What are One-day Animation Challenges?

• Creating a short stop motion animation film together.
• There will be a maximum of 10 young people participating in each animation challenge.
• Everyone can try out different roles.
• We want to make stories which use the history of Stirchley Baths which can be used in the education programme in the future.
• The challenges take part at Stirchley Baths.
• We play lots of games at the beginning to help us work together as a team.

How much does it cost?

• A very reasonable £10 per participant for the full day workshop (9.30am-5pm). (This includes the film screening celebration event).
• The project is heavily subsidised by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the Heritage Activity Programme.

Who can take part?

• We have two age groups for our October Half Term Film School: ages 6-10 and age 11-15.
• The Film School is targeted primarily at young people local to Stirchley Baths and in the Selly Oak District.
• The film challenges are open to all abilities. You may be a budding filmmaker or want to have a go at something completely new. There will be an emphasis on team working.

What do I do to book a place?

1. Ring or text Suzanne 07793 075737 or email suzanne@suzannecarter.co.uk to check there are spaces available.
2. If places are available, please download the Registration & Booking Form, which includes some Rules of Engagement. You can also pick up these in person at Stirchley Baths (reception). registration-booking-form_under-16s_inc-rules-of-engagement-october16
3. Get the completed form back to Suzanne as soon as possible to confirm your place. You can bring your £10 participant’s fee on the day if you are sending the form back electronically. Places will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. 

Who is running the workshops?

• Scott Johnson is a filmmaker, visual artist and musician with over 15 years’ experience in both the UK film and music industries. He has also been facilitating filmmaking with young people for the past 8 years. Scott works across a number of media creating short films, music videos, multi-media installations and music. He has been commissioned internationally, including by Ikon Gallery, BBC Television, Flatpack Festival, Sonar, Edinburgh Film Festival, Domino Records, Capsule and Experimenta Festival. Check out Scott’s work here: https://vimeo.com/album/2962345

• Suzanne Carter is the Community Heritage Coordinator at Stirchley Baths and will be there to support the workshops. She knows a fair bit about the history of the place, so you can ask her questions! She has also done a lot of work with schools and young people in the past. if you want to find out more about Suzanne please see her website:www.suzannecarter.co.uk

What do I need to bring to the animation challenge?

• A packed lunch.
• Ideas, creativity, enthusiasm, and a willingness to work as part of a team.

What does Stirchley Baths provide?

• All filmmaking equipment.
• Tuition with a professional filmmaker – Scott Johnson (DBS checked).
• Support from Suzanne Carter who works at the Baths (DBS checked).
• A safe room to leave your belongings.
• Drinks and snacks.
• An incredible venue and a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills.
• Popcorn and drinks at the Film Screening event for you, your friends and family at the end of the workshops on 28 October.

How do we celebrate all our achievements and watch the films we make?

• On Friday 28 October, 7.30pm we will host an open event for friends, family and interested local supporters of the Baths. We’ll provide the popcorn and refreshments!
• We’d like the young people to be involved in running and organising the event.
• A certificate of attendance for the film challenges if you would like one and link to the film you have made.

Want to talk this through with someone?

Contact Suzanne Carter on 07793 075737 for a chat, or email suzanne@suzannecarter.co.uk

The Big Draw Festival is the biggest celebration of drawing in the world with 26 countries participating worldwide during the month of October. Stirchley Baths is delighted to be part of the 2016 event, working in collaboration with Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists who have their home at the Baths, and Leaf Creative Arts (workshop funded by Stirchley Community Group).

The theme of this year’s festival is STEAM – not the water vapour kind, although we love the fact that there would have been lots of steam in the sauna back in the day here! S.T.E.A.M is, in fact, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths! Read on to see how we are bringing these elements together at the event!

Suitable for all ages and abilities. EVERYONE is welcome to join us for this free event on Sunday 23 October,1-4pm. No need to book.

Change Kitchen Cafe will be open during the event.

 

 

 

 

 

Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists

Science Meets Art in the Garden
Botanical Artists will be on hand to demonstrate and explain the relevance of their art in these modern times. Everyone will be welcome to have a go at drawing the plant material provided. The drop-in workshop is suitable for everyone interested in looking at plants in greater detail.

The Society held a successful Big Draw event in 2015 and will host two events in Birmingham in 2016.

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Leaf Creative Arts: Roots and Routes 
How you got here, a linocut printmaking workshop 
Come and show us how you got here! Using the medium of linocut printmaking (and foam print for the younger folk) explore anything from your route to The Baths, your family/community roots or maybe even a landmark along your journey. Bring an image or piece of nature or keepsake for inspiration or just be as spontaneous as you like. With printmaking, often the most interesting images happen on instinct!  Drop-in workshop. Funded by Stirchley Community Group.

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Stirchley Baths Heritage Programme
Exploring Patterns & Shapes
The building is full of patterns, shapes and original architectural details; in the windows and within the brick work. Come and see how many shapes you can spot whilst exploring, and then create our own mosaic designs. Contribute to our string art design to create a piece of community artwork. There will be different measuring tools on hand to get mathematical precision if you want to do your own artistic interpretations of parts of the building. This drop-in session is more suitable for children than adults.

 

For Stirchley Baths’ maiden voyage on the Fun Palace Event Sea we are going wonderfully nautical with a watery theme! From a mass boat ‘den’ building challenge, racing your own floating creations and experimenting with materials, to making underwater sea creatures, contributing to a giant desert island mural, planting FUN PALACE bulbs ready for spring, heading underground into the well and deep end, and going crochet crazy to yarn bomb the tree outside and cover it with fishes! From tin baths in front of the fire, to falling in the canal; bring your watery Stirchley stories, oh…and do you know anyone who doesn’t like a good ‘ole sea shanty sing-a-long? 

EVERYONE is welcome to enter our FREE watery world of fun; it’s for the whole community and there will be something FUN for everyone, whatever your age! The Stirchley Baths Fun Palace sets sail at 11am and will end at 4pm in Stirchley Park with a MASSIVE community water fight, so bring your wellies and waterproofs!

Jump On Board for bucketfuls of art, science and, of course, fun; together let’s make this a community event to remember! To find out more about this national FUN PALACE weekend and what else is happening across the city, click HERE..

Everyone an artist, everyone a scientist.

Here is the programme for the day!

Look out for our flyers

Fold these into paper boats! Bring yours with you on the day. 

More hands on deck required

We are still looking for more active citizens to Jump on Board to help organise, promote and contribute on the day, so please get in touch if you can join the Fun Makers team: hello@stirchleybaths.org This event is being organised by the community for the WHOLE of the community.

Can you deliver flyers through the houses on your street? Please get in touch!

We need your recycling!

We are also collecting plastic drinks bottles, cardboard boxes – the bigger the better – and things that float – so drop these into reception (instead of your recycling bin!) please.

See you at the Palace on 1st October!

Did we mention…. WATER FIGHT!!

Save the dates!

Birmingham Heritage Week and the annual Heritage Open Days event have launched their programmes for September. This year Stirchley Baths is, of course, officially OPEN and we have a whole range of events on offer including; interactive story-telling about the history of the Baths for young children and their families with our energetic character Beryl; going down ladders, through tunnels and into the deep end of the old swimming pool with a hard hat; tours of the building, kids activity trails in the building, local history exhibitions, a talk by author and historian Steve Beauchampe about the public baths and wash-houses of Brum; and even the opportunity to share with Historic England your memories, pictures and research about the Baths and other local heritage assets, and add them into Historic England’s National List!

See our heritage event programme on the poster below. There are a few more details following.

Bookings now being taken for Beryl of the Baths. Places limited to 20 children per session. To book, please email hello@stirchleybaths.com  or call us on 0121 464 9072.

Further details…

Beryl of the Baths

Friday 9 September: 1300-1400

Saturday 10 September: 1400-1500

Meet Beryl, she’s worked at Stirchley Swimming Baths from the very first day the doors were
opened. She is the caretaker, keeper of the key and all round guardian of the building and she wants to show you around. Come for a dip, the water’s lovely!

A highly energetic, fast paced and fun filled journey through the history of Stirchley Baths for
young children and their families.

Created for Stirchley Baths by Toni Midlane of Toni’s Tots Drama
Length 45mins. Suitable for 3yrs + and perfect for children aged between 4 and 7.

Pre-book to reserve a place. Places limited to 20 children per session. To book, please email hello@stirchleybaths.com  or call us on 0121 464 9072. If you want any further details about this session please email us with a contact number and someone will call you to talk it through.

Splash Back in Time at Stirchley Baths

Sunday 11 September: 1100-1600

There will be lots to see and do at our Heritage Open Day for all ages. For families there will be three different kids activity trails around the building (aimed at the Under 3s, 3-7 and 7-12 year olds), and an arts and crafts corner; children will have fun exploring and making while you find out about the history of the former swimming baths and wash-house through tours, using the original architectural plans to orientate yourselves, and exhibitions.

The Change Kitchen cafe will be open serving a delicious selection of cakes and drinks.

Heritage Open Days is famed for the opportunity it gives the public to go ‘behind the scenes’ in historic buildings; but in our case, we are inviting people to go ‘under the floorboards’ on this special day! You can explore the tunnels which go into the deep end of the former swimming pool and to the well. There is a vertical ladder to climb and you will need to walk bending over to avoid head bumps. Hard hats are provided. This won’t be suitable for everyone and you can decide on the day. We will provide alternative interpretation. Strictly no under 6s and parents will need to make their own decision about older children. Sensible shoes only. If you do decide to venture below ground though, you’ll have a real atmospheric treat. It might even be rather nostalgic if you ever used to dive to retrieve a brick from the deep end of a pool!

No need to book; Just turn up on day. Last entry 3.30pm. Tunnel tours will be bookable on the day.

Illustrated Talk on the Public Swimming Baths and Wash-houses of Birmingham

Sunday 11 September: 1600-1700

We are delighted to welcome author and historian Steve Beauchampe to Stirchley Baths. In this illustrated talk Steve will examine the development of public baths in Birmingham and the surrounding area, from the Baths and Public Wash-houses Act of 1846 until the outbreak of the Great War. This was a period of significant expansion, a period when Birmingham went from being a town to gaining city status, becoming the second largest in Great Britain in the process. But it was an era of unprecedented and farsighted civic development, where the provision of essential public services would raise both the quality of life for all strata of society, and the life expectancy of many. The Victorian and Edwardian public baths epitomised this progressive spirit and included amongst their number were arguably some of the most attractive and decorative examples of such buildings in Britain: Balsall Heath, Nechells, Green Lanes and even the Girls’ Baths at Cadburys. Some remain and some are gone, but all are to be celebrated and will be in this Birmingham Heritage Week talk at the newly restored Grade II listed Stirchley Baths which opened in 1911 and again, after 25 years in a derelict state, reopened in 2016.

No need to book; join us for 4pm start.

Your Heritage List for England – how to make your mark on the history of Stirchley Baths

Thursday 15 September: 1900-2100