the We Are Eastside Leading independent arts in magicwww.weareeastside.org Capsule Fierce Festival Eastside Projects Grand Union Flatpackcity Festival Ikon contents welcome to birmingham

( Welcome to Birmingham Presented as part of We Are Eastside presents Birmingham The Magic City as part of City States at the !th Liverpool Biennial — welcome to the hidden Organisations Liverpool Biennial ' Capsule The UK Biennial of Contemporary Art undergrounds, blushing civic pride and future visions of our ‘magic’ ) Eastside Projects City States city. Our title The Magic City is borrowed from a proposed artwork % Fierce by Birmingham collective BAZ (Birmingham Art Zine), themselves #& Flatpack Festival #* September – "* November "&#" #" Grand Union #&am–)pm, daily inspired by a sign that originally welcomed visitors to Birmingham, #' Ikon Free entry Alabama, USA. BAZ want to build a new version of the sign next to the planned terminus for HS", the hi-speed rail network destined #% Eastside, Liverpool John Moores University for Eastside, Birmingham. BAZ, like Sting, believe everything and ‘Upper Eastside’ Copperas Hill Building +, -.. Ben Waddington Birmingham does is magic and want the world to know about it, especially people in Liverpool! Sponsors "& Visit Birmingham "" Birmingham City University Eastside and Digbeth are the oldest parts of Birmingham and the "( Millennium Point heart of what the city represents. Birmingham’s reputation as We Are Eastside is a consortium an industrial city started here, with foundries, metal workshops ") Social Practice: Fo(u)r Shades of Grey of cultural leaders representing and tanneries dating back to medieval times. The area’s factories Dr. James A Hellings independent arts within Birmingham’s cultural sector. The consortium consists and warehouses now contain galleries, studios and creative (& Information and map of Eastside Projects, Capsule, Flatpack organisations working together to create a visionary cultural Festival, Fierce Festival, Grand Union programme for the city of Birmingham. and Ikon and was formed in "&#&. www.weareeastside.org Birmingham The Magic City is a snapshot of overlapping perceptions Thanks to Sally Tallant, Paul Domela, of the city combining — an exploration of the unknown underground Vanessa Boni at Liverpool Biennial; Chris O’Neill, John Butler, James Hellings sub-infrastructure of the city — a collage of #$%&s fanzines at Birmingham City University; Philip from the birthplace of heavy metal — a day in the life of walkers in Singleton at Millenium Point; Neil Rami Birmingham — an orgy of civic boosterism, ranging from #$'&s to at Marketing Birmingham; BAZ for the the present day, exploring how Birmingham has sold itself over the title; Ben Waddington. years — and a reconstruction of a ‘creepy’ wooden lath room! Lead sponsor BIAD, Birmingham City University

ISBN $!%-#-$&)!*(-(#-( ( Any track more than twenty seconds long was greeted with derisive cries of ‘too long, too slow’ … John Peel

Impassioned by the social conditions of the time and inspired by anarcho-punk bands who were taking an anti-capitalist stance through their music, and Miles ‘Rat’ Ratledge formed in #$%#. At only fourteen years old, they were motivated to play gigs, create fanzines and swap music via cassette tapes with the wider punk community. This work gives you an exciting insight into this period of music history — the formation of Grindcore. Alongside a selection of their zines the song You Suff er by Napalm Death will be played intermittently. You Suff er is a one second song from Napalm Death’s #$%) debut album, Scum (written by Nicholas Bullen and ).

Home of Metal is a project created and produced by Capsule that celebrates Birmingham and the Black Country as the birthplace of Heavy Metal. The project is ongoing and you can contribute to the digital archive and learn more online at www.homeofmetal.com

↖ Home of Metal Capsule cra/ October "&#" marks Grindcore cut ‘n’ paste zines extraordinary events for the tenth anniversary Courtesy of Nicholas Bullen adventurous audiences, of Capsule’s dynamic and identifying some of the otherwise indescribable festival, Supersonic. connections between The yearly programme contemporary music, incorporates performance and art. performance, sound, As an organisation, visual art and fi lm along capsule Capsule create a platform with a growing strand for creative works by of workshops, talks and curating, commissioning panel discussions. and producing both sonic and visual projects in the present Home of Metal UK and internationally.

' and Napalm Death * www.capsule.org.uk Eastside Projects is a free, ↙ Helen Brown public space that is being Novelette ("&##) imagined and organised Installation view, by artists. We commission Narrative Show ("&##) and present experimental contemporary art, and → David Rowan propose ways in which art Pacha Kuti X ("&#") may be useful to society. east- ESP is Eastside Projects’ associate members scheme supporting the development of work, connections and careers. Autumn "&#" brings side Stockholm based curator Maria Lind to Eastside Projects to curate Abstract Possible: The Birmingham Eastside Projects presents Pacha Kuti X ("&#"), a moving image Beat. In Spring "&#( Mike work by David Rowan which explores the unknown underground Nelson presents M", his sub-infrastructure of Birmingham, and Helen Brown’s Novelette fi rst major exhibition in ("&##), an audio guide for ‘the magic city’. Both artists live and the Midlands, his home proj- region, using materials work in Birmingham. from the M) motorway that feeds Birmingham via The name Pacha Kuti refers to an Inca apocalypse legend, a time Spaghetti Junction. of duality and change and roughly translates as ‘the time when the world will turn upside down’. Pacha Kuti X is the tenth end of ects the known universe according to the Inca legend. Rowan’s work is an intervention in the underground tunnels of the Eastside present helen brown and Digbeth area as a fi xed position video with a rich, subtle soundtrack. Rowan redefi nes the dark spaces of the tunnels with and david rowan customised lighting dropped into the space like alien beacons, capturing the slow secret environmental and architectural change occurring below. This new video work was developed for Eastside Projects a/ er Rowan received the fi rst ESP exhibition award.

In "&## Helen Brown created a fi ctional character called Novelette during Narrative Show at Eastside Projects. Novelette subtly re- interprets the life of the gallery as a fellow spectator, a monologue voiced by an actor available on wireless headphones, a narrative made up of edited quotes taken from recordings of visitor descriptions of shows at Eastside Projects between "&&$ and "&##. Although Novelette’s words still resonate with certain artworks or shows, through editing they have become abstracted and take on new, more poetic meanings in relation to their new context.

! www.eastsideprojects.org at Fierce Festival "&## . in Human Salvage) (An Experiment Performed of as part Photograph by Manuel Vason. Johnson Dominic Departure Departure Departure fierce ( "&#& ).

presents plan b

plan b (Daniel Belasco Rogers and Sophia New) are a duo based in Berlin who make performance and interdisciplinary work. They are also a couple. They have been recording everywhere they go with GPS since "&&!.

In "&#& plan b invited the population of Birmingham to help them make a living map of the city. People were invited to carry a GPS tracking device with them as they moved through the city’s streets, parks, tow paths and waste grounds.

Using GPS technology and a specially developed animation (by avp::ptr), the daily movements of people going to Fierce Festival is an annual international festival of work, shopping, picking up their children, live art and performance walking dogs or coming home from based in (and shaped by) parties, were transformed into traces the city of Birmingham, which illuminate the ways in which UK. Joint Artistic Directors Harun Morrison and people defi ne Birmingham through their Laura McDermott curate movements. The voices that accompany the festival. Fierce is a the animation are people looking at their contemporary collision lives in this way for the fi rst time, telling point for live art forms, people and radical ideas. us what stories lie behind the lines. The festival aims to bring people together A Fierce Festival and mac Birmingham co- for charged, memorable commission A Day in the Life, the Walkers moments that spark conversation and debate. of Birmingham was initiated in "&#& and Live art. Collision. continues in Birmingham in "&#(. Hyperlocal. Supernow. www.wearefierce.org $ Flatpack presents a series of archive Birmingham promotional fi lms: Midland Journey (Barralet Productions, #$'!); The Bull Ring Shopping Centre (Laing & sons, #$)*), There is a Better Lifestyle (dir. John Caine, #$%$) and Brilliance (dir. Duncan Humphreys, "&&*).

Sixty years worth of fi lms hawking Birmingham, in about half an hour. An orgy of civic boosterism, with each era exhibiting its own particular obsessions. Just a/ er the war we were still fairly preoccupied by manufacturing, and a good half of Midland Journey is devoted to production lines. By the )&s it was all about shopping, but in the %&s apparently all anyone talked about was journey times. The city’s principal selling point in There Is A Better Lifestyle seems to be that it is within easy reach of many other places, with an underlying theme of ‘it’s really not as hideous as you might think.’

One of the eminent interviewees is Simon Rattle in a fetching green jumper, then at the helm of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and part of a long tradition of cultural ambassadors banging the drum for tourism, graduate retention or inward investment in their flat- town. More than ever artists and arts organisations drive the place- making agenda, and if you squint hard enough perhaps City States is a warped form of trade-show. Our role in this agenda is up to us, but Established in 2006, the philosophy of Graham Vick (artistic director of Birmingham Opera Flatpack Festival grew out of the monthly fi lm-nights Company) is worth repeating: ‘Rather than devoting our resources to put on by 7 Inch Cinema consultants and PR and bid-writing, let’s put that eff ort into making and has become one life in this city worthwhile.’ of the most respected pack and unpredictable fi lm festivals in the UK. Using the full range of Birmingham venues the programme ranges across ↖ Flatpack audience at animation, documentary, St Paul’s Cathedral artists’ fi lm and live fest- Photograph by Chris Keenan cinema, with a particular focus on multidisciplinary ← Birmingham Fire Station work. As well as the Courtesy of annual jamboree in March Birmingham Central Library Flatpack is responsible for activity through the year, from children’s fi lm tours to archival research, ival and they are currently embarking on a project to presents map all of Birmingham’s cinemas past and present. A BETTER LIFESTYLE #& ## www.flatpackfestival.org grand union presents BAZ

Welcome to The Magic City. Grand Union studio holders BAZ present their vision to build a UK version of Birmingham, Alabama’s ‘Magic City’ sign.

Their billboard-sized proposal and accompanying publication satirises clichés of local authority marketing, tensions within public funding and the trend for cities Grand Union is an artist- to build bigger and bolder ‘starchitecture’. Bored by led space that provides misconceptions and ‘Second City’ status, BAZ propose a a professional studio new approach, instigated by a cultural exchange with its environment for some of American cousin. the best artists in the city. Grand Union is committed to commissioning new Birmingham, Alabama was founded in #%!# and named in work by young artists and a direct reference to the industrial might of Birmingham, hosts an experimental UK. It became known as The Magic City because of public programme of events and exhibitions, the seemingly over-night growth of its iron and steel produced by a team of industry. The original ‘Magic City’ sign was erected in emerging curators. #$") at the city’s Terminal Station, but was dismantled in the mid-#$*&s in a state of disrepair. BAZ are a semi satirical think-tank sporadically documenting the BAZ hope to reclaim the sign’s original aspirations Birmingham art world and intend to unite the (# ‘Birminghams’ worldwide to and beyond. Produced by celebrate their joint twenty fi rst century ‘Magic-ness’. Chris Poolman and Matt Westbrook. ↑ Found postcard illustrating the original Magic City sign in #" www.grand-union.org.uk #( Birmingham, Alabama. Ikon is an internationally acclaimed contemporary Ikon presents the work of artist Bedwyr art venue situated in Williams. Following his recent exhibition, central Birmingham. Housed in the Victorian My Bad, at Ikon (#) May to % July "&#"), Oozells Street School, Williams shows Lath ("&#") and The Hill it is an educational Farmer ("&##), two works which represent charity with free entry his unique observations of the world. and works to encourage public engagement with ikon Williams’ artistic practice includes a wide contemporary art through range of media, including performance, exhibiting new work in presents sculpture, painting and photography. a context of debate and Drawing on his own personal narratives participation. bedwyr williams and family histories — from school days The gallery programme in a North Wales farming community to features artists from his experiences as an artist-in-residence around the world. A variety of media is — Williams has become known for work represented, including which is shot through with humour, sound, fi lm, mixed media, refl ecting on rural life, loss, memory and photography, painting, the folly of ambition. sculpture and installation. Ikon’s off -site programme develops dynamic Describing Lath, Williams states ‘Before relationships between plasterboard all our walls used to look art, artists and audiences like this under the plaster. If you smash outside the gallery. Projects vary enormously a hole in most walls now you just make in scale, duration and a hole but in the past you smashed and location, challenging found these chalky ribs underneath and expectations of where art the horsehair that was mixed in with can be seen and by whom. the plaster. You o/ en see lath exposed in horror fi lms or when a bullet tears through a wall. I fi nd it creepy.’ In The Hill Farmer Williams shows himself as ‘a hill farmer contemplating the wilderness or maybe just looking for missing animals or inspecting a gap in a fence. Farmers have the ultimate offi ce environment.’

My Bad tours to Mission Gallery, Swansea, #! November "&#" to ) January "&#(. Williams will represent Wales at the ← Bedwyr Williams Venice Biennial "&#(. The Hill Farmer ("&##) Courtesy of the artist and Ceri Hand Gallery

#* www.IKON-GALLERY.org.uk what of is our the cities state ? Eastside, Digbeth and ‘Upper Eastside’ the fi rst; a fi rebox mirroring the ‘thousand trades’ that Birmingham was internationally famous for, now in the form of digital media, creative enterprises, galleries and cafés. Capsule’s internationally renowned Eastside and Digbeth are the oldest parts of Birmingham and the heart Supersonic Festival takes place in the area and celebrates its tenth of what the city represents. Birmingham’s reputation as an industrial anniversary in "&#". In the surrounding streets creative energy city started here, with foundries, metal workshops and tanneries appears in unexpected places. Ideal’s skateboard ramp is hidden away dating back to medieval times. The was the original under the vast viaduct arches, while the city’s newest music studios source of power and windmills dotted the land. But when Boulton are in the music college Access to Music in Heath Mill Studios. and Watt introduced the steam engine, it revolutionised mechanical production in the factories. The industrialists’ famous Lunar Society Artist led activity on a large scale is found further down Heath brought together scientists, creative thinkers, philosophers and Mill Lane where Eastside Projects occupies an old cabinet-maker’s cra/ smen and forged connections around the world. Canals and factory and fi lls it with ‘extra special people’. Elsewhere, Grand railways further fuelled production and the rapid growth of the city. Union’s bespoke studios and project space is housed in a refurbished canalside hangar, Edible Eastside grows, prepares and cooks in a An area can be described by its extremities but Eastside’s boundaries concrete making yard and K' Architects plan and design projects. have changed over the years as economic and political ambitions Opposite you can ‘fi ne dine’ in the Fazeley Social within Fazeley shrink and grow. Once contained by the triangular border of Lawley Studios and the adjoining streets are home to Fierce Festival, Flatpack Middleway, the Birmingham to London railway line and a section Festival, Birmingham Jazz, Cra/ space, Punch Records and Tindal of the city centre, it now strictly adheres to the future desire line Street Press. On the other side of Digbeth High Street sit other vital of HS", the UK High Speed Rail network planned for "&"). Its new artist led spaces The Edge and The Lombard Method. boundaries contain Millennium Point, , a number of Birmingham City University campuses and Matthew Boulton College. Ikon’s project space, Ikon Eastside (located in various industrial buildings during "&&*–#&), has set its sights on Curzon Street Station, Old Eastside becomes plain old Digbeth again or perhaps ‘Upper a monumental neo-classical building. From "&#( it will be the new Eastside’! It is clear that this is an area of change: huge tracts of rubble Ikon Eastside before evolving into a museum of photography, part of or grassed-over industrial zones await new architectural renderings. the twenty fi rst century museum quarter envisaged for Birmingham. The industrial buildings that line the canal networks have long since stopped manufacturing, giving way to new forms of production and Echoing the Lunar Society of the eighteenth century, there is a innovation. Eastside is a utopia — possibly a ‘magic city’. sense of a creative and productive renaissance taking place here: distinct individuals with their own research and goals, but acting Accordingly Eastside and Digbeth’s factories and warehouses now collaboratively and advancing in a common direction: upward. contain galleries, studios and creative organisations rolling out at a rate that’s diffi cult to keep up with. The was one of Ben Waddington, "&#& (upcycled August "&#")

#% #$ visit birmingham be at the centre of it all in birmingham

Whether you’re a culture vulture, Birmingham is also a home of gig venues FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD SPORT8MANIA shopaholic, food enthusiast, party and exquisite theatres and cinemas, For the foodie crowd, Birmingham boasts Birmingham is at the heart of the sporting animal or sports fanatic, Birmingham is with one of the city’s fi nest gems, the over "&& mouth-watering restaurants action, making it a great destination for a destination of limitless opportunity, Birmingham Royal Ballet o/ en performing in the city centre, serving cuisine from those with a competitive streak! The likes off ering visitors an eclectic mix of things in the Hippodrome theatre, off ering "! diff erent countries. It’s also the only of Premiership and Championship football to do. Attracting over ((.* million people visitors a truly spectacular experience. UK city outside of London to have three teams, Aston Villa and Birmingham City, a year, it’s a must-visit city for all. Michelin star restaurants, Simpsons, both have stadiums in the city centre, and SHOPPERS PARADISE Purnell’s and Turners of Harborne, attracts fans CULTURE VULTURES As the bold new shopping capital of proving its worth as a destination on the from across the UK for test cricket. Plus, With a compelling and varied arts scene, Europe, the city defi nitely lives up to its ‘foodie’ map. with world-class ladies tennis held at the Birmingham is home to world-class, name, from designer-label heaven, The AEGON Classic and The Belfry (which inspirational organisations and venues Mailbox, and the iconic Selfridges and AFTER DARK hosts some of the top golf tournaments) right across the cultural spectrum. For Bullring, to local markets and quirky Night owls will love the buzzing city just down the road, as Usain Bolt says it’s art lovers, there are plenty of places independent shops. Not to forget the centre atmosphere that Birmingham has ‘big up’ Birmingham. to explore in the city, from the more world-famous district to off er. No other city in Europe has a traditional Birmingham Museum and Art where an estimated '&% of all UK younger population than Birmingham and Gallery, which hosts the largest collection jewellery originates from. with over )*,&&& students it’s party-time of Pre-Raphaelites in the world to The every night of the week! But if clubbing Barber Institute of Fine Arts which is isn’t your scene, there are comedy clubs, home to classics like Degas and Magritte. theatres and cinemas a plenty.

"& www.visitbirmingham.com "# www.visitbirmingham.com Birmingham MILLENNIUM City University POINT

With around "*,&&& students from multi-million pound centre of excellence. Millennium Point is a place with ‘wow It is already home to two of the %& diff erent countries, Birmingham It will be ready for staff and students in factor’. It is both huge and inspiring, City’s most unique visitor attractions, City University is one of the largest September "&#(. Phase II will be created not just in terms of its appearance, but Thinktank museum (which is celebrating universities in the UK and our popularity in addition. also because of its prime location and its recently opened outdoor Science has grown signifi cantly in recent years. sophisticated blend of ingredients. Garden) and The Giant Screen, which has The project — part of the the largest cinema screen and Dolby (D Birmingham Institute of Art and Design for the wider regeneration of Birmingham Firmly established as Birmingham’s digital projection system in the Midlands! (BIAD) is one of the largest, most — is also part of the University’s overall landmark Millennium Project, Millennium established, and most signifi cant centres 9#%& million investment in new facilities Point is now entering its second decade Millennium Point is also home to for art, design and architecture education to help create the skilled graduates of and expanding its ambitions to become faculties of Birmingham City University in the world. We were founded in #%'( with the future. The University has teamed increasingly of national importance and the fashion and design hubs of a mission to serve industry and culture in up with Birmingham-based Associated with refreshing new ideas, centred on Birmingham Metropolitan College. The and around the city of Birmingham. Architects and city construction fi rm technology and change. thriving student community of the future Willmott Dixon for the #%,(#& square sits within the very heart of Millennium A fl agship extension of our existing City metre building, which will house cutting- At the centre of Eastside, Birmingham, Point, which refl ects its ambitious plans Centre Campus in Eastside is our latest edge media facilities including television just a stone’s throw from the city’s for the future. ambitious venture. This new ‘Phase I and photographic studios. major transport networks and bustling plot’ will provide a state-of-the art home commercial districts, Millennium Point Millennium Point is a venue to showcase, for BIAD, incorporating a Media Hub, is ideally placed to meet the needs of a celebrate and inform. and marks the fi rst step in creating a wide-ranging clientele.

"" www.bcu.ac.uk/biad "( www.millenniumpoint.org.uk magic TO is no- some- thing times at close all doesn’t organise. Art doesn’t have a social purpose, function or use. Art that is free Social Practice: Fo(u)r Shades of Grey taste of him. He groans at my fevered response, low and deep in his throat, and my production and consumption under capitalism.’$ Ideally, advanced art must resist the Dr James A Hellings provides opportunities for people to appear. In appearing they disrupt and challenge harnesses the revolutionary potential barred to politics and sets about envisaging, ‘What artist isn’t socially engaged?’# Globally, since the #$$&s, we’ve witnessed an belly tightens swi/ and hard with carnal desire. His hand moves down my body, ‘Today [artists] deny using the stage to dictate a lesson or convey a message. They marketisation of art, the industrialisation of culture, and the spectacularization of ‘Of no artwork is it possible to determine its judgment or what its so-called message the social distribution of roles.#& Marx’s division of labour collapses ‘when those who In case you disbelieve in aesthetic cultivation, distrust value judgements, and deny imaging and constructing — if not realising — a better world. An art ‘that le/ social artistic turn toward participation and collaboration. ‘This expanded fi eld of post- brushing my breast, my waist, and down to my backside. I shi/ fractionally. “Ah!” he simply wish to produce a form of consciousness, an intensity of feeling, an energy for society. Social practice refl ects an unceasing eff ort to realise this ideal. ‘Along with is. It is therefore questionable whether artworks can possibly be engage, even when “cannot” do something show that in fact they can.’## ‘The claim to visibility, a will to consciousness-raising through art — an aesthetic experience achieved through non- reality unscathed is nothing but commercial art. Only those works of art that adopt an studio practices currently goes under a variety of names: socially engaged art, says and breaks away from me, breathless. “What?” I mutter against his lips. “Ana, action. But they always assume that what will be perceived, felt, understood is what ‘utopia’ and ‘revolution’, collectivity and collaboration have been some of the most they emphasize their engagement.’" Art engages society by disengaging from society, enter the political realm of appearance, the affi rmation of a capacity for appearance,’#" participation and disengagement — I give you the following extract from this years antithetical stance toward society contain truth.’#( ‘Almost all daring works that are community-based art, experimental communities, dialogic art, littoral art, we’re in a car lot in Seattle.” “So?” “Well, right now I want to fuck you, and you’re they have put into their [artwork].’( Social art practice can be didactic, when it gives persistent themes of advanced art and exhibition-making of the last decade.’#' ‘Given but, ‘even in the most extreme refusal of society, art is essentially social and not is how art and aesthetics revitalise life. Social practice must not dictate lessons and best-selling book: “Kiss me,” I breathe, and I watch his lips part as he inhales ever fi nished at all are commercially unsalable but, instead, are paid for by patrons or interventionist art, participatory art, collaborative art, contextual art and (most shi/ ing around on me … it’s uncomfortable.” My craving spirals out of control at his lessons aimed at emancipating spectators. But, art audiences aren’t passive, they don’t these avowed politics, and the commitment that mobilises this work, it is tempting to understood when this essence is misunderstood.’' To talk of social practice is to over- convey messages to raise consciousness. Intense feelings and energy for action get us sharply. Leaning across me, he takes the Blackberry out of its cradle, and tosses it institutions.’#* Art practice that is social by being asocial does not sell. Social practice recently) social practice.’* Social practice is a form of art whose medium and material words, tightening all my muscles below my waist once more. “Fuck me then.” I kiss need to be activated by social practice into co-producers and participants. Brecht’s suggest that this art arguably forms what avant-garde we have today: artists devising essentialise society’s impact on art. Art has a double character, it is both ‘autonomous nowhere in isolation. Against ‘the dominant “myth of pedagogy,”’ of much social onto the driver’s seat beside my sandaled feet. Then his mouth is on me as he moves transforms artists into employees (entrepreneurial freelancers), who compete for (and is people. Artists increasingly produce situations wherein people participate. The the corner of his mouth. I want him. Now. That car chase was exciting. Too exciting. learning plays and Artaud’s theatre of cruelty miss the point entirely. Alienation and social situations as a dematerialised, anti-market, politically engaged project to carry and fait social.’) Art is a social fact but it’s also an artefact. It is society’s excess. Art practice, my lesson-which-is-not-a-lesson is this: ‘the incapable are capable.’#) Social his right hand into my hair, holding me in place, and li/ s his le/ to cradle my face. administer), the grants and awards neo-liberal capitalism forces upon them. ‘The economy of art has changed. Artists no longer make art (objects) for art audiences Terrifying … and the fear has jump-started my libido. He leans back to gaze at me, ‘vital participation’! are anachronistic forms of Marxist Ideologiekritik. Social on the avant-garde call to make art a more vital part of life.’#! Social practice is a form frees itself from society. By becoming free, strategically autonomous in ‘splendid practice, as a form of art committed to making social issues visible, presupposes the His tongue invades my mouth, and I welcome it. Adrenaline turns to lust and streaks image of the artist, as one of the tolerated, integrated as a neurotic in a society sworn (subjects). Social practice reconfi gures art audiences as co-producers or participants. eyes dark and hooded. “Here?” His voice is husky. My mouth goes dry. How can he practice all too o/ en assumes that art must become more real than reality, more social of art that owes a debt to popular theatre. But, artists engaged in social practice aren’t isolation,’% art may off er a new perspective on society. Art doesn’t participate and it existence of the invisible. Making the invisible visible (the modus operandi of social through my body. I clasp his face, running my fi ngers over his sideburns, relishing the to the division of labour, is distorted. Among artists of the highest rank the sharpest This constitutes a Marxian eff ort to ‘place pressure on conventional modes of artistic turn me on with one word? “Yes. I want you. Now.” He tilts his head to one side and than society. But, art’s socio-political impulse is witnessed in aesthetic experience. It art-facilitators like dramaturges, curators, critics, gallery education departments, or

") "! practice), actually instrumentalises people, turning them into tools (material). But, world.’"" Social practice privileges an aesthetic experience, which is radically open sense of reality [is] joined with estrangement from reality.’#% Limp realism opposes and sentiments it conveys concerning the state of the world. (…) It is political stares at me for a few moments. “Mrs Grey, how very brazen,” he whispers, a/ er culture into new attitudes, new passions, and new forms of consciousness which community arts projects. Social practice is still art practice. The authorial voice of the Slowly he eases two fi ngers past my panties and inside me. I groan and fl ex my hips people are not tools. Biennales suff er the same fate as social practices. Let’s not and undecidable. It is a form of experience that engages the political through real estrangement. This limp realism is witnessed in artists whose intensity for social because of the very distance it takes’ from the world."( ‘Art is political provided that it what feels like an eternity. His hand tightens around my hair at my nape, holding me challenge the division of labour or distribution of roles in society. Biennales and art- artist is certainly put into question but not expunged. Artists have become ‘directorial toward his hand. “Please,” I whisper. “Oh. You’re so ready,” he says, sliding his pretend either meaningfully resist the total administration of culture or society’s questioning ‘how the world is organised, and therefore the possibility of changing or engagement actually commit them to practicing a form of mutilated — albeit militant — is art,’"' that is to say art’s (micro)political turn or (non-)participation (social practice) fi rmly in place, and his mouth is on mine again, more forcefully this time. His other fairs — the travelling-circuses of the Culture Industry — are not challenging. Submit to instigators,’ who ‘trigger’ ‘event[s] that would otherwise have no existence.’#$ Art has fi ngers in and out, torturously slowly. “Do car chases turn you on?” “You turn me distribution of roles. What we’re presented with here are those that “can,” speaking on redistributing that same world’"* is always addressed in art. But, art isn’t a judgement. aesthetics. Committed art: art with avowed messages; art exhibiting tendencies; thesis is best witnessed in art’s resistant form and broken promises of social transformation. hand skims down my body over my behind and lower still to my mid-thigh. My the discipline of the artwork, cultivate aesthetic experience and you’ll appear political. become the privileged site wherein ‘idiosyncratic and controversial’ events can be on.” He smiles a wolfi sh grin and withdraws (…), suddenly, leaving me wanting.’") behalf of those who “cannot,” making the “invisible” “visible.” But the “invisible” are -art; and socially engaged art relinquish all claims to being art. These forms of art — Dr James Hellings is Lecturer in Fine Art Theoretical and Contextual Studies at fi ngers curl into his overlong hair. “I’m so glad you’re wearing a skirt,” he murmurs Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Birmingham City University staged which ‘socially responsible institutions’ would not tolerate."& Social practice as here. You’ve just not seen them or returned their gaze. They clean the galleries, they like those produced and reproduced by the Culture Industry, which they oppose and as he slips his hand beneath my blue-and-white patterned skirt to caress my thighs. I # ! #( "( art practice is, therefore, caught in a productive paradox: it is both autonomous and Claire Bishop, Artifi cial ES, p.*. Stefan Müller-Doohm, Jacques Rancière Hells: Participatory Art and % Adorno: A Biography, ("&&'), Aesthetics and Its make the machines that produce your skinny Lattes, they wash the cars you arrived in. the Politics of Spectatorship Rolf Wiggershaus, The trans. Rodney Livingstone Discontents, trans. Steven attack — instrumentalise art. Art’s wielded like a (power-)tool. Art’s made to take sides (London: Verso, "&#"), Frankfurt School: Its History, (Cambridge: Polity Press, Corcoran (Cambridge: squirm once more on his lap and the air hisses between his teeth. “Keep still,” he p.". Herea/ er referenced Theories and Political "&&$), p.'!". Polity Press, "&&$), p."(. AH. Signifi cance, trans. Michael #' Herea/ er referenced AD. heteronomous. I mean, it’s ‘removed from the real world,’ as (autonomous) art and, " Robertson (Cambridge: AH, p.". "' It is not the “invisibles” that are in need of a lesson — it is “You,” with your biennales, Theodor W. Adorno Polity Press, "&&!), p.". #* AD, p.$). and serve a cause. But, art’s constitutively enigmatic: it can’t be directed or intended. (#$!&), Aesthetic Theory, $ Theodor W. Adorno "* growls. He cups my sex with his hand, and I still immediately. His thumb brushes my trans. Robert Hullot- AH, p.". (#$'$), Philosophy AH, p."!. Kentor (London: The #& of New Music, trans. ") yet only by being removed can it fi nd the space and time necessary to experiment and Athlone Press, #$$!), p.#"(. See: Hallward, P., and Robert Hullot-Kentor E. L. James, Fi# y Shades chit-chatting about: out-reach programmes; inclusivity; the state of “our” cities; and Herea/ er referenced AT. Rancière, J., "&&(, ‘Politics (Minneapolis: Minnesota of Grey (London: Arrow (Mis-)educating spectators into the mysteries of an aesthetic experience of ‘artworks, ( and Aesthetics: An UP, "&&)), p."&–#. Books, "&#"). clitoris, and my breath catches in my throat as pleasure jolts like electricity deep, Jacques Rancière ("&&%), Interview,’ in: Angelaki: #) "# The Emancipated Spectator, Journal of the Theoretical ES, p.'%. engage with society. Social practice is, therefore, ‘a sphere both at one remove from trans. Gregory Elliott Humanities, Volume #! social practice. Fucking do-gooders. Let’s get back to Art Practice, as that is the only (London: Verso, "&&$), p.#. %, Number ", August AH, .p.#(. correspond[s] to the objective need for a transformation of consciousness that could Herea/ er referenced ES. "&&(, p."&%. Herea/ er #% deep, deep, deep inside me. “Still,” he whispers. He kisses me once more as his ' referenced PA. AT, p.$. AT, p.('$. ## #$ politics and yet always already political because it contains the promise of a better * PA, p."&". AH, p.(!. meaningful way to oppose society. ‘Art is not (…) political because of the messages AH, p.#. #" "& become a transformation of reality.’ People are transformed or cultivated by art and ) PA, p."&". AH, p.(!. thumb circles gently around me through the sheer fi ne lace of my designer underwear. AT, p.*. "# AH, p."!. "" "% "$ AH, p."!. ), ;= @A+ ) is one ;< =>? and services most of the country. Megabus Megabus country. the of most services and on Birmingham stops London to from Priory about one mile away. Queensway www.nationalexpress.com www.megabus.com getting getting to eastside ROAD is simple. road Eastside by to Travelling on the M) the city is into way The easiest the A(% Centre, City signs to then follow the heart into of the city, you will take road the inner ring round clockwise go (A'*'& Digbeth. signs to ) then follow RAIL St ( Birmingham New and stations busiest train of the UK’s it. from half a mile walk Digbeth is about ( is Moor St Station closer Even Rail trains. Chiltern operates which www.thetrainline.com www.chilternrailways.co.uk BUS Express National renovated The newly is in the heart station of Digbeth coach ;B =.. ;B =.. ;F FCG ;-

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