Arts Fest Themes upset us...

In a moment of suffering a slight discomfort, and annoyance at reading this year’s Arts Fest themes we made a flippant post on the Created In Birmingham Blog, which is as good as ever – so shut up and get a life to those that dislike it. We would like to state here that we are very serious in our distrust and dislike of the said themes.

Our main concern is the never changing attitude towards Birmingham that some Brummies have. It’s always, well nearly always stuck in the past. The motor trade, Matthew Boulton etc and worst still, bloody Jasper Carrot and Ozzy Osbourne, who doesn’t even live here and hasn’t done for years. In fact apart from his over exaggerated accent there is nothing Brummie about him. Check out his OZFest to see just how Americanised he has become.

Can’t we just make artwork and celebrate it as it is NOW and look to the future instead of dwelling on what isn’t all that great in our past. Ok, Matthew Boulton did his bit in ending the Slave Trade but had he not been part of it in the first place he surely wouldn’t have needed to contribute to ending it.

Celebrating anything to do with the motor trade seems tiresome to say the least. Anyone that has had to sit through any of Lord Digby’s talks will tell you they are sick of this kind of thing – unless they like staged power/motivational BS talking. His nostalgic talk of the past glories of the industry here in Brum is exactly what is wrong. Instead of dwelling or celebrating on the good or bad of the past: lets deal with the now. Don’t worry it won’t make you a hard line modernist. You can still enter your watercolour daubs into Arts Fest if that floats your boat but you can also enjoy the other things your contemporaries are doing.

Here’s to the now and lets finally say goodbye to the past. Besides I have never ever understood a word that Professor Carl Chinn has ever said due to never ever being able to understand his accent. No one has ever or will ever talk the way he does. Please let’s move on…