Culture and Identity - The Role of Place in Shaping the Arts

Typed as the talk happened, so excuse the lack of context.

Chair: Robert Yates
Speakers: Sam Jacob - FAT, architecture and design
Catherine O’Flynn - author
James Yarker - Stan’s Cafe

Three speeches from panel, then questions from chair, then q&a from audience.

Catherine

Perception of Birmingham - used to be rubbish, now it’s cool.

Didn’t hate old, don’t love new one.

Birmingham is sedimentary.

Living in Brum - perpetual state of nostalgia.

No apparent unifying aesthetic

Beneath this, artists.

Ability to find beauty in forgotten and overlooked places.

Certain DIY aesthetic

Pram, Broadcast, Stan’s Cafe, 7inch

There is thriving artistic scene. Debate is what extent this is identifiable, and what extend it should be.

James Yarker

Theatre company is an excuse. Tour across world but all made in Brum. Born out of and bound up in it.

21 when moved here. Felt real. Where people made thing. Honest. Alien.

Outsiders perception. Modest city. Doesn’t like arrogant or pretentious. So not fashionable. Self contained city - self contentment.

Great art is made here but no need to shout about it. Engrained sense of modesty so engrained attempts to show off miss mark.

Birmingham has no edge. Stan’s Cafe succeed not because of local apetite but because of opportunity to use.

City has voice, just have to listen for it. Choses not to shout at you.

Sam Jacob

Asked, “can you make this into a place”. Odd question.

Birmingham different to Manc and Liverpool. More similar to Rotterdam.

Developers not interested in poetry

How to build coherent narrative? How to go forward.

Best example - Will Allsop. Bizarre masterplans.

Not really designed - more a springboard. Unlocks potential.

Architects not best to unlock potential and draw narratives. Maybe artists?

Questions from Robert.

Catherine:
Examples of forgotten corners? Car park in Bull Ring empty for 20 years. Roundabout at Aston Uni / Fire Station.
Not good for marketeers. Not interested in marketing but not happy with external perception. Lack of identity gives artists more leeway.

James:
“Forward”, not “attack” or “go for it!”
We’re ambivalent about 2nd city, Manchester desperate for it.
Would prefer city to be less contented - want to be challenged a bit more. Would be nice to be bothered.
You do the thing, others do the boasting for you.
Is Birmingham too big? Weird as often feels too small.

Sam:
Why need narrative? Things that are left over become colonized and become desirable. About identity.
Thinks Bham has strong identity.
Examples of cities that shape a good story? Manchester has a story as a method of kickstarting regeneration. Urban Splash marketing spiel starts with Sex Pistols. Youth Culture, etc. But regeneration is a dead end to the story. Need open ended story, which Birmingham has. Always reinventing. Old and new put together with total disregard for history - incredibly refreshing. Doesn’t do wiping slate clean. Have overlapping of histories.

Open to floor:

Floor: Human narrative. Not monumental but important.
Sam: Once you start articulating it then you can build around it. (Blogging?)

Lara Rantaraja: Cultural diversity. Ethic split in talking about city. See Birmingham as city of ghettos. No common identity.
Sam: Worries about bringing people together. Optimistic view is that just happens. Has to evolve. (Again, blogging the story?)
Catherine: Events at MAC, sometimes tokenistic but sometimes really worked.

Floor: Disagree with ghetto. People who live in “ghettos” don’t talk like that. They call themselves Brummies. People do get on when left alone. More an economic issue.

Floor: Is shopping and bars Culture? Lot of arts project that should have carried on. Powers that Be lack vision and guts. Symphony Hall looks like shopping centre, Selfridges looks like an art gallery. PtB need to talk to those with ideas.