Birmingham is addressing head on the challenges facing artists,
creative producers and promoters in a time of austerity by bringing
together some of the world's foremost creative professionals to
lead an international symposium in the city on March 21st 2011.
Produced by Birmingham City Council, in partnership with mac,
the Midlands' leading producing and presenting arts centre,
and Sampad, the nationally renowned Birmingham-based development
agency for South Asian arts, the one-day event offers a rare
opportunity to hear from speakers with first-hand experience of
working through economic scarcity, political or cultural
opposition.
Some 200 delegates, ranging from artists, artistic directors,
venue managers, producers, curators and funders are expected at the
event to hear inspirational speakers share real examples of how
they have had to deal with the challenges of creating work in times
of severe austerity, and crucially, how they thrived in spite of
it. Leading practitioners with experience from across the globe
including Spain, Greece, South Africa and the UK have been brought
together for the first time to share their case studies that prove
that it is possible to build robust, successful strategies for
creating work in such a challenging climate.
Speakers already confirmed for the event include:
Airen Berg, Artistic Director of Linz, European Capital of
Culture in 2009 who has also recently worked in Istanbul.
Peter Jenkinson, who has over 20 years' experience in the
international field as a cultural broker. Peter was founding
director of the Creative Partnerships programme, and led the
initiation and delivery of the £21million world-class New Art
Gallery, Walsall.
Christiana Galanopoulou, Artistic Director of the VideoDance
Festival in Athens, Greece, which she founded in 2000. Christiana
is also one of Europe's leading curators of dance, film and visual
arts.
Jordi Claramonte is co-author, with John Dewey, of Art as
Experience. Jordi has worked with Medialab-Prado, Madrid and as
part of La Tabacalera, an artists' collective in Madrid.
Joining these international speakers will be a host of
West-Midlands based artists, producers and curators who themselves
have direct experience of making work in Birmingham with
international partners. Biting Back aims to strip right back to
basics, placing the issues firmly within the context of
practitioners working here in the UK. The symposium will draw
together this wealth of experience to explore how work with a solid
local relevance can be created within a national and international
context, highlighting how successful partnerships can create
astounding excellence - whatever the economic climate - and
significantly, discover what it takes to achieve real
sustainability in the marketplace in the long term.
Biting Back is at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, on Monday
21st March 2011, from 10am to 6pm. For further information, contact
mac Sales & Information, visit biteback.org.uk or call 0121 446
3232 Delegate rates start at £15 for the day.