Innovative players in Birmingham’s art and music scene will come together tonight  through a convergent performance by Future of Sound, convened by former Human League front man, Martyn Ware.

Future of Sound Showcases Birmingham takes place on from 7pm - 10pm tonight at the Birmingham Midland Institute. Curated by Brian Duffy and Lewis Sykes, Director of Cybersonica it will feature Dreams of Tall Buildings, Juneau Projects, Modified Toy Orchestra, The Sancho Plan, and Soweto Kinch.

Ware’s Future of Sound provides a forum for the discussion of new and convergant art forms. the Birmingham event will create an immersive experience using state-of-the-art sound technoloigy to showcase leading practioners in the region.  

 Award winning jazz alto saxophonist and rapper, Soweto Kinch, said:

“Birmingham has not always been recognised as a centre for high art or musical innovation, but the facts are quite different. Consider the number of local artists that have achieved international success; UB40, Steel Pulse and Ruby Turner are just a few.

“But most of all, it’s important for Birmingham to celebrate itself as a cultural capital. Musicians of my generation often feel that they have to flee to London to achieve artistic recognition. Convincing local residents, particularly from inner city communities, that it is possible to achieve success here is the hardest battle of all, but one that we need to win.”

For tickets or further information contact Arts Co on 020 7723 0285 or email info@arts-co.com.

Birmingham and the region’s cultural identity will be under the spotlight next week (8-10 April), as leading figures from across the UK come together to debate the state of arts and culture in the West Midlands.

Chaired by Robert Yates, Assistant Editor of The Observer, a series of events entitled The Art of Ideas will explore the role that the arts and creativity are playing in shaping the future of Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Debate will be encouraged around two panel discussions: Culture and Identity, The Role of Place in Shaping the Arts and Why Should We Care About Creativity in the West Midlands?

Guest speakers will include James Yarker, Director of critically acclaimed Birmingham theatre company Stan’s Cafe, author Catherine O’Flynn, who won the First Novel Prize at this year’s Costa Book Awards, Sam Jacob from socially engaged architecture practice FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste) and award winning jazz alto saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch whose second album A Life in the Day of B19 documented the lives of three inner-city Birmingham men.

The Art of Ideas will culminate on 10 April in a special convergent performance - Future of Sound Showcases Birmingham - convened by former Human League front man Martyn Ware and curated by, Brian Duffy and Lewis Sykes, Director of Cybersonica and featuring Dreams of Tall Buildings, Juneau Projects, Modified Toy Orchestra, The Sancho Plan, and Soweto Kinch.

Matthew Price, arts writer and editor, who will be participating in The Art of Ideas debate on 9 April, said:“ There are a huge range of artists in or from the West Midlands achieving national and international success at different stages of their careers. Together with the amount and quality of international contemporary art on display in the region today and so much happening from artist-led to major institutional levels, it would not be exaggerating to assert that a contemporary art renaissance is quietly taking place here at the moment. For the time being there seems to be little awareness beyond the region that this explosive transformation has been taking place. Now is the time for us to start making a bit more noise.”

The debates on 8 & 9 April will take place at the IMI Suite at The Birmingham Hippodrome, from 6.30pm – 8pm and the FOS showcase at the Birmingham Midland Instuture on 10 April from 7pm -10pm. For tickets or further information contact Arts Co on 020 7723 0285 or email info@arts-co.com.