Birmingham’s biggest arts festival, Birmingham Weekender (taking place this year from 22 – 24 September 2017), continues to confirm commissions and partnerships inviting audiences to look again at familiar spaces and places, experiencing the arts around every corner.
From the central hub in Victoria Square, dance, music, visual arts and opera will spill out across the city to Eastside Green at one side and to mac birmingham at the other. From music inside Selfridges to dance in the Bullring, from a symphony on the canal to an orchestra in a multi-story car park, from cabaret on trams to story-telling Drag Queens in the Bull Ring Retail Markets, the city will be transformed over three days.
Birmingham Weekender are pleased to announce the following as part of the programme, the full programme will be announced during the summer:
- Selfridges Birmingham loves to surprise, amaze and amuse customers with extraordinary experiences. It is proud to be hosting its annual Live + LOUD festival which celebrates the city’s local art and design talent, along with its contribution to the music industry, with live performances in store throughout the weekend.
- In a car park in the city centre, Town Hall Symphony Hall will take live classical music to unexpected spaces by presenting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in a secret city-centre car park on Friday and Saturday, performed by The Multi-Story Orchestra who, conducted by Christopher Stark, will make their Birmingham debut.
- Expect temporary public art commissions to spill out of buildings, over buildings and appear in some of the city’s iconic locations including the New Alexandra Theatre. Stopping festival goers in their tracks, Sky Dancers by Design in Air, renowned for their inflatable street art, will make people see the New Alexandra Theatre as they’ve never seen it before.
- On the stage at the Bullring DanceXchange will present Humanhood, contemporary dance exploring the relationship between humankind and the moon. Shoppers will be immersed in an extraordinary spectacle of dance and sound.
- Indoors at the mac birmingham join renowned dancer and choreographer Daksha Sheth for the UK premier of Sari, part of Utsav, Birmingham’s Year of South Asian Culture. Sari is a celebration of this unique Indian textile and how the Sari is in constant play with the body, both in stillness and in movement.
Festival Directors, Graham Callister (Birmingham Hippodrome) and Piali Ray (Sampad) comment:
“The Weekender programme is really taking shape, we can almost feel the spaces within the city filling up with arts and culture and already we are beginning to look again at the places that seem familiar and we look forward to Weekender audiences doing the same. There really will be something for everyone, whether you’re looking for family-friendly entertainment, classical music or cutting-edge UK premieres.”
Richard Hawley, Town Hall Symphony Hall, says:
“Town Hall Symphony Hall is delighted to once again play our part in Birmingham Weekender. As a Culture Centre member, we understand what becomes possible when the city’s arts organisations work collaboratively to place high calibre arts events in unexpected spaces with audience experience at its heart. Whether it’s outdoor firework spectaculars, or intimate theatre events, or Beethoven in a car park, or dancing all day with your family, Birmingham Weekender is an opportunity for everyone to come in to the city centre and celebrate the vibrant, bustling international city we all know and love.”
Birmingham Weekender relies on an army of volunteers to welcome visitors and audiences to the city. If you’d like to register your interest, contact us at birminghamweekender@culturecentral.com
Birmingham Weekender is brought to the city by Culture Central, the cultural development agency for Birmingham.
Birmingham Retail BID, Colmore BID, Bullring, Mailbox, Bull Ring Markets and BCU have confirmed as event sponsors alongside funding support from Birmingham City Council and Arts Council England. Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce at confirmed as Business Partner, Midland Metro are Travel Partner and What’s On are Media Partner for Birmingham Weekender 2017.
Birmingham Weekender 2017 is proud to be part of Utsav, Birmingham’s Year of South Asian Culture.
Birmingham Weekender Website: www.birminghamweekender.com
Birmingham Weekender Facebook: www.facebook.com/BhamWeekender
For more information, contact Helen Annetts, PR on behalf of Birmingham Weekender, on 07779026720 or email HelenLAnnetts@hotmail.co.uk
About Birmingham Weekender:
The award-winning Birmingham Weekender promises a packed weekend of free outdoor theatre, music, art installations and performance from Broad Street to Eastside, including the city’s retail heart. With opportunities to take part and watch as the weekend unfolds, the city’s streets, shops and squares will come alive with something to entertain and delight all the family.
About Culture Central:
Culture Central is the collective voice and development organisation for culture in the Birmingham City region. Culture Central has been created by a founding group of cultural organisations with the purpose of placing culture and creativity at the centre of economic and social future of the region. Culture Central work closely with a growing range of anchor institutions including universities and the business sector alongside an increasingly wide group of cultural and creative organisations.
Culture Central members include:
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Birmingham Hippodrome
Birmingham Museums Trust
Birmingham Opera Company
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Royal Ballet
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
DanceXchange
Ex Cathedra
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
Ikon
mac Birmingham
NEC Group
Sampad South Asian Arts
Town Hall Symphony Hall
