Celebrating Birmingham Arts Lab

Each Flatpack pays homage to a 'patron saint', a figure who has helped change the way we see film, and this year we're doffing a cap to an organisation: the Birmingham Arts Lab.

Art Labs sprung up around England in the late 60s and early 70s, but few had the impact or life span of Birmingham’s. The Lab quickly became the centre point of the Midland’s underground art scene; combining a heady mix of film, theatre, visual art, live performance, experimental music and poetry. While others died out Birmingham's Art Labs continued to thrive for over 10 years.

As Flatpack’s patron saint the Birmingham Arts Lab is providing the back drop for our Flatpack Palais- the festival hub. The Palais is being funded by a Kickstarter campaign and will be based in the Old Deritend Library in Digbeth’s Custard Factory. It will be a chance to connect the Lab legacy with today and also an opportunity to remember Pete Walsh, film programmer at the Lab and subsequently the Triangle who sadly passed away late last year.

To find out more about Birmingham Arts Lab, The Flatpack Palais and our Kickstarter campaign click here:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/640215839/flatpack-palais

...And if you have Arts Lab stories of your own, we'd love to hear from you. Please write to Maya Darrell Hewins at maya@7inch.org.uk, or call the office on 0121 771 1509.