Area Culture Guide – March/April edition

Check out the all-new sparkly edition of Area Culture Guide for March and April. Take a look inside for Art, Music, Comedy, Theatre and listings…

Mike Nelson: M6, @eprjcts until 9 March

With a two foot wide path around the outside of a huge six foot high concrete dais dominating the main gallery space of the Heath Mill Lane building, it’s easy to be intimidated by M6, the Mike Nelson commission, at first experience.

Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale – The RSC until 23 Feb

While The Winter’s Tale is often dubbed one of Shakespeare’s lesser known plays in comparison to the giants of Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, it is one of the most widely acted plays in modern theatre: to this end, fans of the Bard may be thinking ‘why would I want to see the play all over again?’ This is indeed something that initially cropped into director Lucy Bailey’s head when approached to direct this winter’s showing of the play at the RSC; however, as soon as she read Shakespeare’s tale of jealousy versus romance, affluence versus penuriousness, she identified links to modern society that no director has ever pinpointed in their interpretations before, and directing the play became a no-brainer.

New Art West Midlands, 15 Feb-19 May @BM_AG & @grandunionltd

On the final stroke of completing a Visual Art degree, those initial steps into the arena of artistry can present somewhat of a blank canvas! And it is this area of creative concern  that has lead to the creation of New Arts West Midlands, a competitive exhibition which will feature the innovative and engaging work of regional BA, MA and PhD Art graduates from 2010-2012.

The Bronx, Slade Rooms, 15 Feb @Wolvescivic

The Bronx exploded onto the scene a decade ago with a sound reminiscent of L.A. punk’s heyday, heavy percussion and artillery-fire guitars alongside anguished lyrics about society’s dysfunction and the perils of street life. Ten years on, the band’s sound has evolved tremendously, thanks to an act of defiance in 2006. Being asked to do an acoustic performance did not sit well with the punk rockers, and they stormed the stage donning sombreros and performing a mariachi version of their hit ‘Dirty Leaves’. What was intended to be an angry ‘two fingers up’ had an unforeseen result however, and alter ego ‘El Bronx’ took on a life of its own, offering a fresh and infectious take on the genre and winning them fans worldwide.

Valentine Gift Guide – for him

Struggling for ideas? Let us help. Just click on the image to open larger in your browser…

Valentine Gift Guide – for her

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We picked out a few things we’d LOVE to have on Valentine’s Day to give you a helping hand. Click on the image to make it bigger and for stockist info…

Timur Novikov, 13 February – 21 April @ikongallery

This week sees Ikon launch the UK’s most comprehensive collection to date of the definitive works of Russia’s arguably most evocative contemporary artist, Timur Novikov. Until the end of April, Ikon plays host to the exhibition, co-curated by his step-daughter, mapping not only Novikov’s progressive career and artistic vision from the 1980s right through to his final works in the Noughties, but also tracing him and his contemporaries’ political and artistic ideologies, alongside visible representations of his decline in health.

Love Stirchley More, 14-16 February @PlaceProspector

The South Birmingham suburb of Stirchley has been quietly undergoing something of a cultural revolution over the past few years, thanks to a group of creative and proactive residents with a passion for presenting films in locations like pubs and Balti restaurants, a successful healthy living social enterprise offering courses and produce, a monthly food and craft market as well as live performances and community workshops in and around the locale.

Black Country Legends @_the_public – 13 Feb to 6 May

Celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the Black Country The Public is bringing together a series of exhibitions to highlight the region’s unique and quirky characters. The exhibition includes the remarkable and startling images by Dudley born Turner Prize nominee, Richard Billingham whose photographs from the series ‘Ray’s A Laugh’ include the brutally honest everyday portrayal of his alcoholic father Ray (pictured) and heavily tattooed mother Liz taken in the nineties.