Join us for the opening of the Fading City exhibition which features new work by Jemma Gunning and Tracey Thorne whose prints explore the textures and typography of some of Birmingham’s old buildings.

5.30pm – the exhibition opens for viewing and refreshments

6.30-8pm – guests are warmly invited to join us for a panel discussion inspired by the exhibition which focuses on the cities fading heritage in terms of its historic buildings, people’s connections to places and the loss of local crafts such as sign-painting. They will also consider how art might also enable local communities to reveal or illuminate forgotten, discarded or marginalised aspects of the urban environment.

The panellists include Andrew Fuller (City Design Manager, Birmingham City Council, Stuart Holt (Founding Director, Javelin Bloc), Gary Embury (Senior Lecturer, University of the West of England) and the exhibition artists Jemma and Tracey.

The Fading City exhibition opens on 2nd March until 14 March at The Hive gallery, in the Jewellery Quarter. Entrance is free, opening times on weekdays is 8am – 3.30pm and 10am – 4pm at weekends. For further information visit The Hive website.

Further information:

The Fading City is inspired by the textures and typography of buildings that surround us, and calls on us to immerse ourselves in a world that might otherwise slip by. Both artists have produced new works for the exhibition using different printmaking techniques to draw out the character and souls of the buildings.

Jemma Gunning is a printmaker based in Bristol and has produced new work for the exhibition commissioned by the Jewellery Quarter Townscape Heritage project. For her commission Jemma visited two derelict buildings, Alabaster and Wilson and Unity Works to record their transient states, capturing our fading heritage. The use of intaglio and mono-printing processes resonate with the decaying structures she has recorded, preserving memories and documenting these extraordinary spaces.

Tracey Thorne is based in Birmingham and uses photography to explore the ephemeral painted walls found on the streets. The exhibition showcases ten screen-prints by Tracey Thorne that explore Birmingham’s disappearing faded advertising signs sometimes called ‘ghost signs’ found on buildings in Digbeth and around the Jewellery Quarter.

For more information follow on facebook @thefadingcity