Mandala

Large scale projection onto a historical landmark is a rare spectacle, especially outside of London. Those that include live music and dance are rarer still and a piece that is to be staged in two separate cities in the same week are unheard of.

Mandala spanned 2 cities in 7 days

So when we were approached to both manage the required resources and provide lighting, sound and stage design for such a unique opportunity - we were both honoured and thrilled.

A Mandala is a geometric configuration of symbols to establish a sacred place for meditation and worship and this piece created exactly that for an hour in both Birmingham’s Victoria Square and Nottingham’s Old Market Square on four evenings.

Music and dance were performed on a 10m stage at the foot of the building, designed and constructed specifically for the event, with the opening moments happening on the peristyles of each building. We managed technical resource, health and safety along with all the necessary site considerations such as removal of ambient light, security and build staffing for both cities.

Magic Lantern Festival

Through a process of commercial tender we were appointed to act as production managers for the inaugural Chinese Lantern festival in Birmingham. Hosted at Birmingham’s prestigious Botanical Gardens, over a period of 6 weeks we worked with Chinese artists flown in to create over 100 sculptures that were distributed around the site. Our role spanned from stakeholder negotiations, safety advisory group satisfaction, traffic management and power planning. We handed over a fully working site to the operational managers for the 3 month run that saw over a million visitors to the attraction, returning at the close of the run to manage removal and site restoration.

2 of the unique scultpures crafted on site

City Parade - Part of Birmingham Weekender

We have been part of each iteration of Birmingham Weekender in its evolution from its starting point in Arts Fest. In 2017 our role was production management, technical resource suppliers and event staffing for SAMPAD’s “City Parade”. The parade was a celebration of cultures in the form of a procession that spanned a route from one side of the City Centre to the other.

During the same weekend we supported other elements through hires and staffing including an exhibiton launch at BMAG for MBE awardee Mohammed Ali.

Working directly with the artists involved we shaped the content and route to ensure maximum exposure whilst working with the numerous stakeholders who’s land and facilities we would pass through. Our approach ensured a smooth event that was enjoyed by a capacity crowd that segued perfectly into the opening of the festival as a whole in Victoria Square.

Focus 24: 24 Hours in Tamworth

Tamworth in Motion is the outcome of a commission by Tamworth Arts and Events to crowd source footage from Tamworth residents with the brief of sharing ‘the beauty, the unusual and the norm of everyday in Tamworth. Working with a small group of local film makers, we first explored the genre of film we might make before working through the narrative curve, which for the final piece became about movement. Working collaboratively with different experiences and preferences was a challenge that the group faced admirably and quickly came together behind the more abstract and in their words ‘arty’ vision for Tamworth in Motion. The film utilises crowd sourced film submitted via Facebook alongside footage captured specifically by the group to meet their narrative. Footage selection was collaborative and delivered alongside a professional training session, with Chris of acquismedia completing the final edit on the group’s behalf.

Creative Black Country : Open House by No Fit State Circus

The Brief : 

Expand on our role as Production Manager for the previous four Sandwell Arts Festivals to include a weekend performance by No Fit State Circus. 

We have been supporting Sandwell Borough Council in Production Management of Sandwell Arts Festival since 2010. We have seen the festival through different producers, locations and timescales and enjoy the challenge of each new year. 

In 2015 Creative Black Country, set up to realise the Creative People and Places initiative, integrated their Black Country tour of 'Open House' into the festival and gave us the challenge of staging their large scale circus performance at New Square shopping centre, West Bromwich. 

We expertly navigated the complexities of staging an outdoor event in a location with many stakeholders and land owners and ensured the company were able to fully realise their ambitions for Sandwell.