Victoria Square

The third of ArtsFest’s central hubs, ArtsFest’s Dance and Performance Marquee is located in Victoria Square where Dancing for the Games (Part of the Cultural Olympiad, getting the West Midlands dancing for London 2012 with masses of events, happenings and opportunities to get involved in dance right across the region.) hosts a variety of dance companies from across the region.

Also located in Victoria Square is:

The Bandstand which is part of the Cultural Olympiad and the Uk wide Bandstand Marathon.

The pARTicipate Village Your chance to get involved and pARTicipate in a range of fantastic arts and crafts workshops throughout the day.

Leading off from Victoria Square, is The Arts Market, where craf makers are able to sell their work. Also on New Street is the *Ask it! strand – an engaging and interactive market place for festival visitors. Have a burning question about an event you’ve seen? Desperate to know more? This is the place to find out about it; and a range of arts and crafts stalls.

In The Square where you should expect the unexpected and look out for a range of roaming street theatre and mystery performances throughout the day.

Indoor venues around the Victoria Square site are:
The Council House
Town Hall
Cafe Blend

Venue Specific Information

The Bandstand
(Victoria Square)

Recognised by LOCOG as part of the national closing events for the Paralympic games, the Bandstand marathon will take place in a temporary bandstand. This will be located in Victoria Square. There will be 500 similar spaces across the UK that will be utilised during the ‘marathon’.

Availability:

Saturday 8th September: 11.00 – 18.00
Sunday 9th September: 11.00 – 18.00

(Please note that these times are provisional at this stage and may be subject to change).

Stage Size:

4.5 metres by 4.5 metres.

Equipment / Facilities Available:

- Power supply

Staffing:

An ArtsFest Volunteer Venue Officer will be in charge of the stage on behalf of ArtsFest and will liaise with all artists before the event and on the day.

Additional Notes:

Changing facilities are not available at this stage.

Access:

For artists bringing equipment that they wish to drop off by vehicle they will be able to do this by pulling up at the corner of Edmund Street and Margaret Street. Artists will then have to carry their equipment a short way to the bandstand. Artists will be required to move their vehicle as soon as they have unloaded.

The Arts Market
(Victoria Square / Upper New Street)

The Arts Market will be located around Victoria Square and in Upper New Street. It will feature a variety of arts and crafts stalls.

The market will be made up of purpose built market stalls measuring approximately 1 metre by 3 metres with a canopy covering of 2.6 metres by 3 metres, which provides cover in case of bad weather.
(Please note that market stall sizes are approximate at this stage and may be subject to slight change).

Each market stall will have a power supply. Anything else such as display cases or boards, table risers, plinths, browsers or chairs must be provided by the stall holder themselves.

Market Stalls are priced at £80 + VAT = £96 for one day or £140 + VAT = £168 for two days. Payment must be received at least 4 weeks prior to the event and must be made by cheque.

You do not need to apply for a Street Traders Licence, as this will be purchased for you by ArtsFest from Birmingham City Council Licensing Department. The above prices include the cost of the required street trading licence.

If successful in applying the artist or trader is responsible for setting up their stall on the morning of each day of the event and removing their work overnight on Saturday if a stall is assigned for both days. The market will be open to the public at the times below.

Availability:

Saturday 8th September: 11.00 – 18.00
Sunday 9th September: 11.00 – 18.00

(Please note that these times are provisional at this stage and may be subject to change).

ArtsFest encourages artists and traders whose applications are successful to work while manning their stall, as demonstrating how work is made often encourages visitors to buy. ArtsFest cannot however take responsibility, or offer any reduction on stall price, if sales are low.

To be considered for a market stall artists and traders are asked at the application stage to submit a minimum of ten images of examples of work that would be sold for consideration. These must be submitted with the application. The images do not have to be of the exact pieces that would be exhibited, but should give a clear representation of the type of work that would be shown.

The Arts Market will be managed by the Arts Market Coordinator, who is a member of the ArtsFest team.

• (If you are a professional organisation who are not already involved in ArtsFest and you wish to have an Arts Market or Ask It! stall, please contact the ArtsFest hotline on 0121 464 5678 to discuss a pricing structure).