The spirit of Independence Day will be alive and well on Friday night in Digbeth – when its thriving independent sector hosts its latest monthly party.
Digbeth First Friday was launched in May by a group of Digbeth-based arts organisations to create a critical mass of events with a theme of variety, mystery and quality.
This year’s first summer dates will be an opportunity to showcase everything from exhibitions to screenings, live music, street food and more.
This month’s third event includes:
* An evening of summer fun with craft beer, whisky, summer punch, BBQ food and live acoustic music from 5-11pm at The Bond.
* Chalk and pastel artist Oliver Jones is showing his Love The Skin You’re In Collection before it goes to LA in September and October. His studio at A3, 2 Bowyer Street, Digbeth, will be open from 6-8pm.
* A3 Projects presents Record Player Orchestra and Sellotape Cinema at Vivid Projects. Experiment with playing a record player as a musical instrument and create kaleidoscopic visuals with electric and mechanical devices made by Sellotape Cinema. The drop-in workshop runs from 6pm followed by a live performance at 8pm.
* Grand Union’s annual Open Studios offers visitors the chance to peek behind the scenes to view current artist projects. Its gallery doors will stay open until 8pm, offering another opportunity to see A Diffuse Citizen by Holly Antrum.
* Eastside Projects opens late with two new exhibitions: Only a Free Individual Can Create a Free Society by Grace Schwindt and Pleasure, Devotion, Balance presented by Mexico in the second gallery (6-8pm).
* Stryx presents a group exhibition featuring 11 Midlands-based artists who were born outside of the UK. Their work explores themes of language, identity, culture and origin (6- 9pm).
* There will be a 50th anniversary screening of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove (PG) on The Giant Screen at Millennium Point (7.30-9.15pm).
* Flatpack Film Festival converts Edible Eastside’s canalside garden into an al fresco cinema, serving hot dogs and beer during a screening of Alex Cox’s 1980s’ LA punk sci-fi classic Repo Man (18) 8.30-11.30pm.
* Friction Arts presents a selection of side-splitting short films by Brummies, about Brum, with performance interludes from Friction’s Fabarray Crew at The Edge as part of the two-day international short film festival, Over The Fence (6.30-9.30pm).
* The Cobalt Blue Contemporary Arts presents United States of Art – an exhibition of visual, performance & installation art at The Lakeside Gallery, Custard Factory.
