival showcasing the best in British dance. I’ve been asked to produce Multiplatform Dance: What and Where is Dance in a Digital World? chaired by Maverick’s Director of Digital Media Jonnie Turpie MBE. It was quite a task finding the right balance of speakers for this debate, but in the end, we had a strong panel, which consisted of:

• Janet Archer – Director of Dance Strategy, Arts Council England
• Ian Myatt – Executive Product Manager, BBC Future Media and Technology
• Chris Unitt – MD, Meshed Media
• Nick Lockey – Development Producer, Maverick

Two nights before the debate, I was at the opening reception of BDE. Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport Margaret Hodge MP was there, who delivered a fantastic speech. She said that Birmingham has a fantastic cultural infrastructure and nationally, we have achieved so much arts and cultural-wise, that we should continue to champion their causes especially during the recession.

BDE showed how alive dance is in this country and it was just such a pleasure to be working and meeting so many talented people.