1813 Club and Premier Members
1813 Club and Premier Members
Greater Birmingham’s leading companies
Plan to unlock historic library
A joint collaboration between the University of Birmingham and the city council is shedding new light on a little known collection in the city’s library. The project, ‘Everything to
Everybody’, is aimed at spreading the word about what is the largest and oldest Shakespeare collection in any public library in the world. The collection is known as the
‘Shakespeare Memorial Library’, and was originally launched in 1864. It was the first of its kind in the world. In a special History West Midlands
film and two associated podcasts, the ‘Everything to Everybody’ project’s director, Professor Ewan Fernie, and its American ‘international champion’, Professor Katherine Scheil, will show how they are helping to re-establishing the links between Birmingham’s 19th
Century Shakespeare heritage and the development of Shakespeare in America. The founders of the library
believed that it could play a role in boosting Birmingham’s cultural reputation around the world. One of the founders, George
Dawson, visited America in 1874, with this in mind. During the visit, he is credited with cementing the relationships between British and American Shakespeareans which, it is claimed, had lasting effects on America’s cultural institutions and landscape. Profs Fernie and Scheil’s new
work on Shakespeare, Birmingham and America has put the spotlight on this ‘lost’ history, and also shows that Dawson’s visit to the States exposed ‘serious’ limitations in his ‘everything to everybody’ ethos,
From Stratford to the States: members of the Silver Creek Shakespeare Club at Buffalo University in 1890
namely that it didn’t follow today’s dictates on equality and inclusivity. Professor Fernie said: “Unlocking
the connections between Birmingham’s Shakespeare Memorial Library and America has, in many ways been really exciting. It opens up a secret history of international
culture, one which looks to the second city as well as to London.” Professor Scheil, said: “We’ve
uncovered so much about the relationship between America, the UK and Shakespeare and we are only at the beginning stages of this work.”
JB Kind donate trees Hip-hop for festival
A Derbyshire door distributor is marking a 150 years in the timber trade by sponsoring the planting of trees at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. JB Kind has sponsored the
planting of 15 new Hamamelis (Witch Hazel), each representing one decade since the firm’s founder, John Blower Kind, started out as a joiner back in 1870. The donation is to be start of
what the National Memorial Arboretum aims to develop as a new national collection of the variety in the future. JB Kind managing director
James Cadman said: “We are very proud to be celebrating our 150th, or sesquicentennial, anniversary here at JB Kind. We can think of no more appropriate way to mark such a significant achievement than by donating 15 trees to the National Memorial Arboretum.
48CHAMBERLINK February 2021 “We owe our success and
longevity to the beauty, strength and practicality of wood. Over the years JB Kind has made many products from timber, from wooden crates to the doors that have been our business since the 1980s. We have huge commitments to sourcing sustainable wood so that we replenish what we use. “What better way to celebrate
150 years of JB Kind than by helping our planet by growing more trees for the future. The National Memorial Arboretum is a charity that is close to all our hearts and it is with profound pleasure that we have donated these trees. May they grow and flourish for many years to come.” The National Memorial
Arboretum is the nation’s year- round centre of Remembrance and a registered charity. The 150-acre garden and
woodland site is home to more than 26,000 trees.
A trio of hip-hop artists are to be one of the main attractions at this year’s Birmingham International Dance Festival (BIDF) – thanks to public demand. The hip-hoppers are Joseph,
Emma Houston and Bellatrix, who will be performing in a yet to be named outdoor place. The trio will be strutting their
stuff after BIDF organiser DanceXchange conducted a survey among residents of North West Birmingham, which not only found that most of them rated local arts activities locally as ‘not good/poor’, but wanted to see more hip hop dancing. So enter the hip-hop trio – the
first, Joseph Toonga, originates from Cameroon and was raised in East London. Rooted in the capital’s hip-hop
culture, he will be developing a new work called ‘Born to Protest’, which will tell the real life stories of black British men, and challenge the ‘unconscious bias of black culture
by countering stereotypical images’. He said: “Hopefully through this
commission I can give not only myself but the dance community in Birmingham a chance to showcase our talent and build a network together for future work.” Dancer Emma Houston has
joined forces with musician Bellatrix for a new project which will challenge ‘societal norms at large’. The former said: “We’re looking
forward to working together, connecting and collaborating with new people in Birmingham, and getting to know the city better. It’s super affirming to be given the chance to bring this project to life, and it’s also a big opportunity for us as professional artists.” Lucie Mirkova, head of artistic
programmes at DanceXchange, said: “We are thrilled to be co- commissioning these three inspirational Hip Hop artists to work in North West Birmingham for BIDF 2021.”
Premier Membership
Contact: Gary Birch T: 0845 6036650
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