Selfridges ‘Live + Loud’ festival – October 1 – October 4, 2015

Following on from what has been the most memorable weekend in Birmingham’s recent history, Britain’s most talented artists, photographers, musicians and designers are getting ready to celebrate the diversity and culture of the 2nd City at an event  being hosted by Selfridges – the Live + Loud festival.

Live + Loud festival is taking place this week, from October 1 to October 4, with some of the best home-grown and national talent onboard, thanks to an exclusive collaboration between the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (The ICA), Birmingham’s Punch Records, Birmingham City University (BCU) and a host of top fashion and beauty brands. Faces and talent to look out for across the four days will include fashion designer Ashley Williams, celebrity photographer Tyrone Lebon, film duo Tim & Barry, British Soul Singer Jacob Banks and plenty of up-and-coming home-grown talent who will be starring in the festival.

The project has been created by Selfridges to celebrate the city of Birmingham not just as a centre of creativity, but also as a source of inspiration across the country. The event will feature commissioned works of art, photography and live music, which will draw upon Birmingham’s rich heritage. There will also be beauty and fashion pop-ups and specialist talks in store, which will resonate strongly with the city’s underground music and fashion scenes which will all be celebrated.

Visitors to both the iconic store and the special ICA curated exhibition staged in the restored industrial space in Floodgate Street in Digbeth, will be treated to an array of fashion, art, music, food and beauty activities.

Here is a run-down of the events taking place:

ICA Off-Sit

The ICA Off-Site exhibition will be open from October 2 until October 4, and visitors will be able to see work by top photographer Tyrone Lebon, commercial artist Fergadelic, Filmmakers Tim & Barry / Just Jam, self-taught artist Ben Sansbury and one of the most promising young British fashion designers, Ashley Williams.

The artists have been linking heavily with Britain’s second city, and aim to reference recent trends in contemporary urban sub-cultures. The off-site venue will feature the temporary exhibition and music programme that draw on Birmingham’s mix of industrial and post-war brutalist architecture, celebrating the city as the centre of creativity and a source of inspiration. You can find the full timetable here.

Live + Loud in store – beauty, fashion, food and events

Top fashion brands will be landing in Birmingham for the festival, including top make-up artists from Charlotte Tilbury arriving in a special make-over taxi (I will be reviewing this later in the week), a Cath Kidston fashion illustrator, the Jimmy Choo Cinderella Shoe being on display, and a Bollywood Pop-Up cinema, to name but a few.

For lovers of celebrity make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury, there will be a chance to get an exclusive and complimentary ‘Quick Trick’ treatment in their Tilbury Taxis, which will be parked in Rotunda Square between October between Friday, 2nd October and Sunday, 4th October.

Throughout the four days, there will be a chance for shoppers to see the exclusive Jimmy Choo Cinderella shoe on Level 4, new cult brand This is A Love Song will be launched on Level 3, and denim lovers will be able to get their jeans from Diesel, Religion and Replay customised.

Adam Hockney, general manager of Selfridges Birmingham, said: “As you can see, the Live + Loud event is set to be huge for not just the city, and we hope we get visitors coming along to the store, and the Off-Site venue to catch at least one of the amazing events we have got going on. This is the biggest event Selfridges Birmingham is hosting this year and we are just thrilled to be showcasing such talent, diversity and creativity. We are proud, and honoured, to be working along the ICA, Punch Records, BCU, our fantastic beauty, fashion brands and so much emerging talent, that this really is an event not to be missed.”

For more details, visit www.selfridges.com/liveandloud

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