First impressions — Digbeth First Fridays
So my overall first impression:
- This type of programme is quite a useful starting point to see what art spaces are around beyond the immediate city centre. I walk past a few of these spaces on a weekly basis so it’s good being acquainted.
- I didn’t feel a strong personal connection with all the art displayed across the venues. However, I was reminded by the possibilities of curating in smaller spaces, which fosters a kind of intimacy I feel compliments the conversations around identity, death, play and popular culture.
- I would love to know how many audience members were directly engaged with the art world — because I sometimes wonder with these types of programmes, which types of audiences are being spoken to (or not)? And if a range of people are aware of this programme?
Last Friday I experienced my first Digbeth First Fridays, which is a monthly programme where art spaces, galleries and studios in Digbeth open between 6–8pm (or later) for people to pop in. A lot of spaces are clustered in Minerva Works, which was quite handy when flitting between spaces. The distance between the advertised spaces was not too far for me. But I noticed several accessibility issues to accessing some of the spaces within the two hours such as:
- The current road layout does not facilitate direct routes to venues
- There were cobblestones on several pavements on the way
- The current roadworks
- Inaccessible buildings of spaces (which were formerly industrial warehouses)
Something to bear in mind…
The Sompson’s exhibition at Cheap Cheap was a really fun exhibition that stood out for me.
As a show, The Simpsons has an undeniable recognisable artistic style and cultural reference to so many people. So I was intrigued to see what direction the artists and curators would take on this show. Firstly, the room was quite an open but compact space with artwork ranging from drawings, animation, moving images, paintings, sculptures and photographs. Some of the artworks were discreetly displayed along the ceiling beams or just above the doorway. I then went on a mini-mission to try and see what other obscure places artworks could be hung from, which I enjoyed!
Whilst the take on The Simpson’s was different for each artists I sensed distortion was a running theme between all the pieces. And even applies to the name of the exhibition. For example, a few artists played on the personality traits of Bart and Marge Simpson. Marge was a sensible character ( with an unforgettable laugh). Which was directly opposite to Homer’s more spontaneous vibe. So it was interesting to see Marge’s humour highlighted in a literal sense, juxtaposed with a seemingly emotionless demeanour.
Bart was the most popular depiction, appearing in different forms in obvious and discreet places within the space.
Just before leaving the show, I got talking with the curator (Dinosaur Kilby). We ended up having an interesting conversation about the history and legacy of artists run spaces in the Midlands (East and West). I definitely will be exploring this further!
So my overall first impression:
- This programme is a useful starting point to see what art spaces are around beyond the immediate city centre. I walk past a few of these spaces every week so it’s good being acquainted.
- I didn’t feel a strong personal connection with all the art displayed across the venues. However, I was reminded by the possibilities of curating in smaller spaces, which fosters a kind of intimacy I feel compliments the conversations around identity, death, play and popular culture.
- I would love to know how many audience members were directly engaged with the art world — because I sometimes wonder with these types of programmes, which types of audiences are being spoken to (or not)? And if a range of people are aware of this programme?
