All events take place at Ikon Gallery unless otherwise stated.
All events can be booked online at ikon-gallery.org unless indicated otherwise. Alternatively please call Ikon on 0121 248 0708.
Please consider making a donation for free events, Ikon is a registered charity and your support helps us with everything we do.
Exhibition Opening
Haroon Mirza
reality is somehow what we expect it to be
Friday 30 November, 6–8pm – FREE
Join us to celebrate the opening night of Haroon Mirza’s new exhibition; reality is somehow what we expect it to be. Pay bar.
Talks
Julian Lloyd Webber
These Are A Few of My Favourite Things
Tuesday 11 December, 6–7pm – £3
Booking essential
Professor Julian Lloyd Webber, Principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, discusses his eight favourite works of art, including Kandinsky and Atkinson Grimshaw. Widely regarded as one of the finest musicians of his generation and described by Strad magazine as ‘the doyen of British cellists’, Webber has enjoyed one of the most creative and successful careers in classical music today. He has premiered more than sixty works for cello and has inspired new compositions from composers such as Philip Glass. This is the latest in a series of These Are A Few of My Favourite Things, also recently featuring jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch and horticulturalist Alys Fowler.
Collaboration or Appropriation?
Tuesday 15 January, 6–7pm – £3
Booking essential
The panel addresses the fine line between collaboration, appropriation and plagiarism across the visual arts, fashion and music. Chaired by Gilane Tawadros, Chief Executive of DACS and Vice Chair of the Stuart Hall Foundation, speakers include artist Haroon Mirza, fashion designer Osman Yousefzada and composer David Toop.
Film
Guy Sherwin Short Films
Tuesday 12 February, 6–7pm – FREE
Yorks Café at Ikon
Booking essential
This event showcases Guy Sherwin’s Optical Sound Films 1971–2007, published by LUX, including works that were shot on the train from London to Birmingham when the artist started teaching at the University of Wolverhampton, then Polytechnic, in the 1970s. The event sheds light on Haroon Mirza’s Tescotrain (Homage to Guy Sherwin) (2012) and An_ Infinato (2009), which includes damaged off-cuts from Guy Sherwin’s 16mm film Cycles #1 (1972/77).
Music
hrm199 Studio Sessions presents:
Tom McLean and special guest
Wednesday 20 February, 6–7pm – FREE
Yorks Café at Ikon
Booking essential
McLean delivers newly developed material from studio session at hrm199, the platform for collective and collaborative practice. Tom McLean uses a range of synthesisers, of his own creation, to explore aural textures and unconventional timbres. He collaborates in this one off performance with a special guest.
Exhibition Showcase
Procession Banners
22–27 January, 11am–5pm – FREE
Drop-in, no need to book
This showcase comprises documentation of the banner making workshops led by Lucy Orta and MotherShip, a community arts organisation in Ladywood, as recent residents on Ikon’s Slow Boat. It includes three banners with motifs and slogans derived from the suffragette movement and the experiences of women today.
Tours
Uncovering Haroon Mirza
Saturday 9 February, 10am–12pm – FREE
Booking essential
Artist Sarah Hamilton Baker leads an interactive exploration of Haroon Mirza’s exhibition, highlighting sensory experience of the work using movement, smell, taste and touch. This tour also includes audio description and a chance to have an open discussion about the work over tea and cake. Open to all but would particularly suit a visually impaired and SEN audience.
Spotlight Tours
Every Friday, 12.30pm and Sunday, 3pm – FREE
Join a member of Ikon staff for a 15 minute spotlight tour focused on a key work in the exhibition. No need to book, meet in Ikon foyer.
Access Tours
Available on request – FREE
Booking essential
Ikon can provide British Sign Language (BSL) and audio described introductions to our current exhibitions. Individual or group bookings are free but must be booked. Call Ikon on 0121 248 0708 or email learning@ikon-gallery.org
Family Events
Free Drop-in Activities
Suitable for all ages. No need to book; stay for as long as you like. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Family Saturdays
Saturday 1 December, 12–4pm – FREE
City centre based arts organisation BOM (Birmingham Open Media) lead a special Family Saturday collaboration as we explore the intersection between art and technology. Each family will have a chance to see Haroon Mirza’s exhibition before making their own light spinner in Ikon’s Events Room.
Saturday 5 January, 12–4pm – FREE
Saturday 2 February, 12–4pm – FREE
Join us for practical and hands-on activities inspired by the current exhibition. Spend some creative time making and experimenting as a family.
Swoomptheeng and Tha Daance Maast
Tuesday 19 February, 11am–3pm – FREE
Drop in, no need to book
Visit during half term and be inspired by Haroon Mirza’s exhibition, then get rhythmic and hands-on with the help of Birmingham-based Swoomptheeng, a brightly masked and mischievous art collective. Experience “Rave Craft, Zombie Bass and Ritualised Punk Technology” by playing Tha Daance Maast – a totemic, glowing sound system meets digital maypole. Up to eight participants write beats and loops together using wonky, wooden controllers to affect the position of sounds within a loop.
Art Explorer
During Exhibitions – FREE
Available at reception
Explore the galleries with your family and friends in a fun and creative way. Art Explorer is our specially designed riso-printed guide. Suitable for all ages, just ask at reception.
Learning
Learning Social with Lara Ratnaraja
Thursday 24 January, 4.30–6.30pm – FREE
Booking essential
The session considers the process of making and displaying procession banners as a form of socially engaged art. Chaired by Lara Ratnaraja, Freelance Cultural Consultant, participants will share different models of practice, with a panel including Jane Thakoordin, Founder, Artivistas, Leonie Hart, CoDirector, MotherShip and Paula Dower, Operations Director, DASH.
Creative Connections
During 7 January – 17 February Ikon is welcoming seven primary schools from Creative Connections, a Birmingham based school consortium. We are working closely with teachers and pupils to make artwork inspired by current exhibitions towards a showcase next summer.
School Visits
At Ikon pupils enjoy learning to develop key transferable skills such as problem-solving, communication and literacy. We offer countless opportunities to think creatively and critically, engaging in cross-curricular activity, narrowing achievement gaps and raising attainment. There are a range of options available to suit a wide range of needs.
Group Visits
Group visits, tours and creative workshops are available for each exhibition. For more information visit ikon-gallery.org/learning/adults or call the Learning Team on 0121 248 0708.
Ikon Slow Boat
Based in Ladywood, Slow Boat is crewed by members of the Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) who work with artists and local communities to explore the canals and organise workshops, exhibitions and film screenings in a unique social space. Following on from recent residencies by Ming de Nasty and Justin Wiggan, part of Ikon’s three year programme Looping the Loop (2017–2019), Slow Boat goes into hibernation for the winter. Check Ikon’s website and social media accounts for details of our Spring programme with new projects and artist residencies.
Ikon Youth Programme
Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) is a group of young people, aged 16–21 years old, who share an interest in visual art. IYP meets once a week at Ikon to tour the exhibitions, get to know the Ikon team, share ideas and work with artists. These sessions are relaxed, friendly and informal. For more information contact James Latunji-Cockbill on 0121 248 0708 or visit ikon-gallery.org/iyp
Screening and Q&A – Boarders Without Borders
Thursday 7 February, 6–7pm – FREE
Booking essential
In 2017, GirlDreamer, an organisation that empowers women of colour, formed the UK’s first women of colour longboarding crew. The collective is made up of young women aged 16–25 from different ethnic minority backgrounds, all with little or no experience in the sport. Join us for a screening of the resulting documentary, Boarders Without Borders and an informal Q&A session with the founders of Girldreamer and longboarders from the film.
All events can be booked online at ikon-gallery.org unless indicated otherwise. Alternatively please call Ikon on 0121 248 0708.