A little update for you on the Short Film Programme this year..

The format of ShortCuts will be similar to last, taking place in the Library Theatre on Saturday and Sunday evening, however we have added an extra venue and made some exciting partnerships along with adding a strong youth and community element. So…

We are pleased to announce that we have joined up with Deaffest the UK’s only deaf film and TV festival, managed by Zebra Uno Ltd. We are extremely excited by this development and have programmed a whole host of great films by Young Deaf Film Makers throughout the weekend. Zebra Uno will be there to introduce Deaffest and the screening of their 3 Film Bursary Competition Winners from 18.00 - 19.00 in the Library Theatre (City Centre Library). More details from Zebra Uno and Deaffest can be found at the following addresses:

www.deafmediaresource.org Young Deaf Filmmakers workshops and their films

www.deaffest.co.uk Main festival website with details of ALL films from across the globe including the Young Deaf Filmmakers

www.zebra-uno.com Keep your eye on this one, it’s currently being re-constructed and due for lift off in the Autumn

Also, this year we are very excited by the introduction of a youth and community organisation element to the programme as well as films for children and free animation workshops for schools and teachers with animation artist Lee Skinner! The Custard Factory Theatre in Digbeth will host a series of film, talks and events throughout the day on Saturday 13 September.. keep your eye out for updates as they are confirmed but for now check out the work of Flip 08 animation festival (coming in November), Craftspace and Women & Theatre who will both be programming films for this part of the ShortCuts Film Programme!

http://www.flipfestival.co.uk/ & www.light-house.co.uk

www.craftspace.co.uk

http://www.womenandtheatre.co.uk/

Sunday afternoon at the Custard Factory will see a more relaxed, experimental programme of films made by local and international film makers.

For more information on FREE animation workshops for teachers please call 0121 464 5678 or email artsfest.org.uk with subject heading ‘animation workshops for teachers’. By running these workshops for teachers ArtsFest is aiming to promote the use of animation as a key learning tool in schools across the West Midlands.

Please take a look at the work of Lee Skinner: www.littlescholar.co.uk

Dont forget that ArtsFest runs 12th-14th of september 2008! The festival will kick off on Friday evening with Birmingham’s first ever Light Night & Evening Carnival Parade. Watch this space and www.artsfest.org.uk for more details as they are confirmed! Thanks for your support!

(this is the main festival of ALL films from across the globe including the Young Deaf Filmmakers)

ShortCuts has been expanded to include 2 venues this year, These 2 venues are at the libary theatre in the centeral libary and the Custard factory theatre.

We are also doing some slight changes to our film making aspect of Artsfest. The changes are to change the ethos to match the rest of the festival, we are also looking at young film makers more this year to show off their talents, so watch out at these two venues for young budding film makers!

Also there is going to be a animation workshop lead by animation artist lee skinner who will be passing on valuble animation skills and many ideas to teachers from local schools to take back and use within their classrooms.

A list of film makers to look out for:

Dont forget that artsfest run 12th-14th of september 2008! The festival starts in Birmingham, The first night will be the first light night in Birmingham, a carnival parade and a reggae rockz in St Tinary’s square. Watch this space and our website for more details as there confirmed! our website is www.artsfest.org.uk!

“Hi, it’s Julie here. volunteer bookers and presenters coordinator for ArtsFest.

I look forward to Fridays as it’s my weekly chance to join the lovely ArtsFest team. My role is to make sure lots of agents and bookers are aware of the scale and brilliant quality of the acts we have on this year, and to invite them to come along and treat ArtsFest as a showcase for spotting new stars and acts for their events. I’m an agent myself (the rest of the week) so I know what a brilliant resource ArtsFest is, and with 500 fabulous acts on from dance to comedy over the weekend, it will be a bookers dream to be here - if they can decide which of the 6 stages and 26 venues to visit first! I’m also looking forward to organising the presenters who will hold the shows together over the weekend. Kate, Emily and Elise are a great team to work with, and I’ve enjoyed meeting the other volunteers.

Juliexxxx

Victoria Square

FREE

China Now, the largest festival of Chinese Culture in the UK, will be visiting Birmingham this Saturday with a celebration of the British Chinese community. A big screen will be showing films and animations, together with short films produced by our own local Chinese community and video links to other China Now celebrations in Glasgow, Manchester and Leicester Square, London.

There will also be a stage show of Chinese culture, including traditional dragon dancers, Cantonese Opera and martial arts demonstrations. Contemporary Chinese culture will also be showcased with breakdancing and DJs. The show will finish with a bang as an entertainer is raised up on a lift to finish this unique show from the top of the Council House!

Workshops will be running throughout the day with chances to journey through Chinese myths and legends, and to create your own origami boat to float in the fountain. As attention turns to the Beijing 2008 Olympics, this is a great opportunity to celebrate Chinese heritage closer to home, and experience the colour and vibrancy in this free, open air event.

China Now in Birmingham has been organised in partnership by Birmingham City Council, BBC Video Nation, Emergency Exit Arts and local Chinese community organisations.

For more information please contact Collette Fallon on 0121 303 3836, go to www.chinanow.org.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/videonation/feature/silkscreens

Hi, just a quick reminder to head over to Sutton for their Arts Festival this weekend.  Check out their website

http://www.suttonfestivalofarts.co.uk/

for more details.  Plans look really exciting!!!!!

Hi my names Matt I’m 15 and go to the earls high school. As part of my Work Experience   i have been working with the arts fest to try and get a feel for what it would be like to organise a major event and work in an office environment. The work that i have been given has been varied from sticking posts up on the website to putting stickers on envelopes. I have enjoyed my time here and it has been very useful to me in trying to figure out what i would like to be doing later in my life.

The various Activities i have been involved in are:

• Answearing the phone and calling various artists to try and confirm a spot in this years festival.
• Making the tea now and then. (as any true Work experience volunteer should be doing!)
• Working on spreadsheets converting information from one form to another (About time’s and were Artists are performing)
• Working on spreadsheets to find people who have been confirmed and marking them.
• Labeling envelopes so we can send out all the contract infomation to the various artists.
• Taking messages and passing them on to either Kate or Emily
• Making a list of confirmed acts and writing down contact infomation so that can be passed on.

I have enjoyed doing arts fest as the many people i have met and worked with have been amazing and helpful, The work i have been doing has not been boring and there is always something to do, also i have had time to work on myspace! Thanks for reading and thanks to Kate and Emily for taking me in!

Matt

I’m not quite sure how I’ve managed to keep this to myself for the last ten days but I now take great pleasure in spreading my excitement with this Visual Arts related news.

A week or so ago New Art Gallery Walsall www.artatwalsall.org.uk unveiled it’s new exhibition featuring Ansel Adams: Photographs (the title doesn’t do any justice to the subject matter - but then I’m not sure what words would) & John Davies: The British Landscape.

Now I like colour, I am a sucker for a digitally enhanced image that draws me in with over/under saturated colour tones. With that said I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by this selection of black and white photographs. I was very wrong. Gazing in to Ansel Adam’s studies of Yosemite National Park I had to muster all my restraint to stop myself from jumping in to the crisp cool pools and deep lush forests. John Davies does equal justice to our home grown treasures.

I am a self labelled ‘outdoors enthusiast’ so I was bound to be blown away but I challenge you to visit this exhibition and not rush straight home and google ‘quickest route to the Lake district?’.

P.s I’m off on my first wild camping trip for a couple of days in July - if you’re lucky I might treat you to a photo.

Kate

Had a very exciting text from Adham that his single Mothers Day was played by Huw Stephens on Radio 1 the other night…

Check it out

http://www.myspace.com/afselectronica

Check Adham’s blog out below… he’s our longest serving 08 volunteer but hasn’t been seen since Glastonbury! If anyone has seen him can you post him back to ArtsFest for us… no one gets away from us that easily!

Kate

Hey everybody,

it has come to my attention that somebody has taken it upon themselves to set up an ArtsFest Twitter over the weekend.  I JUST WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THIS IS NOT OFFICIAL AND HAS NOT BEEN SET UP BY THE ARTSFEST TEAM and we do not endorse any views expressed there or any people contacted.  Our sincerest apologies if you have been contacted through this Twitter site - the contact made with you does not express the views of the ArtsFest team.  We are working to remove this Twitter page by the end of the day, and register an official Twitter page ourselves.

Emily, Kate & Elise

I got thrown/threw myself into the hectic world of ArtsFest on Thursday to start my third year volunteering with the event – as usual, everything was all-go and just a little bit confusing at first but I think I found my sea legs by Friday morning! In the afternoon I ran off – blindly – to help out with an event called RE: FLUX.

I had no idea what to expect but soon learnt that it was part of FLUX FEST run by an organisation called VIVID ( www.vivid.org.uk ). RE: FLUX was a ‘concert’… but not quite the type I’m used to.

As a revival of the 1960s Fluxus movement the artists creatively reinterpreted older scores alongside their own conceptions. Although the movement definitively defies definition, it could be said that Fluxus is about finding art in the every day, bending, blurring and abandoning artistic boundaries - all with a big fat emphasis on FUN. To give you some idea, the concert involved: juicy apples, falling bats, sword-fights with bubbles, real live tumbleweed, electric saws, audience participation, the very low-tech, the super hi-tech, candles, violins and staged self-mutilation. The performances were all obnoxiously witty, blowing raspberries at the often-pretentious world of modern art - an interesting experience to say the least!

We have two new volunteers in the office;

Louise Programme confirmation queen who may be calling you soon!

Julie the Bookers and Presenters coordinator, who has an address book full of stars.

Louise is heading along to Re:Flux tonight, so watch out for her blog Monday.

Our volunteers are looking to become Roving reporters this year, feeding back on all the gigs, exhibitions and performances from ArtsFest artists in the lead up to Birmingham’s Big weekend.

If you’d like them to cover your gig/opening or performance then call the hotline number 0121 464 5678 and we’ll send them along!

Have a good weekend

Elise, Emily & Kate

P.S. Emily has gone to Glastonbury again this year, for those of you looking for her in the office she’ll be back next thursday!…..hopefully.