Fierce have sent through details of a professional development day for artists initiated by the Live Art Development Agency. It’s called DIY and it’s the seventh time it’s happened so this one is DIY7. There are six slots, it sounds like it could be fun. Details are here and the deadline is Friday 18th July.
Posts Tagged ‘Fierce’
D.I.Y. Artist Training
Friday, July 9th, 2010Upon Your Own Head
Friday, April 16th, 2010Whilst Craig and Graeme helped set up the Fierce launch @ A E Harris yesterday Simon and I spent the day in Southside Shopping Centre Wandsworth planning for Market Steps. There was some excitement in the management office as evidence had been found of the Centre staring in an old episode of Grange Hill but for me the highlight of the day was two small kids zooming around at very high speed on their micro scooters. They were genuinely impressive and when their mother caught up with them they got a proper telling off:
“When the security guard shouts at you be it upon your own head that he shouts.”
I wish I could write dialogue like that.
The New Faces of Fierce
Monday, November 9th, 2009Laura and Harun have just moved to Birmingham as the new faces of Fierce. This afternoon I introduced them to the endearing idiosyncrasies of Angels Cafe on Warstone Lane which I am slightly devoted to and they introduced me to their current thinking on what Fierce may be like under their guidance.
Obviously it’s early days and their plans are still forming, but it was exciting to hear their fresh thinking. Their outsider’s perspective helped me see bits of Birmingham’s arts scene afresh. I was pitching them the idea of doing some gigs as The Commentators in partnership and they were clearly keen to find out who’s who and what’s what around the city.
Now seems like a good time for people wanting to collaborate with Fierce to get over to their Office and introduce themselves. The slate is clean, get scribbling.
James
Welcome to the new Fierce.
Thursday, October 1st, 2009Laura McDermott and Harun Morrison made a sure-footed debut as co-directors of Fierce this evening. In the back bar downstairs at The Big Peg an impressive crowd of ‘faces’ from Birmingham, London and elsewhere were gathered for their welcoming. After Alan Rivett, Chair of the Fierce, gave a brief introduction the pair shared a short presentation in which they read what was part travelogue/part low key manifesto over a series of slides taken on an orientation trip around Birmingham.
The presentation was well judged, unusual without being flash, poetic without being self-congratulatory, modest in that they hid them behind their text, yet also open in their willingness to ‘be arty’ and put themselves on the line in that way. The crowd were behind them and appreciative. It’s a long journey for them but all seems set fair.
An interesting aspect of the evening was the number of people who were up from London. Laura and Harun have most recently been working at Battersea Arts Centre and seemed to bring a fair crowd of followers with them. The mingling of local and London talent was provocative. With the Fierce pair intending to live in Birmingham this will hopefully be a step towards a further opening of the boarders between the two cities.
It was a good evening to catch up with, and meet for the first time, many people who should be known. In particular I was pleased to meet Geraldine Pilgrim, whose former company Hesitate and Demonstrate scholars of British Physical/Visual Theatre will be familiar with by name if nothing more. She was great to talk with and so, taking a wild punt, I presumed she must know the excellent Alan Dix, who we met properly for the first time a couple of weeks ago in Montpellier. I guessed they must have been part of the Leeds Performance axis in the early 80s. Sure enough they know each other well and I’m left marvelling what must have been kicking off in Leeds around that time, knowing that ‘our very own’ Andy Watson/Walker speaks fondly of it and was inspired by that whole scene. Maybe contemporary Birmingham can emulate that same urgent vibrancy in some small way…
James
