WORDS FOR THE LIVING, 2021
Live Performance | Beth Derbyshire | WERK
Words for the Living is a live performance in which an individual speaker, communicates a series of words and phrases through a megaphone in public space. The words are commemorative excerpts by loved ones for so many of the key workers who have tragically passed away from Covid 19. The poignant and celebratory recital of words is a living memorial, describing the qualities of these incredible people who lost their lives whilst saving others and is intended to pay homage to loss, whilst inspiring the living through their bravery. The performance will be filmed and presented in the digital space of Into the Parade.
Into the Parade is an online web encounter and live project that explores how arts organisation and practitioners across the Midlands are engaging civically. The digital ‘Civic Centre’ is both tangible and metaphorical concept to explore the role of cultural practice in a civic context. Into the Parade is a cultural intervention that undertakes projects that have online and real-world anchors points and has been initiated by Beth Derbyshire and developed with students from the MA Arts and Project Management course at Birmingham City University.
BETH DERBYSHIRE
SWOP SHOP, 2018
SWOP SHOP in Partnership with Birmingham City University, Selfridges Birmingham and Tate Liverpool.
Students from Birmingham School of Art will be taking part in SWOP SHOP at Tate Liverpool from Thursday 28 June to Sunday 1 July.
Drawing on traditional notions of exchange, SWOP SHOP was a platform where objects, skills and ideas are swapped. The items that are in the “shop” will be objects, images, assemblages and zines made by students from Birmingham School of Art.
SWOP SHOP existed initially over a four-day period at Tate Liverpool. For the first two days, the shop was open for browsing and the public were invited to come in with objects to SWOP for one of the objects in the shop.
SWOP SHOP created an approachable and interactive platform that demonstrates how artistic processes and debate can inform exchanges between people centring on value. This was an experimental project made and run by artists who have put time and effort into making things that reflect their practice and perhaps some of their values. These are specially created assemblages that are there to initiate a process to engage with people and make us think about around the concept of value. Values are personal, public and collective. So, the criterion for swap is that the items or skill has a value to that person, it could be personal, social, political. It could refer to their heritage or the heritage of the region or city.
The objects that were donated go on to become assemblages and artworks (worked on by the students) that were then exhibited again when SWOP SHOP pop’s up at Selfridges Birmingham later this year.
Speaker Programme
THURSDAY 28 JUNE, 2PM – ART AND EXCHANGE:
This will involve a presentation of the SWOP SHOP project and the ideas behind some of the objects on display. The talk will cover areas of artistic practice that explores ideas around exchange.
FRIDAY 29 JUNE, 3PM – PRODUCTION
The 2017-18 Tate Exchange theme production explores skills, knowledge, transformation, material & production.
SATURDAY 30 JUNE, 4PM – BORDERS, THRESHOLD AND COLLECTIVE IDENTITIES
We will be exploring how art embraces the themes of Borders Thresholds and Collective Identities citing works in the Tate Collections.
SUNDAY 1 JULY, 4PM – BORDERS, THRESHOLD AND COLLECTIVE IDENTITIES
We will be exploring how art embraces the themes of Borders Thresholds and Collective Identities citing works in the Tate Collections.
Please see this link to find out more on the project: