Birmingham creative festival unveiled ahead of Commonwealth Games
Organisers have announced the first details of the Birmingham 2022 Festival – a six-month celebration which will spotlight creativity and culture in the West Midlands.
It is to run from March to September 2022 as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The festival will feature hundreds of creative commissions across the region including art, photography, dance, theatre and digital art.
Members of the public are urged to register at birmingham2022.com/festival to be amongst the first to discover the full programme when it is unveiled in January. Those who sign up will also receive more information in the coming months about further opportunities to be involved in the festival.
The Birmingham 2022 Festival will open with Wondrous Stories, a spectacular large-scale production by world renowned and Leamington Spa based dance-circus company, Motionhouse. Wondrous Stories will be created and directed by Kevin Finnan, artistic director of Motionhouse, who was choreographer and movement director of the London 2012 Paralympic Games ceremonies.
Wondrous Stories will transform Birmingham’s Centenary Square and feature a giant aerial spectacle with a flying book and a colossal globe alongside innovative digital projections. Motionhouse’s professional dancers will be accompanied by local choirs and a community cast of more than 300 from the Birmingham 2022 Festival Critical Mass participation project.
There will be seven performances of Wondrous Stories from March 17 to 20 with expected combined audiences of over 80,000 people both in person and watching via a live stream.
Martin Green, chief creative officer at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, said; “Today, we are thrilled to officially announce the Birmingham 2022 Festival, shining a spotlight on the incredible creativity in the West Midlands. This spectacular festival will feature over 300 brand-new creative works, providing essential funding direct to artists and thousands of participatory moments for audiences with art, dance, theatre on their doorstep. I couldn’t think of a better way to begin than with Motionhouse’s awe-inspiring spectacle which will be free for everyone to enjoy.”
Other highlights of the Birmingham 2022 Festival include Generations by Julian Germain, a large-scale photographic portraiture exhibition that will appear in public settings across the region.
Birmingham’s Flatpack Festival will present Wonderland, a unique heritage project telling the film-going story of Birmingham.
Digbeth-based Eastside Projects will explore Birmingham’s positions, affinities and complicities within the Commonwealth by working with four international artists from Toronto and Johannesburg to create a series of new site-specific projects across the city.
The Birmingham 2022 Festival has begun work on a number of projects including Critical Mass in partnership with DanceXchange which is currently recruiting over 300 young people aged 16-30. Participants will perform in some of 2022’s biggest cultural events including the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies thanks to funding from Spirit of 2012.
Creative City Grants will provide up to 150 community groups across Birmingham with grants of up to £20,000 to deliver creative projects that impact positively on their community.
