World premiere of Water Bots set to take over the region’s canals.
Audiences are in for a dazzling spectacle this October as immersive arts organisation BOM (Birmingham Open Media) unleashes the Water Bots, a mesmerising fleet of illuminated swimming sculptures, across the canals of Birmingham and the Black Country. This groundbreaking project is a fusion of cutting-edge art, engineering technology, inspired by the region’s industrial heritage and created by Australian artist Michael Candy.
The Water Bots are a dynamic trio of robotic sculptures which audiences can interact with. They will playfully navigate the region’s historic waterways in a series of unforgettable public events. Catch their debut during Birmingham Tech Week on Frontiers Day, October 22nd, and witness their magic as part of a weekend of exhilarating creative arts and engineering activities at Warren Hall’s Nature Reserve on October 25th and 26th. Get ready to be amazed!
Made possible by funding from Arts Council England, the Royal Academy of Engineering and West Midlands Combined Authority, Louise Latter, Head of Programme at BOM said “We can’t wait to showcase the trio of beautiful, and unique, Water Bots that Michael Candy has created – they will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen on the canal network. Inspired by Birmingham and the Black Country’s contribution to the Industrial Revolution, the Water Bots will create a magical experience along the canals. Who knows, maybe we can inspire the next generation of creative engineers! We hope to see you at one of our Water Bot events.”
The sculptures have been designed and built in Michael Candy’s New York Studio and as dusk falls will create an extraordinary experience along the canals, celebrating Birmingham and the Black Country’s industrial heritage.
Michael Candy, Water Bots artist said: “Water Bots are living sculptures, part machine and part artwork, drifting through Birmingham’s canals as a reimagining of the city’s industrial past. My practice brings together engineering and storytelling to produce encounters that feel both familiar yet anomalous. With Water Bots I want to animate the waterways as more than industrial relics, transforming them into a stage where new mythologies and strange futures can take shape.”
The Water Bots will premiere on Frontiers Day, Wednesday 22nd October, as part of Birmingham Tech Week. Expect a water, movement and light performance from 5pm – 6pm on the canal outside the ICC, Brindleyplace.
Over the weekend of 25th and 26th October BOM is inviting budding engineers and creatives to two days of workshops and performances from the Water Bots at Bumble Hole, Warren’s Hall Nature Reserve, Dudley from 11am-5pm. Expect art and engineering workshops, all free.
