Looking Out From The CCCS

Vivid Projects presents a snapshot into four decades of alternative Birmingham culture. Join us for this month-long season of exhibition, provocations and events investigating the impact of University of Birmingham’s Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS).

Founded by Richard Hoggart in 1964 and later directed by Stuart Hall, the Centre broke down barriers between staff and students and made ‘pop’ culture – pop music, television programmes, fashions – critical.

Looking Out From The CCCS makes connections between 70s Birmingham culture and the present day, by way of alternative publications and community action print, film workshops and style magazines, and contemporary artists working with social media and data.

The exhibition runs 06 – 28 June, open Thursday – Saturday, 12-5pm.
Admission is free.

EVENTS PROGRAMME

A series of weekly events will critically engage with the exhibition and explore the key themes in a contemporary context. Artists, writers, social networkers, cultural provocateurs, new young feminists, archivists and more will be unpicking the astonishing cultural legacy of the CCCS.

THURSDAY 12 JUNE | 7.30PM | THE VICTORIA, JOHN BRIGHT ST
DISCUSSION: HOW POPULAR IS POP MUSIC?

Pop music has lost its power over the hearts and minds of the young. Chart hits have lost their era-defining quality. Everything from the collapse of NME sales to the rise of the reunion tour seems to indicate that British pop music has lost its way. Is it simply that we have exhausted the possibilities of the three-minute record and the thematically-unified album, or is there a broader malaise?

Join Neil Davenport (music writer and teacher), Adam Regan (Hare & Hounds) and Stasys Slauteris (Birmingham Academy of Music and Sound) as they discuss whether pop music has lost its power. Convened by the Birmingham Salon.

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THURSDAY 19 JUNE | 6.30PM | VIVID PROJECTS
SCREENING: BIRMINGHAM FILM AND VIDEO WORKSHOP

A selection of rarely seen works from Birmingham’s cultural history, collectively produced by the Birmingham Film and Video Workshop (BFVW). Selected by Professor Roger Shannon.
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FRIDAY 20 JUNE | 7PM | THE DRUM
DISCUSSION: CITIZENSHIP, DEMOCRACY AND ACTIVISM

In memory of Professor Stuart Hall, The Drum hosts a discussion on citizenship, democracy and activism. Chaired by Professor Gurminder Bhambra, University of Warwick, the panel includes Professor Danielle Allen, Princeton, Professor John Holmwood, Discover Society and Dr Paul Warmington, University of Birmingham.

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SATURDAY 21 JUNE | 1-6PM | VIVID PROJECTS
SALON: FILM/FEMINISM/IDENTITY/ACTIVISM

Join Vivid Projects for an afternoon of informal illustrated discussions exploring the key themes of the exhibition and the CCCS legacy.

1PM: THE FEMAIL PROJECT

In 2013 artist/curator Emma Leppington curated hundred of images submitted by feminist artists worldwide in a quest to present a single collective image of ‘feminism’. What does feminism mean to you?

Convened by Emma Leppington & Mo White plus further contributors to be confirmed.

2.30PM: BIRMINGHAM BROADSIDE

A round table discussion looking at the aesthetics, politics and methods of grassroots media from 1970s to the present day. Convened by Brian Homer, Sarah Silverwood and Keith Dodds.

4PM: WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO IS MAKE POPULAR POLITICS:
THE BIRMINGHAM FILM AND VIDEO WORKSHOP

The BFVW was a pioneering collective co-ordinated by CCCS post-graduate Roger Shannon and included members Jonnie Turpie, Alan Lovell and Heather Powell. This illustrated discussion situates the work of the BFVW in the socio-political context of the 1970s and 80s, the UK workshop movement and its relationship with the establishment of Channel Four Television. Convened by Roger Shannon, Professor of Film and Television at Edge Hill University and Paul Long, Professor of Media and Cultural History at Birmingham City University.

Admission free, booking recommended. Reserve a place here.

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THURSDAY 26 JUNE | 7PM | VIVID PROJECTS
EVENT: SHOOP SHOOP – AN EVENING WITH DICK HEBDIGE AND MIKE HORSEMAN

We are delighted to welcome Dick Hebdige for a talk on subculture in the 70s. Hebdige is renowned for his book Subculture: the meaning of style which remains one of the seminal studies of post-war British youth culture. For this event, he is joined by photographer and legendary DJ Mike Horseman who ran the Shoop at the Golden Eagle.

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SATURDAY 28 JUNE | 2PM | VIVID PROJECTS
WORKSHOP: FEAR OF BLACK SPACE

In the making of Fear of Black Space, Ian Sergeant and Black Sauce Collective ask a series of questions using the establishment and abandonment of the Muhammad Ali Centre, Hockley, Birmingham as a motif. What did the building represents to the local community? Why does the space still cause anguish within the “black” community? How do you as an artist, your project, venue or organisation contribute to shaping the identity of a community, neighbourhood or the city?

Join Black Sauce (Ian Sergeant, Bobbie, Gardner and Faisal Hussain), Josephine Reichert (Ort Gallery), Yinka Danmole (The Loft) and others to share your experience of how your arts, cultural and regeneration activities are helping to transform the image of the city of Birmingham