ART
Textiles | Graffiti Wall | Bear Thrones
Credit: Dharmendra Patel
GIANT COMMUNITY BLANKET
People all over Bearwood and Smethwick have been joining textile artist Emma Blundell to make textile panels reflecting how they feel about living in Bearwood, what it means to them and what they see as the best aspects of the area. Come and eat your picnic on Bearwood's giant picnic blanket in THE COMMON!
GRAFFITI WALL
Do you remember the art wall at the 2017 street festival? Over 700 people added their little bit of flair with paints and pens. Well, we're doing it again thanks to Werewolf Workshop. Make your 'mark' at THE CLOCK CROSSING.
THE BEAR THRONES
We Are Bearwood have commissioned Infamous Community Arts to create three Giant thrones which will be placed in Bearwood Road (High Street), The Clock and The Common picnic area. Each Throne has been designed collaboratively with local people & will be accompanied by Story Tellers and a Puppeteer. Festival Goers you are invited to accept The three ‘Bearwood Thrones’ ARTS QUEST...and also to grab an excellent SELFIE and tag us in here @WeAreBearwood or Twitter @WeAreBearwood. We cant wait to see all your pics!
THEATRE
Spectra | Disco Tea Party
ADAM CARVER'S DISCO TEA PARTY
The Disco Afternoon Tea was a highly interactive community building performance mixing the traditional afternoon tea with the glitz and high camp fun of the disco (think french fancies but with sequins). Audience members were invited to sit at one long, golden dressed, communal table and enjoy an afternoon tea like no other.
SPECTRA
Spectra’s ‘All Roads Lead to Bearwood’ was an interactive, playful performance with original music, movement and stories inspired by interviews with the local community. Festival Goers joined in games, enjoyed performances across five festival sites and collected stickers from each location to solve the secret word of the day: BELONG!
1.45pm-3.15pm
Four simultaneous performances:
St. Mary’s Church Yard (St. Mary’s Road) - High Street shoppers completed their towering balancing act and were rewarded with a song.
Bearwood Primary School Playground - Skiving students, skateboards, fish and chips and an obstacle course - it’s a typical day at school!
Forest School in Calthorpe Haven - A celebration of Bearwood’s beautiful parks. An adventure of woodland exploration and unusual surprises.
Bearwood Chapel - Welcome to our Sanctuary, where all were warmly welcomed for craft and a sensory story about the famous Bearwood Hole!
4.45pm-5.15pm FINALE
The Common (behind TC Hayes Car Park) - The all-singing, all-dancing finale of Spectra’s ‘All Roads Lead to Bearwood.’
MUSIC
Otherwood Stage | Clock Crossing | The Common
OTHERWOOD STAGE
The Otherwood festival area featured the main stage on the Bearwood Road right by the Bear Tavern. This celebrated Birmingham and Sandwell's most successful Musical Exports. Birmingham's 'Lady Sanity', a regular on BBC 6Music and three gigs at Glastonbury Festival, showcased why she was chosen to perform for a billion TV viewers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, Indie Pop Band 'Open Arms' also of BBC Introducing and BBC 6Music fame headlined, Friendly Fire Band (photo featured) Birmingham UK's premier live reggae and dancehall outfit raised the roof, Punch The Sky Birmingham based World-Rock Party Band, Pagan SOH and A Choir With No Name completed this incredible line up! . Click here to explore the entire OTHERWOOD STAGE Line up in YouTube Vids!: “If you’re in a bad mood prepare to be lifted out of it” – Jack Parker, BBC Introducing .
THE CLOCK CROSSING
The Clock Stage was our brand new festival site - the Clock Crossing at the Hagley Road and Bearwood Road crossroads. This stage Show Cased the immense talent from Bearwood and the surrounding neighbourhoods. This year it was headlined by the resident artists at the Bearwood Corks Club Jazz night, created by dearly missed, MBE Andy Hamilton: Blue Notes and featured a last minute step in by 10 Guitars to replace our poorly Bearwood based musical legend Number 57 .
THE COMMON - SPOKEN WORD & ACOUSTIC STAGE
At The Common, another brand new edition to the festival, we had an acoustic stage - a mixture of Spoken Word performances curated by local born writer, international performance poet, as Seen on Goal Coast Commonwealth Closing Ceremony 2018, Amerah Saleh. Featuring moving, funny, inspiring and intimate Spoken Word performances like Davanté Dunkley: ''We are born looking like our parents, but we die looking like our decisions" -and acoustic acts by artist across the west midlands. Think chill-out picnic area and you'll get the vibe. Click here to explore Spoken Word Artist vids.
Click here to see the line up for all three stages and the Festival Map.