If you draw, dance, paint, sing, DJ or are just unstoppably creative, the BASS Festival and mac birmingham want to hear your ideas. Help us make something new and fresh inspired by Vanley Burke’s famous picture of 1980’s Birmingham.

Since the sixties, Birmingham’s own Vanley Burke has been one of the UK’s best documenters of Black Britain. This autumn his photographs will feature in a major exhibition at mac birmingham. The BASS Festival is looking for artists of all kinds; dancers, musicians, DJs, visual artists or fashion designers to show us ideas for new work inspired by this picture. Click the link to download the guidance and application form and your idea could become real.

Vanley Burke Commission How to Apply

APPLICATION FORM

The winner of the competition will receive a payment of £2,000 to make it happen. Whatever it is you’re making must to be ready to go into mac as part of Punch’s BASS Festival, which runs from June 15 to July 1 2012.

To get more of an idea about the fesitval Click here

To mark the 50^th anniversary of Jamaican Independence and to welcome the Jamaican Olympic team to Birmingham BASS will have JAMAICA as its theme in 2012. Taking place for the seventh consecutive year, the festival will see a range of music and arts events in venues across the city. Mixing a combination of touring work, local events and commissions, we are interested in hearing ideas for events from artists and producers.

We are interested in the widest range of work based on contemporary Black culture and in previous years have presented work such as music, dance, spoken word and theatre. JAMAICA and its cultural impact in Britain will be celebrated in the widest range of events and commissions.

In past years commissions have included:

• Grime theatre show at Birmingham REP
• Photographic exhibition of Hip Hop & Soul legends
• Young Black Designers fashion show at mac
• Film screening and Q&A with graffiti legends Henry Chalfant and Goldie
• Spoken word extravaganza with Jean Binta Breeze & Kim Trusty
• The Revolution Has Been Feminized-Women performer showcase
• Hip Hop celebration day with Turbo from Sky 1’s Got to Dance

Due to popular demand commissions now have a closing date of Tuesday 31 January 2012, successful applicants will be informed Mid February 2012 (TBC).

To download the application and guidance please click on the links below for word x and word doc:

APPLICATION BASS FESTIVAL 2012 – word x

APPLICATION BASS FESTIVAL 2012

GUIDANCE BASS FESTIVAL 2012- word x

GUIDANCE BASS FESTIVAL 2012

To get a feel of past BASS festival’s here is some archive footage:

BASS 2010

BASS 2008

BASS 2007

BASS 2006

Taking place for the seventh consecutive year, the festival will see a range of music and arts events in venues across the city.  Through music, dance, spoken word and theatre JAMAICA will be explored in terms of physical movement, music as a weapon of change and celebrating the creators of radical new music and styles. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BASS 2012

In past years commissions have included:

• Grime theatre show at Birmingham REP
• Photographic exhibition of Hip Hop legends& Soul legends
• Film screening and Q&A with graffiti legends Henry Chalfant and Goldie
• Live Jazz and Hip Hop night with Jazzanova and Eska Mtungwazi
• Book launch on the history of Reggae Dj’s and sound systems with Dr Lez Henry
• Hip Hop and Poetry fusion night with Ursular Rucker and Ty
• Young Black Designers fashion show at mac
• Spoken word extravaganza with Jean Binta Breeze & Kim Trusty
• The Revolution Has Been Feminized-Women performer showcase
• Hip Hop celebration day with Turbo from Sky 1’s Got to Dance

BASS 2011 : Revolution

BASS 2010: DNA

BASS 2009: Africa

http://artsownkind.wordpress.com/

BASS 2008: MC Culture

BASS 2007: Hip Hop

BASS 2006: Urban Arts

Punch is proud to present to you the event shorts from  BASS 2011, including  The Launch featuring Ghostpoet and Sherrazi, Fashion Forward and Hip Hip Revolution brought to you by Tigerbam. We have also included the photos from our amazing Illustrate-Create project

Enjoy!

Fashion Forward was devised and produced by CHERELLE BETHUNE

PST, Lombard Street, Digbeth

advance Tickets 0844 870 0000

Saluting musicians who have revolutionised black music and provided the soundtrack to social change. The
night kicks off with a free screening of the film “The Night James Brown Saved Boston”. Laden with rare
footage and interviews, it reveals how the legendary concert shielded that city from riots after the assassination
of Martin Luther King, Jr. Traditional Caribbean food and tipples will be laid on, adding to the relaxed
vibe. Following the film, DJs, live music and visuals will take centre stage. In Room 1 DJs: Bongo Damo, Olbi
Iyah and Takeover Sound System will be playing their toughest selections, paying homage to reggae producers
and artists that revamped the sound. Live music features local musicians performing bass heavy
sounds with Prince Jamo and on stage engineering wizardry from Relative Dub’s King Beyond. Room 2 features
Down by Law’s Adil and Jahmai, Bobbalin’ Hot and Ghetto Lounge’s Koichi Sakai playing a blazing
set of afro-funk sounds mixing Soul, Jazz, Funk, Reggae, Latin and Afrobeat. A one off party not to be missed!

mac, Saturday 18 June 2011 from 3pm – 5pm, FREE

mac and Punch in partnership with Cherelle Bethune present this family friendly event showcasing the revolution in design moving forward and fast making it an innovative statement in fashion.

Devised by Cherelle Bethune the event brings together young black designers, models and performers on one runway in a unique platform for the best in contemporary urban fashion.

The day will showcase a host of designers including; C La Rouge, Nyssa, 50Fifthy and Cherelle Bethune as well as musical entertainment from TK, Beth-Shani, Sic Nis, Lyudah and special guest performances.

Here’s Fashion Forward’s producer Shirley Bethune for a taster of the event:

6pm till Late £5

Thursday 23rd June, 7pm- £4

Library Theatre, Birmingham

Third World Girl features Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze and
special guests Kimberley Trusty, Adisa and Michael
Brome aka Sureshot. Music by DJ Psykhomantus.
Jean Binta Breeze has been one of the most influential
performance poets on the scene and for this year’s
BASS Festival she will be showcasing her new poetry
collection ‘Third World Girl’ along with poems, songs
and tunes responding to a theme of revolution from
some of the finest spoken word performers on tne UK
circuit. With dazzling turntablist feats by
Psykhomantus, this is an unmissable event!
In partnership with Renaissance One and Birmingham City Council

21st June, 6pm, FREE

Access To Music, Digbeth

Dave Adams, Music and Content Relations  leads a seminar on the uses of this revolutionary digital
technology. This three hour seminar aimed at musicians, producers and spoken word artists explores the
ways SoundCloud allows us to interact and engage with audio. This will look to show the growing ecosystem
around SoundCloud’s platform, from how other platforms and developers are connecting, thus effecting
how a wider scope we engage with audio.
How digital tools and web
developers are revolutionising
how we interact and engage
with music and audio

17th June, 10pm

The Rainbow

BASS Festival joins forces with regular open decks night One and Twos for a HipHop special on the theme of Revolution.
The night is built around the skills of local Hop Hop artists Juice Aleem, E Double and DJ Miss C Brown. DJs and MCs can come down and play their own sets butfocussing on revolutionary acts in UK and
US Hip Hop such as Public Enemy, KRS One, Talib Kweli, Klashnekoff or Nasagainst a back drop of video and stills projections of hip hop greats. This is your chance to lay claim to be the next revolutionary figure in UK Hip Hop.
In partnership with ones and twos

REBEL SPIRIT

17th June, 10pm

PST, Digbeth

Hip Hop, Reggae and Techno have circled
the globe revolutionizing music wherever it
has gone. Rebel Spirit features some of the
new styles that have emerged. Direct from
Brazil MC and reggae singer Jota III plays a
live PA that spans Dancehall, Samba and
Reggaeton alongside some of Birmingham’s
finest. Sol Musik play fresh live hiphop with
a difference! and play alongside dub, reggae,
kuduro and jungle sets from Aries (Lionfire
Crew) MadMax (Whomanity Sound), Ash
Vanguard (Biscuit Tin Sound System) and
a host of Birmingham’s finest DJs TBA. This
night is a fundraiser for Espirito Brum
Festival – a Brummie/Brazilian cultural
exchange that takes place 16-18 Sep 2011
In association with Espirito Brum and
Overproof Soundsystem
espiritobrum.org

For one night only a spectacular live musical line up of the best female artists from the region. Compared by the funniest woman on the comedy circuit Annette Fagon the night features a host of talent. Singer songwriter, Unique – ever passionate about bringing the essence of live music back to the streets shares the night with Sykes and all female live hip hop outfit. Amazon Sheek and INDIGO bring a fresh brand of live Hip Hop to the stage. INDIGO a stuning vocalist who will showcase work from her new album ‘Full Circle’ a fusion of jazz, neo-soul and broken beat. Keeping the music flowing DJ Soesmix Edan of Sonic Asylum will be on the decks throughout the night and a special surprise guest!

The Spiral

ft Moqapi Selassie and Decypher

17 – 18 June at 7-30pm, £8 advance

The Drum, Potters Lane, Aston

The spiral circling inwards decays and dies,The spiral growing outwards survives and thrives! Directed by Martin Glynn, this gripping piece of spoken word theatre dramatises a life-changing meeting between an emerging grime artist from North Birmingham, and a veteran dub poet. The initial conflicts – literary and ideological – in their relationship are played out through a startling, intense poetic dialogue that will challenge and eventually change the assumptions and worldviews of both wordsmiths. Played out by Moqapi Selassie and Decypher this inspiring two-hander explores the history and legacy of Black militancy in the UK. Against a backdrop of the 1980s uprisings and a soundscape of reggae and grime, The Spiral questions the role and responsibilities of the current leadership at time of change and upheaval now facing our communities

Tickets 0121 333 2444

Harlem Gospel Choir LIVE!

Tuesday 14th June 7.30pm

Town Hall, Birmingham

Gospel music provided the back drop to much of the Civil Rights movement’s
campaign for change in 50’s and 60’s USA. Here for a welcome
return to Birmingham is one of America’s finest choirs; a testament to
the power of music to change lives and society.Direct from New York,
The Harlem Gospel Choir return to the UK after a six year absence.
Their dynamic harmonies reflect the joyous and inspirational culture of
Harlem. They theme each performance with bringing people and nations
together and giving something back.
In association with Town Hall, Birmingham
thsh.co.uk

NOW EXTENDED UNTIL THE 25th June 2011!!

Illustrate- Create

Mon 13th- Sunday 19th June (10-5pm) FREE

Sat 18th June- Children’s workshop 3-5pm

The mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham

Multimedia artist Leon Sparkes and illustrator Deborah Brogden will be resident at mac for a week  devising an installation combining sound, video, illustration and comic book imagery: the piece provides a narrative and emphasises the theme of change, in the hope of promoting creativity and creative solutions to current issues. Leon’s work has been shown in diverse locations from galleries to bus shelters. There will be a workshop for children on Saturday 18 June where participents can create new work and meet the artists

keep up to date with news from illustrate-create with twitter and facebook

Words from the artists……From sketches to real life.

“Our project is an experimental installation, using interior design, digital media and music to transform an empty space.

It is a platform for us to use our skills in painting, illustration and textiles and apply them in a 3D context.

The project will be organic and will constantly change within the week that we are residents.  We will highlight themes of games, technology, music and Art, fuse these ideas and explore them to build new ideas for creative spaces.

We want to challenge our work and push the boundaries of visual communication.  The journey we are going to undertake will challenge our comfort zones and allow us to work on new surfaces and with new mediums.  We will therefore have to adapt ourselves to new ways of working in new frameworks.  Our spatial awareness will also be challenged and our notions on spatial design will be explored.

The project will be interactive and allow viewers to engage in the work, adding to and shaping it.  This will allow people to explore their own visions and ideas.

The project is open-ended and similar to a jigsaw puzzle which needs piecing together”

EASTPAK THROWDOWN presents…

25th June 2011 at 8pm

The Public, New St

West Bromwich,West Midlands B70 7PG

THE “GET OUTTA LONDON!” TOUR: WEST MIDLANDS HEATS as part of BASS FESTIVAL 2011!

The legendary EASTPAK THROWDOWN crew have been running dance battle events in London for almost 8 years and have toured extensively around Europe too, but this summer they’re gonna GET OUTTA LONDON in a series of hip hop dance battle events in cities around the UK!

The winners of each 1on1 hip hop dance battle will win a… place in the National Finals this December at the EASTPAK THROWDOWN 8th BIRTHDAY SPECIAL in London!

Punch and 2Funky are issuing a call out to reach the finest solo Hip Hop, Street and Break Dancers. This massive Throwdown will see artists battling it out to win a £300 CASH PRIZE, accompanied by a live DJ set.

The competition will take place on Saturday 25 June, 8pm, at The Public (West Bromwich) and will be judged by a panel of professionals. Special guests for the Hip Hop revolution event include Sky One’s Got To Dance star Turbo.

To register for the competition, contact 2Funky on: 0116 299 0700 / vijay@2-funky.co.uk

Eastpak Throwdown is London’s premier underground Hip Hop event and its West Midlands debut is part of BASS Festival 2011.

The competition is the finale to the festival, and part of Hip Hop Revolution – a day celebrating Hip Hop culture, for info for the day click here

Hosted by b girl SUNSUN
Battles played by DJ D BO