Unique social media event to highlight exclusive city locations.
More than 100 members of Birmingham’s creative community are joining forces with architectural project Hidden Spaces and tourism programme Visit Birmingham to showcase the city’s most unique spaces on social media.
Taking place on Saturday 6th June, the Instameet event will host some of the city’s leading creative talent – and members of the public are also invited to join in and help get Birmingham trending. Participants will take images of the city’s most unique, culturally and historically significant locations and upload them to photo-sharing site Instagram during the scavenger hunt-style event. A new side to the city will be explored, with areas such as the old Municipal Bank and the Hall of Memory captured and shared to potential visitors worldwide.
The event will support the hashtag #BrumMeetJune6 and will be led by members of Hidden Spaces – a Birmingham-based project run by Associated Architects with the Royal Institute of British Architects. Hidden Spaces aim to share the secrets hidden behind the facades of Birmingham, educating people on its rich and diverse architectural heritage.
Emma Gray, Director of Marketing and Communications at Visit Birmingham, said: “Interest around Birmingham is at an all time high – the city attracted a record 944,000 international visitors last year and we’re expecting even greater numbers in 2015. There has never been such a strong appetite to discover and learn about Birmingham, and social media is a crucial way of engaging millions of potential visitors worldwide; providing them with genuine insight into what we can offer them.
“The city is renowned for its tourist attractions, range of retail outlets and eclectic food scene. This Instameet aims to show a slightly different side to the city, highlighting exclusive areas instrumental to its industrial and cultural development. The streets of Birmingham boast stunning architecture and, with Hidden Spaces leading the way, participants can explore the stories behind the city’s unsung gems.”
Steve Townsend, co-creator of Birmingham’s Hidden Spaces and an architect at Associated Architects, added: “The Visit Birmingham Instameet will form part of Hidden Spaces’ busy programme of events for 2015. Our aim is to reconnect Birmingham’s residents and visitors with the city’s rich heritage and encourage people to shout about the tangible links to history you can still see here. It is exciting to join those passionate about Birmingham to document these incredible spaces – and see the overwhelming interest surrounding this event and sense of civic pride clearly evident in the city.”
The event will form part of a series of Instameets taking place in Birmingham throughout 2015. The events aim to provide a platform for amateur photographers to raise their profile, with a collection of the images produced throughout the Instameets showcased from 27-29 November at the internationally acclaimed Ikon Gallery, in a first-of-its-kind pop-up exhibition. The #BrumMeetJune6 Instameet is free to attend and more information can be found on the Visit Birmingham Instagram page: @Visit_Birmingham.