Sebilj: an Arabic word for a kiosk-shaped public fountain

Already renowned as the vanguard of creative content, the New Generation Arts Festival (NGA) notoriously champions the independent cause of showcasing the brightest emerging graduate talent in the arts world today. Previously supported by a host of celebrities including model Erin O’Connor, social commentator Germaine Greer, comedian Frank Skinner, artist Anthony Gormley and author Philip Pullman, this year the New Generation Arts Festival, organised by Birmingham City University and supported by Arts Council England, celebrates youth, diversity and the rise of digital culture.

Project B: Sebilj is a multi-national collaborative public arts project looking at how ornamental objects influence architectural space, proposing for Birmingham a life-size contemporary interpretation of the famous public fountain and landmark Sebilj in Sarajevo, utilising traditional Bosnian design and craft techniques and combining them with modern digital technology.

Sebilj brings together two artists, Françoise Dupré and Myfanwy Johns, in collaboration with with Sabina Faslic, community leader with the Bosnian Cultural Centre-Midlands (BCCM), and including the Bosnian community in the Birmingham area, with the finished artwork’s final location being the newly-acquired BCCM community centre in Birmingham.
Since November 2007, Dupré and Johns have been working together on a series of development activities with 25 participants from the Midlands Bosnian Culture Centre. The outcomes, design samples, small models and an architectural maquette will be shown at the 2008 NGA. A research trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina and visit to Sarajevo in April 2008 allowed Dupré and Johns to research traditional and contemporary Bosnian architecture and design and meet with Bosnian artists, architects and academic institutions.
The exhibition reveals the often hidden complexity involved in the research and development of a public and community-based art project, and demonstrates the need for long-term creative dialogues between artists and participants. The interplay between traditional crafts, handmade objects and digital technology, ties in with the NGA Festival’s 2008 theme of ‘Digital Utopia?’ and emphasises the interplay between new, old, global and culturally-specific, and celebrates the trans-cultural nature of the project.

One of Europe’s largest showcases for graduate talent, the New Generation Arts Festival 2008, organised by Birmingham City University, kicks off on the 5th June, and is jam packed with over 16 days of digital art based euphoria. The festival aims to be the ultimate platform for showcasing new graduate talent alongside established names within the framework of the modern digital era – once again reinforcing Birmingham’s status as a centre of culture, creativity and digital innovation.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Jem Bahaijoub or Ian Roberts
Zest PR
Tel. 0044 (0)207 734 0206
Jem@zestpr.com / Ian@zestpr.com

Notes to Editors:

Project B: sebilj Stage One is funded by Arts Council England, West Midlands, BCU and Oxford Brooks University.

Project B: sebilj
Private View – Thursday 12 June 2008¬ – 6.30-8.30pm
The New Generation Arts Festival 2008,
Birmingham, UK.
Custard Factory, Lakeside Unit, Gibb Street, Digbeth.
Opening times: 10 – 20 June 2008,
10am-5pm.

Part of Birmingham City University, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is the largest centre for art, design and media education in the UK outside London. It’s rated as one of the top ten art and design institutions in the country , providing education for over 4,000 students on five major campuses located across the city centre, including the internationally recognised School of Jewellery and the Department of Art. The Institutes state of the art facilities include a Milo motion control rig, the first of its kind in an education establishment. This together with the support of Mario Miniceillo , a nationally recognised Head of Visual Communication , confirms the University’s commitment to provide the best in cutting edge education. Recently awarded Media Skillset Academy status, Birmingham City University is the only University in the region to be awarded this prestigious recognition , reinforcing the University’s commitment to industry led, creative training.