We’ve never been good at accepting help, we always want people to get as much out of any work they do, as they put into into it – and we can’t afford hordes of staff on our very tight budgets.  What we can offer, however, is a wealth of experience in project and event management, art and participation, arts in the public realm, a very special venue and lots of fun.  Back in the day, Vivid, then more of a film-makers support agency than it is now, had a great system.  Volunteers would work for them, earning credits, which could then be used towards using their production facilities, equipment hire, etc, and we are putting together a similar system here.

What we need:

• Administrative help
• Project and event management help
• Venue maintenance and development help
• Project delivery help
• Interviewers for our two-year oral history project
• Artists and makers to help us build exhibitions and installations
• Performers – (in the widest sense of the word) for our events and interventions
• Front of house staff – for our events

What we can offer:

• Training in all of the above (we’ve been doing this stuff for 20 years)
• Credits towards equipment hire
• Credits towards hiring our venue, the Edge
• Credits towards training and mentoring (our artist/directors have had a hand in designing training initiatives such as Fierce’s Metapod and Creative Alliance’s programmes and we’re founders of CA), career and personal/practice development
• Credits towards developing your own events, festivals and projects (helping you throughout the process)
• Credits towards help in developing funding bids
• Credits towards anything else we can help you with

So, if any of this interests you, and you’d like to find out more, we’re hosting a volunteers event on Thursday 16th February 2012, from 6.30 at the Edge, 79-81 Cheapside, Deritend, B12 0QH.  We’ll be telling you more about all the exciting projects that we’re doing this year, more about the ‘volunteer offer’ and we’ll be providing refreshments of course.  You may have your own ideas – bring them with you!  If you’d like to attend, please RSVP to info@frictionarts.com, so we have an idea of how many chairs to put out.

see you there!

1. Say hello to our new admin person/girl Friday, Marta Samalea!  Marta, originally from Madrid, has just started with us and will be helping us to deliver the many projects and events we’ve got planned.  Wish her luck, she’s highly likely to need it – and say hello again to Zara, who is back with us (sadly only temporarily)
2. On the 28th of January we are showing the results of our C2KII – the second of our projects with the Town Hall.  We’ve been working with parents and toddlers at St Thomas’s in Atwood Green to create a series of installations using sound and animation.  It’s been a challenge to make something that not only meets our high standards of artistic merit, but fully involves the children and parents.  Well, we think we’ve managed it, and with a team including Babis Alexiadis, Sarah Wilson, Simon Walker and Soesan Edan, how could we not?  The showing is by invitation only, but if you’d like to attend, get in touch and we’ll invite you.  Particularly recommended for under 5s and their parents or if you want to release your inner child (something we don’t have a problem with, we still think farting is hilarious!).
3. The Edge.  We’ve got all kinds of treats planned for the early part of the year, from a vegan festival to a pyjama party.  First off will be the laptop frenzy of the Network Music Festival – from 26th-29th January.  Loads of great talks, installations and performances are promised – get over to their website and grab some tickets while you can.  On Friday 17th February there’s a rare outing at the Edge for cult band Milky Wimpshake – again, grab a ticket while you can, this one is likely to sell out.  We’re putting together a full feb/march calendar of events, which we’ll be posting here next week, we’ll let you know.
4. Flatpack Festival – We’ve teamed up with film ficciones (Scott Johnston in full Brian Blessed mode) and will be holding a couple of events here at the Edge, including an Outersight special and a very limited edition film sleepover event.  More info soon
5. Finally, for now, we’ve got some fantastic news about a big project we’ve been planning – but we can’t tell you yet, as the news has been embargoed by the funder for a while.  So you’ll have to wait.  Sorry about that.  Ooh, I’m such a tease…

Friction Arts & Professional Incredibles presents:

SONIC ASYLUM
sonic sanctuary for music asylum seekers.

Deacon Martin
‘The man they couldn’t corrupt’
http://www.deaconmartin.ecrp1.com/index.html

Jonny Marks
Throat Singer Extraordinaire
http://www.myspace.com/jonnymarks77

Mahmutt
A unique multi-instrumental sonic experience
http://www.myspace.com/bet4mahood

Honeyfeet
Manchester based, Whisky drenched, foot tapping, rhythm blues jazz
http://www.honeyfeet.org/

First 20 people in get a signed copy of attached flyer by artist Krystian Garstkowiak.

Please spread the good word!

We’re busy as ever, juggling current, future and past projects like a circus octopus.  We’re working on what, hopefully, will be a long-term project on Castle Vale, for Active Arts, where we’re hoping to ‘lift the vale’ on this overlooked part of our city.  It’s early on, but we’re intending to create a series of projects and interventions to take people to the Vale and vice versa.  Watch this space.

Sandra is off to Brussels next week to speak at Banlieue’s D’Europe’s annual shindig, they’ve asked her to present the South Africa project to an audience of artists and arts professionals from across Europe, which will be nice.  Next year, all being well, she’ll be telling them about our adventures in Brazil.

One of the reasons we find (or make) life difficult, is our naive optimism, and belief in the inherent goodness of humanity.  We get stung over and over again, as we tend to trust first and ask questions later.  We have been described as militant optimists, and i suppose that is fairly accurate, we couldn’t really be any other way.  We do tend to wear our ethics on our sleeves, as it were, and we know this can make people uncomfortable.  Somehow, showing your moral standards publicly makes people think that, maybe you are judging them – fyi, being judgemental is something we are aware about and try very hard not to do. 

Now, one of the reasons we have survived so long (20years so far, how’s that for sustainability?) is that we have stuck to our guns.  Everything we do is debated, examined, discussed before we do it. We’ve got the luxury of being around each other 24/7, and being obsessive (or committed, delete as applicable) about what we do, we tend to pretty much discuss ‘The Work’ constantly and this has meant that ‘it’ has been the focus of our lives.  So, yes, we do tend to display our morals, ethics, our views and our politics pretty openly, we do tend to say what we think, and we are not scared to upset the applecart in the process.  It’s a dirty job.  But we never judge people on what they think, what they say, believe, feel. Only on what they do.  Mentalists we may be, but not judgementalists.

Where we get into trouble is that, in our lovely 21st century (we’re living in the future!), there is a tendency for there to be a gap between what people say and what they do.  This is fuelled by a sensationalist media and an obsession with PR – it’s more important to be famous, than to be famous for something (see X factor, Heat magazine, etc, etc).  So we are often told in the arts that image, branding (which always makes me think of branding slaves, for some reason), logos, etc are all important.  Indeed, there is now a whole sub-genre of artist who’s practice is all about that self-promoting approach, and many do very well at it.  Problem is, that often people get so tied up in the words, they forget what the words are supposed to be describing.  The map is not the territory.  One of our main articles of faith, or guiding principles or whathaveyou is: ‘If you are not doing what you say you are doing, then change what you are doing or change what you are saying’.  So we try hard not do so, and consequently tend to challenge it when we hear it.  Which gets us into trouble, because, well, people would often rather go along with the lie than remove a piece from the house of cards.  Where would be then?  Reality perhaps?

Disclaimer:  We claim no high moral ground here – we f*ck up, just like everybody else, we’re quite as capable of hypocrisy as anyone, we just ask that we all try harder.  This blogpost was authoured by Lee Griffiths.  Lee is only 50% of Friction arts and his thoughts and opinions may not be those of the other 50%, Sandra Hall.  They probably are though, we agree on most things, but are not joined at the hip, so maybe not, she’s more patient than me, generally speaking.

Psynematic psychos, Outersight, are making a return to the Edge for Halloween shenaniganisation.  Expect the usual mix of fun, frolics and filmic goodness, great music, great visuals - all with that special, Outersight je ne c’ai bloody what?

Espirito Brum is now over (for now).  Of course it was a resounding success,  great events, wonderful artists, connections made, joy shared, standing ovations, tears, hysterical laughter, excitement and contemplation.  We really enjoyed hosting the festival, having a heap of Brazilian artists meandering around the Edge for a couple of weeks.  They had a great time, too, ‘life-changing’ for a few, and for a few of our home-grown artists who had their heads lifted above the clouds by the energy and skills of our visitors.  There will be many future collaborations, partnerships, exchanges and fun to come out of this and we’ll keep you informed. Biggest-ups to Tessa and Soesen for intitiation and (dis)organisation, Aline and the Quorum Qrew for being ‘Brazziliant!’ (© Specta 2011).  Here’s some pictures, courtesy of Instituto Quorum

While we were at it, we didn’t want to just host the Brazziliants, we wanted to make some art withfor them.  So we did this:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-SPAFN1Jo0

September also blessed us with a visit from our buddies from Canadia, The Wilderness of Manitoba (or the Wildernii as even they are now calling themselves). A fantastically intimate Monday night gig, supported by the increasingly authentic bluesman Simon Ark, saw a blankly-gaping audience transported and transformed.  We’ve been so spoiled for musicall goodness over the past month or so – next soul injections will be with the moodical staff at Sonic Asylum, first Friday in December (whenever that is)

We’ve also been very hard at developing new projects and new partnerships, very exciting times are ahead for us and the Edge.  We will update you as and when we can.  Keep looking out for other events at the Edge, Space2Develop are running their 3rd artists salon on the 27th October, from 7pm.  The first two were great, some fantastic performances with very appreciative audiences.  Well worth checking out, keep an eye on them on Facebook for future gigs.  Finally we are looking forward to a special Halloween welcome back to our friends from Outersight for some more of their psynema shenanigans, music, andwonderful films from the far corners of the universe.  More info when they send us some.

First – an apology.  We had to cancel this month’s Sonic Asylum.  This was due to circumstances beyond our control, honest.  It’s never good to have to cancel a show, and we hope we didn’t disappoint anyone too much.  Sonic Asylum will be back in early December, with a special, festive line-up.

So- onto the good stuff.  First, the Brazilians are coming – soon!  From 16th-18th of September all over Digbeth, there’ll be a whole host of fantastic, Brazilian themed events, showcasing work from our overseas colleagues, alongside the very best of local artists for the very first Espirito Brum festival.  Keep an eye on their website for full details, but there’s a bunch of events here at the Edge.  Firstly, we’re proud to host the festival launch night, which features a screening of the Music Tree (fantastic Brazilian movie), alongside live performance from Wanderson Lopez, Bohdan Piasecki, Paul Murphy and Goodnight Lenin. We’re really looking forward to this one and hope you’ll join us from 4pm-10pm on Friday 16th September.

 On Saturday 17th, from 11am-5pm, there’s loads of Brazilian themed stalls, food and activities on offer during the day – all free.  There’s a chance to attend a workshop with amazing experimental percussionist Babilak Bah (if you like hitting things to make a noise, take this opportunity – only a fiver!).  The evening will feature live music from Little Sister, Escalado and Flavia Bittencourt.

And if that wasn’t enough, on Sunday we’ll be rounding off things here with the ‘People’s Kitchen’ – a mass Brazilian cook-up and wind-down with film screenings and accompanied by our friend Gilberto Mauro, making a return visit after his Flatpack appearance last March. The event will run from 12pm-6pm, and should be a lovely, chilled way to wind the festival down.

That’s just the stuff happening here, please keep checking the Espirito site for full details of the events going on at the other venues in Digbeth, including PST, the Spotted Dog and South Birmingham College.

And that’s not all, either.  On Monday 26th of September we will be receiving a return visit from our favourite purveyors of Canadian four-part harmony, the Wilderness of Manitoba.  Despite a hectic European tour, they’ve managed to squeeze a gig in at their favourite venue in the UK, the Edge.  Doors will be at 8pm – we’ll keep you posted about the details.

Sorry about this, but that’s not all, either, either.  On September 22nd, Sustained Theatre will be hosting another of their Space2develop projects ‘Artist’s Salons’.  The last one went really well, with some great ‘scratch’ performances and a good time being had by all.  If you’re starting out, and you make any kind of performance, check this event out.

First up, we’re starting a partnership up with Sustained Theatre , beginning with their ‘Artist Salon event next Thursday 25th August from 7pm

Sustained Theatre are all about developing the skills of young people and providing opportunities for them to develop their work, around theatre and performance, and diversifying the workforce for the arts.  As this is all stuff that’s close to our hearts, we’ve teamed up with them and will be announcing some exciting news very soon – watch this space.  In the meantime, the first of their ‘artist salons’ will provide a space for young performers to showcase their work in front of a supportive audience and to make new connections, all in the conducive surroundings of the Edge.  Hope to see some of you there.

Second up – Sonic Asylum is coming!  On Friday 2nd of September we’ll be hosting the usual packed night of fun, frolics and musical healing.  Featuring: James Kelly ft Ola Szmidt – Abie’s Musical Tonic - Dj set from PurePhase and a return visit from the Very Reverend Deacon Martin , finishing off his highly enertertaining ‘economics lecture, from March’s edition of Sonic Asylum.  Sonic sanctuary to heal your troubled souls, there’ll be the usual extra special sonic healing fun, surprises and cake!  Featured flyer artist this time is James Dawson;

Lastly for now, and of course not leastly, from the 16th-18th September, Espirito Brum is coming to Digbeth and the Edge! There’ll be a whole host of performances, events and happenings over the festival period and we are very pleased to be helping to make this first UK edition of the festival the success it deserves to be.  Props to Tessa Burwood and Soesen Edan for having the cojones to put this whole festival together against the odds – Friction salute you!  We hope you’ll make it to some of the events, either here at the Edge, or at one of the other events at PST, the Spotted Dog, or one of the other festival venues.  We’ll be putting more info here as the final programme is confirmed, but in the meantime go over to the Espirito Brum website, for a lineup of acts, venue information and more!

 The guys have also put up a little ‘teaser’ trailer here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS63iWltsWI

And, as for the title of this post?  Well, the great stuff we’ve got going on here is all value, one way or another.  But the title was our one-word summation of the ‘troubles’ we’ve been seeing on our streets over the last couple of weeks, it’s all, fundamentally about values. Everybody’s values, not just the kids who kicked off, the politicians, the police, you, me – we need to have a good, long look at ourselves and make a decision.  Is this the world we want to live in?  If not, then is it not our responsibility to make it so?  Maybe this is the unspecified thing that Nike urge us, and young people, to ‘just do’?  Let’s give it a go…

We’re very excited and honoured to be helping on Espirito Brum this September.  Our Sonic Asylum collaborators, Soesen Edan and Tessa Burwood have been working incredibly hard to organise the festival, which will bring dozens of Brazilian musicians, performers and artists to Digbeth from 14th-18th September.  Espirito Brum is part of Espirito Mundo, which already has cross-cultural partnerships between Brazil, Spain and France, this is the first time it’s happened in the UK.

In the lead up the the festival, there’s already been visits by four Brazilian artists, and local street artist Newso has had work exhibited in Brazil.  After this year’s festival in Birmingham, a contingent of Birmingham musicians and artists will be part of a reciprocal festival in Brazil. This seems to be the beginning of a great potential relationship between our city and colleagues in Espirito Santo, a we are very pleased to be part of it.

So, keep checking out the festival website for details of concerts, workshops, performances and events, as information becomes available.  We’re holding a number of events here at the Edge, and planning some performances ourselves, so, see you at the festival!

Well, we believe that things can get better in the long run, and that art is our favourite way of bringing people together, and offering them a catalyst to look at things differently, to create the conditions for that better world. It’s a way of creating a space to create a different kind of sense of the world, a questioning, perspective-shifting approach to building a reality.  That sounded almost arty, I apologise, my, as they say, bad.

So all the stuff we do is working to that goal, hopefully each thing we do makes things just a little bit better and helps things head in the right direction.  And is fun, preferably.

We’re sort of evolutionary revolutionaries.

Viva la evolution!