In:Site Festival returns to Birmingham City Centre for a seventh year this September with recent graduates transforming the outdoor space around the cathedral with unusual craft ‘interventions’ . In:Site, a festival of graduate creativity, organised by Birmingham based arts charity Craftspace, takes place in Cathedral Square from the 4th – 8th September.
The public can get involved with the making of some of the artworks using different techniques; embroidery, casting in concrete, enamelling, manipulating wire and spinning wool. With different artists working each day, at the end of the week visitors can expect to see the space adorned with twelve new art works including a Camera Obscura, a crocheted chandelier, architectural wire sculptures and a textile tribute to historical figures buried in the graveyard echoing the shape of the Cathedral’s stained glass windows.
Craftspace Director, Deirdre Figueiredo said: “A festival of making in this public square draws attention to Birmingham’s rich heritage in a creative way, encouraging people to slow down and take time to appreciate skills and stories - strangers from all walks of life talk and make together finding surprising ways to connect in an otherwise busy world.”
In a new partnership with Jaguar Land Rover, their clay modellers will collaborate with ceramicist Sarah Christie, showing the versatility and importance of clay as a material which is used expressively by artists and as a sculpting material for design in the car industry.
Ian Callum, Jaguar Director of Design said: “Developed to create sophisticated surfaces that would otherwise be drawn by hand, clay models have been in existence in the car industry since the 1940s and remain a fundamental part of the design process. Watching the car come to life through the incredible artistic ability of our clay modellers, working together with designers, is still the favourite stage for many designers.”
The festival is supported by Birmingham Cathedral, the Edward Cadbury Trust, the Oakley Trust and Radcliffe Trust.
