Second social media event to be led by street art experts, City of Colours.
Birmingham’s urban art heritage – featuring locations such as the creative quarter in Digbeth – will be showcased during the city’s second Instameet next week.
Taking place on Saturday 11th April, local creative talent and social media experts will be gathering for a tour around the city, where they will be taking photos of Birmingham and uploading them onto photo-sharing site Instagram. The event has been arranged by Visit Birmingham – the city’s official leisure tourism programme – street art specialists City of Colours and the Ikon Gallery.
The social media event has stemmed from the success of the city’s inaugural official Instameet, which took place in January. Led by local photographer Tim Cornbill, the event saw some of Birmingham’s most prominent landmarks trending on Instagram, with some 700 images uploaded for the event. It will be part of a series of Instameets taking place in Birmingham throughout 2015.
Emma Gray, Director of Marketing Services at Visit Birmingham, said: “The great success of Visit Birmingham’s first Instameet has paved the way for many more in 2015. Birmingham’s unique landscape embodies a rich artistic and cultural history, and we’re looking forward to the local creative community uniting once again to highlight everything we love about the city.
“From the 50th anniversary of the Ikon Gallery to The Big Hoot – the biggest ever public art event in the city – we’re in the midst of a landmark year for Birmingham’s cultural scene. Visit Birmingham’s Instameets aim to shed light on our vibrant city to potential visitors worldwide.”
Next week’s Instameet – which is adopting the hashtag #BrumMeetApril11 – will be led by Birmingham-based street art experts from the City of Colours, a community interest arts company that is pioneering the region’s first street art festival.
Taking place on 12-13 September, the City of Colours festival will focus on Birmingham’s creative Digbeth quarter, and aims to increase the public’s awareness and appreciation for the city’s emerging street art scene and world-renowned, diverse artistic talent. Bringing together over 100 street artists, it will transform Digbeth into one of the largest outdoor art galleries in the UK. Live painting, music, dance acts, and workshops will be taking place throughout the weekend, with street food on offer from an array of food stalls.
Becci Wright, co-founder of City of Colours, added: “We’re really excited to join forces with Visit Birmingham to shine a spotlight on some of the most gifted and talented artists from not just the city, but from across Europe. The streets of Birmingham are surrounded by inspiring works of art, and this Instameet provides an ideal platform to showcase its growing urban art scene to the world.
“As we gear up for the City of Colours festival later this year, we hope the images produced at the event will inspire people – from those visiting the city, to local artists – to get involved and join us in what is set to be a wonderful community event, brimming with passion and creativity”.
A collection of the images produced throughout the #BrumMeetAprill11 Instameet will also be showcased on 27-29 November at the internationally acclaimed Ikon Gallery, in a first-of-its-kind pop-up exhibition.
For further information about #BrumMeetApril11 and other upcoming Instameets in Birmingham, visit the Visit Birmingham Instagram page @Visit_Birmingham.