Only Solidarity and Patience will Secure our Victory

We are approaching the second part of our project - a residency in Gdansk! This is so exiting!

In the meantime a part of Gdansk visited Digbeth!

A billboard 'Only Solidarity and Patience will Secure our Victory' depicting strikes from the Gdansk Shipyard hang on the wall above the entrance of Eastside Projects. The billboard is a work by an artistic collective 'Slavs and Tatars', and it forms part of a multiplatform project '79.89.09', that re-imagines an Iranian Polish solidarity, constructed in equal parts through archival research and original work. The project looks at three key dates:1979 (the Iranian Revolution), 1989 (the collapse of communism) and 2009 (the financial crisis). Along with the billboard artists prepared a publication as well as an installation of river bads and an Iranian and Polish book archive. 

Exhibition is open until the 16th of April 2011. 

Photos from the exhibition in the Lomabrd Method

MASH HER DIP, Family Brand, an installation,  2011

MASH HER DIP, Family Brand, an installation,  2011

MASH HER DIP, Family Brand, an installation,  2011

MASH HER DIP, Family Brand, an installation,  2011

MASH HER DIP, Family Brand, an installation,  2011

Christian Costa,   part of   photographic installation THE GANG OF FOUR MICHEL, GIORGIO, JACQUES, SLAVOJ, 2011

Christian Costa, the part of video installation SITE SPECIFIC CINEMA DIGBETH, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 2011

Christian Costa,   part of   photographic installation THE GANG OF FOUR MICHEL, GIORGIO, JACQUES, SLAVOJ, 2011

 Christian Costa,   part of   photographic installation THE GANG OF FOUR MICHEL, GIORGIO, JACQUES, SLAVOJ, 2011

 Kamila Szejnoch,  For what?,  film documentation of mural painting, 2011

Christian's Costa commision for the Post-Industrial Revolution

 Christian Cista, the part of video installation SITE SPECIFIC CINEMA: DIGBETH, AN AUTOBIOGRAPH, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

Christian’s artistic practice is focused on identities connected to places and perception of the genius loci.  For Post-Industrial Revolution he developed a site specific expanded cinema, which he describes as a medium capable of  joining cinema, television, video, video art, documentary and fiction.  Christian  has  created an installation in two parts,  consisting of film and found imagery reflective of his time here in Digbeth. He carefully selected images, often with political connotations (such as CCTV  cameras). 

 Christian Cista, the part of video installation SITE SPECIFIC CINEMA: DIGBETH, AN AUTOBIOGRAPH, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

 Christian Cista, the part of video installation  SITE SPECIFIC CINEMA: DIGBETH, AN AUTOBIOGRAPH, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

Christian Cista, a set of postcards for Birmingham, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

Christian Cista, a set of postcards for Birmingham, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

Artist  also produced the set of photographs for Birmingham which hilights 'uniportant' sites of the city.  He is interested in forgotten spaces such as the hidden river Rea, city graveyards (now utilized as parks), as well as derelict public houses of Digbeth. Showing this disused places brings them to attention again and rediscovers their forgotten haritage. 

Chris also placed some books in the gallery  by thinkers he is inpired by: Slavoj Zizek (First as tragedy, then as farce), Michel Foucault (Discipline and punish), Jacques Rancière (Hatred of Democracy) and by Giorgio Agamben. He created a cosy corner with a chair - as a place to read, to see the installation and to watch the film. Visitors are invited to read the books and to share their thoughts on the pages. 

Christian Cista, the part of   photographic installation THE GANG OF FOUR: MICHEL, GIORGIO, JACQUES, SLAVOJ, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

Christian Cista, the part of   photographic installation THE GANG OF FOUR: MICHEL, GIORGIO, JACQUES, SLAVOJ, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

Christian Cista, the part of   photographic installation THE GANG OF FOUR: MICHEL, GIORGIO, JACQUES, SLAVOJ, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

Christian Cista, the part of   photographic installation THE GANG OF FOUR: MICHEL, GIORGIO, JACQUES, SLAVOJ, commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska,  2011

For what? - Kamila's Szejnoch commission for the Post-Industrial Revolution

Kamila Szejnoch,  For what?,  commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska, Custard Factory, 2011, photo by Nicky Getgood 

The Exhibition will be open until the end of this week so this is the last chance for you to see outcomes of the month-long residency of Polish artists in Digbeth.  
In this post you can find more information about the work of Kamila's Szejnoch, which will be followed by posts about other artists in the next few days. 
During her stay Kamila Szejnoch has developed a fascination with the Birmingham coat of arms, using it as a focal point of her research.  In particular she is interested in the motto for the city ‘Forward’.  

The coat of arms of Birmingham 

For Kamila exploring the significance of symbols and monuments associated with a city is significant, and she often develops whole bodies of work in relation to obscure local references to civic pride. She tries to approach outdated layers of the past by adding something new, contrasting with its original style or function. Her works often consist of two elements, one is history and tradition, the  second is more contemporary, open, playful and interactive.

For Post – Industrial Revolution Kamila has developed a series of site specific interventions through out Digbeth.  Most notably ‘For what?’ a large scale text piece situated in a car park next to the Custard Factory facing Digbeth High St.  ‘For what?’ is a direct response to the 'Forward' mural, an earlier art work referencing Birmingham's coat of arms in a car park on Heathmill Lane.  'For what?” aims to instigate a dialogue about the past and future of the district by responding to the statement ‘Forward’ with a question. 

Newso, Forward, art work referencing Birmingham's coat of arms in a car park on Heathmill Lane, photo by Nicky Getgood 

The exhibition and workshops Post - The Industrial Revolution

Taking part in the Post - The Industrial Revolution workshop  is a great opportunity for a creative Sunday with a whole family.  This session begins with a look around the exhibition followed by creating works of art relating to the themes present in the show.
All ages welcome but children must be accompanied by an adult.
Space for workshops must be booked in advance via e-mail:
postindustrial.revolution@gmail.com


Workshop for parents and children
Sunday, February 27, 2011, 11.00-12:30
Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR
Free admission

Exhibition
Saturday 19 February - Sunday 27 February 2011
The exhibition is open from Thursday to Sunday from 11.00-18.00
Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR
Free admission

Post - Industrial Revolution: Exhibition 19 – Sunday 27 February 2011 Open Thursday – Sunday from 11am -6pm

Preview, The Lombard Method, 18 February 2011

 

After a very busy week of installing we are happy to invite you to the exhibition!

Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 February 2011

Open Thursday – Sunday from 11am -6pm

The Lombard Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR

Admission free

Below you can find some pictures from the talk, Fridays opening and after party in the Anchor Pub! 

 

Preview, The Lombard Method, 18 February 2011

MASH/HER/DIP, Preview, The Lombard Method, 18 February 2011

 Preview, The Lombard Method, 18 February 2011

 Kamila Szejnoch, Preview, The Lombard Method, 18 February 2011

 Preview, The Lombard Method, 18 February 2011

 

After party in the Anchor Pub and a very special Post-Industrial Revolution ale!

Artist's Talk, Eastside Projects, 17 Feb 2011

Artist's Talk, Eastside Projects, 17 Feb 2011

Tomorrow: Artists' Talk

Post-Industrial Revolution, the  crit, 11 Feb 2011, the Lombard Method 

Come and join us for the artists talk! The talk will give you an insight in what we were doing through the last month. 

Thursday 17 February 2011, 6.30 - 8pm Eastside Projects, 86 Heath Mill Lane, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4ARFor further information visit http://www.extraspecialpeople.org/

Off-site project by Kamila Szejnoch

Parts of our Post-Industrial Revolution project is based off-site. Kamila Szejnoch, who usually works in a public space, realised a mural refering to one of the Birmingham's most signifficant symbol. We can't tell you what is it yet, but you can have a look on it on the Custard Factory's wall just now. It has been painted on the wall in the car park and is visible from Digbeth High Street. Tthis is how the wall of Custard Factory looked before Kamila started to paint:

Custard Factory map

How to find us in Digbeth: the Lombard Method

It takes 15 minutes to get (by bus or on food) from Corporation St to the Lombard Method. Take the bus number 5 or 6 from Corporation St and get off on Bradford St opposite Mosley St (the bus stop just after the White Swan pub) and turn right into Mosley St, then walk up the road. The Lombard Method is on the corner with Mosley St and Lombard St in Digbeth on the left hand side. 


Adress: The Lomabrd Method, 68a Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0QR

Week one of the residency

Following on from Roma’s discovery of St Basil's, it’s been a jam packed week, beginning with a 3.30 am trip to Digbeth coach station to pick up our second artists Christian Costa last Wednesday morning.  Since then we have taken artists on various walks around Digbeth as well as introducing them to the Central Library and their studio spaces at The Lombard Method. We have also played scrabble and attended openings at art spaces such as VINYL and TROVE.    I was keen to witness  Polish/Italian food shopping, Chris spent more time choosing the correct olive oil then selecting the wine, it was an education for me, resulting in some exquisite Italian cuisine, thanks Chris!  On the subject of food, we had a lovely meal on Friday evening with the artists and members of Polish Expats Association at Cafe Soya.  

During these early days of the residency Kamila has developed an interest in the Birmingham coat of arms and perticualrly the moto for the city 'Forward' which has now developed into a mild obsession amongst all of us!  I now feel the need to photograph any kind of reference to the coat of arms whenever we come across it.  The design is situated on street signs, lamp posts, and even graffiti all over the city.  There was a comical moment where upon discovering the coat of arms on a bin on New Street Kamila, Chris and I spent a little too long staring at it much to the amusement of passersby.

Meal on Friday evening with the artists and members of Polish Expats Association at Cafe Soya.  

Socio-political changes in both cities

David Miller, factory, Digbeth 

Birmingham has developed significantly through the Industrial Revolution, therefore, has a reputation of a working-class city. Trade unions were created in Graet Britain in 1824 and became popular during the Industrial Revolution in many countries. Both, the Gdansk Shipyard, and Digbeth, were not only important industrial centers, but also witnesses of socio – political changes. Archive footage shows Digbeth, as a place where closing of factories, anti-fascist marches, and worker's strikes were taking place, due to recession, unemployment, demise of industry, and  its movement abroad. In Gdansk, Strikes which were held in the shipyard 30 years ago by the 'Solidarity' (the first independent trade union in the Communist bloc), helped to overthrow communism in the Central - Eastern Europe.

 Digbeth related footage you can find here:

http://www.macearchive.org/Media.html?Title=28292

http://www.macearchive.org/Media.html?Title=28329

http://www.macearchive.org/Media.html?Title=2555  

http://www.macearchive.org/Media.html?Title=23030 

 http://www.macearchive.org/Media.html?Title=1048  

 http://www.macearchive.org/Media.html?Title=15675

Digbeth an area traditionally at the heart of British industry shall play host to three emerging Polish artists intending to explore its heritage

View of Digbeth and the sign   ‘A Hundred thousand welcomes’ A  translation of a traditional Irish greeting, in Gaelic ‘Cead mile failte’ , phot. David Miller

We are expecting  the artists from Poland (Christian Costa, Kamila Szejnoch and MASH/HER/DIP) very soon. The Artists’ visit will mark the official beginning of Post Industrial Revolution. Artists will begin the one month residency  from the 15^th of January  till the 15^th of February 2011, using it as a period for research and for the production of new art works directly responding to the district of Digbeth, its historical and social context.  

These newly create art works will be displayed in an exhibition at the Lombard Method (Digbeth), an artist run studio and project space, from the 18^th of February 2011.  The call for submissions for British artists will be circulated in January 2011 with the residency and exhibition taking place from May 2011 at Wyspa Institute of Art (Gdansk).

Co-curator  of Post – Industrial Revolution Kate Pennington – Wilson outlined ‘The focus of this residency exchange is for artists to develop work which responds to these environments, reflecting this shift in usage as well as the change in social, political  and industrial history of such spaces’.

Both Residencies will be accompanied by a series of events including Workshops, Artist Talks and Screenings.  

Post-Industrial Revolution is developed in collaboration with the Lombard Method (UK) and Wyspa Institute of Art (Poland). The Project is conceived by Birmingham based curators Roma Piotrowska and Kate Pennington – Wilson in partnership with Polish Expats Association (PEA).  PEA is a not for profit organisation. 

Post – Industrial Revolution is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council. 

Successful artists who are accepted for the 'Post-Industrial Revolution' residency in Birmingham

We are pleased to announce successful artists who are accepted for the 'Post-Industrial Revolution' residency in Birmingham in January 2011 : 

Christian Costa http://www.containerart.it/ and http://www.spazidocili.org/

Kamila Szejnoch  http://www.kamilaszejnoch.com/

MASH/HER/DIP http://www.mashherdip.blogspot.com/

Uncertain Eastside by Nikki Pugh

GPS drawing from two laps around Eastside, Nikki Pugh 

Today we would like to present another Digbeth related art project by Nikki Pugh, Birmingham based artist. She was repeatedly walking around the perimeter that defines Eastside for a month and a half, trying to pay attention to how these spaces are being used at different times and by different groups of people.  ‘In 2006 this was mostly all unknown territory to me – she writes. - By 2009 it was still mostly unknown territory, but now with small incursions around Digbeth and Curzon Street. When I decided I wanted to return to some of the questions raised by the area’s regeneration, it was apparent that my first step should not to be to research it in an academic manner, and subject myself to all the spin, but to get out there and experience it directly’.  

Artist was documenting the process of walking using a GPS technology, which logged her position once every second. She was interested to see how the cityscape affected her position as seen by the machines. As Nikki writes on her blog, GPS is not as accurate device as we would expect. ‘Looking at the results from any one walk I can see a whole host of different glitches and errors. To be honest, they’re what make GPS an interesting thing for me to work with’ – she writes. She finally invited other people to join her for an investigative walk. They were walking, exploring and documenting this fascinating area. Photographs and video from this escapade you can find here and here.
You can also buy a 'Document one: 2009', publication documenting the project . The book comprises details of an artwork by Pugh, photographs contributed by participants of a Walk and Talk event and also texts by Ben Waddington, Joe Holyoak and Tracey Fletcher.

somewhere in Digbeth, photo: Nikki Pugh 

investigative walk, photo: Nikki Pugh 

The Italian Quarter

Through our recent research we were excited to discover Digbeth had an Italian Quarter, further fuelling our interest in Digbeths diverse social heritage.  From the early 19th century Italians began to immigrate to Britain due to major changes within Italy such as the Napoleonic occupation, famine and increased population growth.  Many Italians began to undertaking seasonal migration to surrounding nations, a number arrived in Britain and stayed. 

By the mid 19th century an Italian quarter began to develop around Fazeley Street in Digbeth and this area was nicknamed ‘Little Italy’.  During the 19^th and early 20^th Century the Italians in this district were best know in the city for making and selling ice-cream, being successful in this trade until WW2, often selling from hand-carts and attracting customers by ringing handbells.

Following WW2  however many  Italian men who had lived in Britain for less than 20 years were treated with suspicion, many were sent to camps in different parts of Britain. This, and the redevelopment of the central bomb-damaged district led to the rapid dispersal of the community. 

An interview with Joseph Mattiello MBE, an ex-resident of the Italian Quarter, reveals interesting points about the integration between Digbeth's  communities.  He explained that St Michael's Church on Albert Street, a traditional place of worship for Italians in the area, was also known as the Polish and the Irish Church.

See our new fantastic website !

We are very pleased to announce the launch of our new website:  http://postindustrialrevolution.eu
 You can find there some amazing photos of the Gdansk Shipyard by Michał Szlaga and of Digbeth by David Miller .  Keep your eyes peeled for Polish version soon! 

Polish Club in Digbeth

In almost every bigger city in the UK you can find Polish Centre. Polish people have travelled here throughout the centuries. However, many Poles arrived to Great Britain as political émigrés during and after the Second World War, and during communism time. After Poland's entry into the European Union in May 2004 new generation of Poles have arrived here and it is estimated that presently Polish diaspora has around 30,000 people in Birmingham.

In Birmingham Polish Club ( aka Polish Millenium House) is based in Digbeth, and was established in 1963 by Poles connected with local Polish Catholic church, for their own money. 

Nowadays, Polish Club is much less popular throughout Polish community than it used to be.

Why? According to Guardian “This place is a real oddity. Very old fashioned and mainly inhabited by ageing Poles. Pictures of the (last) Pope abound ”, and there is much truth in it. Nevertheless, I enjoy the food in the restaurant and this specific 'travel in time' climate whenever I go there.

You can find a restaurant, an English-style pub and a shop there. From time to time they also organise some cultural events, activities for mothers and children, as well as choir classes. Polish Club have rooms for hire, so don't be surprised if you find a bridal shop there, Polish Secondary School and even a University! On Saturdays they organise Saturday's Polish School, where children of emigrants can learn Polish. Troubling for me is only that this place represent the entire Polish community in Birmingham, when in fact is shaped mainly by the older generation focused around the Catholic Church. 

 

This German-English couple have been coming to the Polish Shop in Millennium House since 1969. 40 years ago this was the only one Polish shop in Birmingham – says Rita - nowadays there are dozens. I met them while they were waiting for fresh bread for already 2 hours! They know when bread is delivered, so usually they come just on time, but this day the driver was late, so they had to wait.