The University of Birmingham is set to host its first Arts & Science Festival to showcase the wealth of ideas, research and collaboration across its campus.
Running from Monday 18 to Sunday 24 March 2013 at various venues across the University’s Edgbaston and Selly Oak campuses, the festival is open to enthusiastic and curious minds from the University and the general public
There will be something for everyone including collaborations with regional partners including eclectic annual festival production, Flatpack, who celebrate the opening weekend of their annual film festival with a family-friendly screening of The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) complete with live score at the Bramall Music Building.
Vivid Projects, in association with local curator Antonio Roberts and The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, will also present Dirty New Media, a day of performances and interactive installations from digital artists, hackivists and new media explorers from the West Midlands and beyond.
Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Cultural Engagement, Ian Grosvenor explains the importance of making University research accessible to the wider public: “Our desire to share the wealth of knowledge at the University has led to the our first Arts and Science Festival, a public programme of exhibitions, talks, performances, workshops and screenings which celebrates the University’s identity and makes available the first class research generated by one of the UKs leading higher education institutions.”
Highlights from the festival include:
Connections: Communication in Ancient Egypt (Talk & Exhibition)
Monday 18 March, 1 – 3pm at the Orchard Learning & Resource Centre, Selly Oak campus
This groundbreaking exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts investigates ancient methods of communication. This brief introduction and open exhibition allows the audience to get up close and personal to the objects and ask the experts about how ancient Egyptians communicated.
10×10 Solo! (Performance)
Tuesday 19 March, 7-10pm at George Cadbury Hall, Selly Oak Campus
Students from the University of Birmingham Masters Playwriting course present ten new plays – yes ten! What’s more, you can see them all on one night. 10×10 is a brand new show which comprises ten, ten minute plays, by ten new playwrights. Featuring writers from UK, Ireland and the US, and performed by a professional company assembled especially for the event, 10×10 is a new take on the (second) oldest journey.
Booking required. Please email [email protected] to reserve a place.
A leg to stand on: Prosthetics, Art and Robots (Talk)
Monday 18 March, 6-7pm at Learning Centre, LG14, Edgbaston campus
Join Dr Camilla Smith (Art History) Dr Nick Hawes (Computer Science) as they explore the shifting constellation of relationships between bodies, technologies and subjectivities. This session looks at ways in which Western visual culture such as, photographs, advertising and art have engaged with disability, in particular prosthesis and how this culture at once both challenges and reasserts the ideal body image.
Free admission, booking required. Please email [email protected] with ‘Robots’ in the subject line to reserve a place.
Clipper Erikson (piano) and Laurie Altman (composer) (Concert) Wednesday 20 March, 7.30-9.30pm at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Edgbaston campus
The American pianist Clipper Erickson, who is known for his passionate and colourful playing, presents an all-American programme reflecting his fascination with the music of his homeland and his commitment to working with contemporary composers. Composer Laurie Altman gives a pre-concert talk at 6.30 pm.
Tickets cost £12 (£9 concession/ £6 for Friends/ £3 for students). To book a ticket please call the Barber Box Office on 0121 414 7333.
Victorian Magic Lantern Show (Screening) Thursday 21 March, 12-1pm at Winterbourne House & Garden
An experience to travel back in time to the 1890s, with exciting images of volcanoes, glaciers and earthquakes shown alongside coloured moving images from the period. Experience how students studied in the Victorian age in this Magic Lantern show.
Free admission, booking essential, please email [email protected] to reserve a place.
Full programme available at www.birmingham.ac.uk/artsandsciencefestival
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