Credit: Secret Recipe, New Art Gallery Walsall (2009); image courtesy of the artist

Harvesting Stories: Food and STORIES

This Saturday there’ll be a host of food activities at the Library of Birmingham.

Between 12-4pm in the Book Rotunda Feng-Ru Lee will be making ‘Secret Dumplings’ and invites you to write a secret on edible paper which will then be made into delicious dumplings for you to eat.

We’re delighted to welcome National Storytelling Laureate Katrice Horsley to perform Spiced Tales of Brum (2-3pm in the Studio Theatre). This hour-long performance will weave together tales, stories and recipes collected at the ‘Harvesting Stories’ workshops that took place in community centres and libraries throughout Birmingham during summer 2013. It’s completely free, you can book in advance at www.birmingham-box.co.uk

Credit: Workshop at Birmingham Chinese Society, July 2013; image Katja Ogrin

From 12-4pm, our food-artist in residence Lizzy Bean will be erecting her Serbian cooking range on the 3^rd Floor Terrace – join her for mulled spiced apple juice and some delicious gingerbread for you to decorate (and eat).

Credit:(B)read by Lizzie Bean, Harvesting Stories, Sep 2013; image K Ogrin

To celebrate the cultural diversity of 21st century Birmingham, Harvesting Stories has been developed to bring its people and their favourite food together.

Join us this Sunday from 12-4pm in the Library of Birmingham for Harvesting Stories where members of the public are invited to bring a picnic and join in a range of family-friendly, food-related activities – feel free to spread the word.

Together with the Hippodrome we will be hosting a RED PICNIC at 1-1.30pm on 3^rd Floor terrace area, and we ‘dare’ visitors to wear red, bring red food and drink and a red picnic blanket. They will be joined by some extra special guests – the Reds – and also the wonderful Katrice Horsley ( National Storytelling Laureate ) who’ll be there with her ‘Wagon Full of Wonder Tales’!

We invite you to B:READ by food-artist in residence Lizzy Bean on the superbly appointed 3^rd Floor garden terrace at the library. Lizzy Bean invites you to taste the architecture of Francine Houben’s beautiful building with wood-fired bread cooked in a miniature earth oven. Come and spell out your reaction to our new library in alphabet dough balls or simply eat them dipped in aromatic, golden olive oil infused with rosemary harvested from the roof-top terrace.

And there’s more…Small World Animation will be hosting a stop-frame animation workshop in the Children’s Library where visitors can help to create an edible alphabet.

All free – as part of the Discovery Season at the Library of Birmingham

Together We Breathe performers in rehearsal over the weekend

Capsule have been hard at work this year, putting together a four month season celebrating the opening of the Library of Birmingham. We’re really proud of this season, and very excited that Birmingham is now home to the largest public library in Europe. In honour of the ‘people’s palace’, the Discovery season will feature performances, residencies, exhibitions and lots of opportunities to participate in workshops and try something new.

“For the LoB managers to choose possibly the noisiest, most experimental arts organisation in the city to open a library is a radical step.” www.paradisecircus.com

So, tomorrow is opening day, and below is a brief round up of what you can see and do at the Library of Birmingham this week. Read the full programme online.

Together We Breathe rehearsal, the performance will feature 100 players

Tuesday 3rd September

11.30 – Library of Birmingham opens it doors to the public.

12.30 – Together We

Breathe, Book Rotunda, Free
A large-scale performance installation created by the Australian sonic arts company Supercritical Mass, with over 100 brass players.

11.30 – 17.00 The Commentators, Discovery Pavilion, Free
Brought to you by theatrical provocateurs and internationally renowned performance company Stan’s Cafe, The Commentators will be in residence to carefully document everything they see, from the vital, to the peculiar, or the mundane.

14.00 – 17.00 Vegetable Quest Workshop, Third Floor Terrace Garden, Free
Join artist duo Juneau Projects to make your own vegetable characters

Juneau Projects invite you on a Vegetable Quest

Wednesday 4 September

19.00 Malorie Blackman, Studio Theatre, £5 www.birmingham-box.co.uk
Author talk by the Children’s Laureate

Leftfoot present soul singer Omar

Friday 6 September

20.00 Leftfoot presents Omar, Studio Theatre, £15 www.birmingham-box.co.uk
A British soul singer, songwriter and musician, his work is often compared to Stevie Wonder’s work of the 1970’s, he is described by some as the father of British neo soul.

Laura Kate Chapman’s illustrations can be found in the Children’s library

Saturday 7 September

14.00 Laura Kate Chapman workshop, Middle Earth, Free
Join artist Laura Kate Chapman whose work takes inspiration historic Parker Collection of Children’s Books and Games, celebrating the tradition of hand drawn artistic methods

Bring red food for the first of our public picnics

Sunday 8 September

12.00-16.00 Harvesting Stories, Free
Coinciding with ‘4 Squares Weekender’, we will be hosting a RED PICNIC at 1-1.30pm, and we ‘dare’ visitors to wear red, bring red food and drink and a red picnic blanket. Food-artist in residence Lizzy Bean will be making bread on the 3rd floor terrace. Small World Animation will be hosting a stop-frame animation workshop in the Children’s Library where visitors can help to create an edible alphabet.

It’s nice to see that there’s a been a bit of a buzz about the Discovery season, here’s some nice pieces of press…

Creative Review love the Discovery Pavilion

This month’s Brum Notes interview Capsule Creative Director Lisa Meyer

And Paradise Circus give a gracious salute to the Central Library

We’ll do regularly round ups here of things you can see and do at the library over the next four months. For more info see www.libraryofbirmingham.com/discoveryseason or read the brochure online

To celebrate the cultural diversity of 21st century Birmingham, Harvesting Stories has been developed to bring its people and their favourite food together. Between July and August, National Storytelling Laureate, Katrice Horsley, is leading workshops with groups in local settings and libraries to collect recipes, stories and images in order to showcase the city’s diverse range of communities.

We would like residents to take along a dish that represents ‘home’ for them, and to share their food and stories with us. Harvesting Stories will collect recipes and stories from Birmingham’s communities and provide a snapshot of the breadth of Birmingham’s multicultural communities. Selected recipes and their related stories will contribute to the Library of Birmingham’s  Discovery Season during public picnics.

Places are limited, so to be involved book your place with the following libraries direct:
•    3pm to 5pm, Tuesday 30 July
Hall Green Library, 1221 Stratford Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, B28 9AD. Tel: 0121 464 6633
•    9.30-11.30, Wednesday 31 July
Spring Hill Library, Spring Hill, Birmingham, B18 7BH. Tel: 0121 464 7422
•    12.30-2.30, Wednesday 31 July
West Heath Library, The Fordrough, Birmingham, B31 3LX. Tel: 0121 464 7548

Druids Heath Library
Frankley Library
King Standing Library
Ward End Library

For the Discovery Season Harvesting Stories presents three public picnic days, with each picnic representing stories, recipes and images from the workshops and includes further opportunities for sharing and engaging with food.

8 September – Food & Play
20 October – Food & Stories
14 December – Food & Film
Free Events

photos by Katja Ogrin

We have another opportunity for creatives to get involved with the Library of Birmingham’s Discovery Season. We are seeking artists to lead food-based activities, that will contribute to Harvesting Stories, a season of food-related activity to celebrate the culinary heritage of the city and showcase the new Library of Birmingham.

There will be three loosely themed ‘public picnics’ – Play, Film and Stories – and we are looking for artists to deliver public engagement projects on one of the following dates.

PLAY
Sunday 8 September, 12-4

FILM
Sunday 20 October, 12-4

STORIES
Saturday 14 December, 12-4

If you are interested please submit your idea, together with a budget (maximum £500) and your CV. We will not consider applicants who do not supply all of the necessary information.

Email your submission and queries to [email protected] by 1 August 2013.