New artist transforming Birmingham city centre.
In:Site Festival returns to Birmingham City Centre for an eighth year this September with recent graduates transforming the outdoor space around the cathedral with unusual craft ‘interventions’. In:Site, a festival of graduate creativity, organised by Birmingham based arts charity Craftspace, takes place in Cathedral Square from the 3rd–7th September. It is free for everyone to watch and take part.
The Cathedral Square is a major city thoroughfare and meeting point with as many as twenty thousand people passing through and spending time in the public space each day. Over five days selected graduates make bespoke artworks in situ responding to the space, architecture, people and heritage. Some are created with the participation and engagement of the passing public.
The festival aims to showcase new graduate talent and develop emerging craft businesses. It provides graduates with a paid early career commission and profile for their CV. Benefits include being able to: enhance skills, test the viability of ideas, respond to a public art brief and a specific site and engage with the public at first hand. It also presents contemporary craft for all to encounter and experience in an unconventional public setting.
At this year’s festival visitors can see and take part in creative activities including a pop-up community garden made from clay, weaving on a loom, pewter casting, cyanotype printing, terazzo making, clay modelling and spinning wool. With different artists working each day, at the end of the week visitors can expect to see the space adorned with new art works.
The festival is supported by Birmingham Cathedral.
Find out more at insitefestival.craftspace.co.uk and @tweetcraftspace #InSite18.