[ecrea] Is There Anyone Out There? Exhibition

*/'Is There Anyone Out There?'/*

*/Documenting Birmingham’s Alternative Music Scene 1986-1990/*

*//*

*4-28th May 2016*

*//*

*Parkside Building, Birmingham City University, Curzon Street, 
Birmingham, B4 7BD***

*//*

Established in 1986 by Dave Travis and Steve Coxon, The Click Club was 
the name of a concert venue and disco associated with Birmingham’s 
alternative music culture.

Located in ‘Burberries’ - a conventional nightclub site in the 
pre-regeneration city centre, the club showcased a wide variety of acts 
reflecting the varied culture of the independent and alternative sector.

While capacity was limited to a few hundred attendees on any one night, 
The Click Club was important locally, nationally and internationally, 
for the role it played as part of a touring circuit, and for 
distributors and retailers of independent music. As a central feature in 
a music scene operating on a DIY-basis, independent of major labels, at 
the intersection of subcultures it also had enormous cultural value for 
its participants.

Travis continues to be a key cultural entrepreneur. Known initially as a 
professional photographer, commissioned by music publications such as 
/NME/, /Sounds/ and the local /Brumbeat/ amongst others, he has combined 
his photographic work with the promotion of live music in the city.

This exhibition draws upon Travis’ personal archive of film, posters, 
magazines and ephemera that detail a vibrant and dynamic space and time 
in late 80s Birmingham.

Central to the exhibition is a set of previously unseen images taken by 
Travis at The Click Club, a small proportion of those produced during a 
professional life as a music promoter and photographer.

The exhibition draws upon first hand accounts of those who were there 
and includes loaned artefacts in order to contextualize The Click Club 
in a historical moment that remains important to its community and to 
the music and cultural heritage of Birmingham.

The exhibition poses a series of questions: what is the value of this 
material? What does it tell us beyond confirming the memories of the 
individuals it concerned? Does such material have wider importance and 
contributions to make to our understanding of the past?

While the exhibition will appeal to those who attended The Click Club as 
well as those curious about popular music more generally, it is aimed at 
a broader audience interested in history, urban life, everyday 
creativity and the cultural economy.

Conceived and curated by scholars from the Birmingham Centre for Media 
and Cultural Research Paul Long, Jez Collins (founder of Birmingham 
Music Archive), and Sarah Raine, the exhibition//develops themes from 
BCMCR research clusters in Popular Music Studies and History, Heritage 
and Archives.

Previous work includes: UK Film Council funded production of: the film 
‘Made in Birmingham: Reggae Punk Bhangra’ 
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVa3v9U8mU 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVa3v9U8mU>); establishment of a 
project to develop the archival preservation of the production culture 
of Pebble Mill (www.pebblemill.org <http://www.pebblemill.org>); 
research into the archive of BBC documentarist Philip Donnellan; 
collaborations with Vivid Projects on the history of The Birmingham Film 
and Television Workshop and Catapult Club Archive (see: 
www.vividprojects.org.uk <http://www.vividprojects.org.uk>).

*You are welcome to join us over the duration of the exhibition and we 
would be pleased to welcome you and discuss the project. *

For more information and exhibition materials contact us directly.


Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research: www.bcmcr.org 
<http://www.bcmcr.org>


Birmingham Music Archive: www.birminghammusicarchive.com 
<http://www.birminghammusicarchive.com>

Jez Collins
Centre for Media and Cultural Research
Birmingham City University
Room MP.344
Curzon Street
Birmingham
B4 7XG

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