Events

Friction Arts

Reality Estate

Sunday 28th October 2007 - 5pm – 9pm

Venue: Five Ways Estate, Auchinleck Square, Birmingham. Tickets are free but will require pre-booking for time slots, which are 20 mins at a time.

Box Office: 0121-772-6160

BIRMINGHAM RESIDENTS FIND THEIR VOICE TO SING THE CITY’S TRUTHS

This October, Five Ways Estate in Birmingham city centre will be transformed into a venue of mystery and magic as a result of an innovative performance arts piece intriguing residents to sing their city’s truths.

REALITY ESTATE is an ambitious project developed by leading participatory arts company, Friction Arts, alongside a roster of internationally renowned artists and the people of Ladywood.

Culminating in a series of live performances on 28 October 2007, the project will communicate the realities and stories of life in Five Ways Estate and its surrounding area of intense development against a backdrop of spectacular projections and lighting.

A unique score for the event will be created by Dutch artist and composer, Merlijn Twaalfhoven, drawing inspiration from a diverse range of musical traditions. Twaalfhoven is renowned for his large scale participatory projects, often working with divided communities.

Pioneering digital and video artist, George Saxon, will create a stunning visual backdrop to the performances through projected video artworks created to work in synchrony with the local architectural skyline.

Mark Storor, artist and director will work with local residents to create performance based work to link the journeys of the audience and the choirs.

REALITY ESTATE has emerged from more than eighteen months of artistic participation and collaboration with communities in Ladywood, to create a truly representative picture of life in one of Birmingham City Centre’s most under-resourced areas.
The development of REALITY ESTATE is being documented by the project team and local participants via an innovative online channel, www.realityestatetv.co.uk

The site includes video diaries and a blog for residents to communicate their experiences leading up to the live performances in October.