Rising Curve Blog

In these hard pressed times it is heart-warming to celebrate some good news for the Midlands’ economy.  The news of fifteen West Midlands business collecting Queen’s Awards for Enterprise is excellent and shows the dynamism of local firms.

Another piece of news is the near miracle of the ‘Tipton possession’.  Over the Easter bank holiday, with good weather and even better planning, the construction of a tunnel under the west coast main train line in Tipton took a huge step forward when the tunnel lining was pushed into place below the rail line.  The construction company took ‘possession’ of the rail line for the weekend in order to do the job, and any over-run would have resulted in huge penalties for all involved.  The facts of the job get a little anoraky but are worth a close look, as is the timelapse photography film now on line. Other photos of possession and the locality are available here.

It is easy to focus on bad news, and to only berate the rail industry when things go wrong.  We should also give credit where it is due.

Posted by Glenn at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Taking a walk recently across the Rowley Hills our minds wandered as far as the views. After over a century of building its economy on the local geography and geology it is time the Black Country took another positive view of its deeper history and natural assets.

The Black Country’s future must lie in a more forward-looking image than its decayed industrial one.  Whilst the roots of the industrial history are important the Black Country must not become trapped in that version of the past.  It has to construct itself as a more desirable place to live, not just a shopping area, nor a convenient geographical base for distribution companies, nor stirring views.  These simply mean that those with more wealth can commute into and out of the Black Country, depriving the boroughs of economic and social capital.

Which was the perspective we got from the top of the Rowley Hills.  They include Turners Hill, which, at around 270 metres above sea level, offers incredible panoramas across the West Midlands.  Across the conurbation through Oldbury, West Bromwich and over to the suburbs and the city centre of Birmingham.  On the other side, across Old Hill, Netherton and Brierley Hill towards Clent Hills, the Wrekin and beyond.  Amazing to think that the Black Country area you survey from up there was once a forest with small hamlets dotted around – the ‘ley’ in Dudley, Cradley etc. means a clearing in the woods.  These are views that can inspire art (click here to view), which is perhaps surprising to you if you have not been up there.

The Hills were formed from volcanic activity and then the quarrying of the Rowley Rag, a hard basaltic rock, an important source of road surfacing material.  The Planet Art sculptures now placed at points across the hills celebrate this history – being made from the Rag, and depicting scenes from other important economic activities such as mining and manufacturing.

But in thinking about regenerating the area it is important to not get locked into this particular historical period and that experience of the Black Country.  For example, considering the Rowley Hills, we ought to think of a longer history, to the time of the leys.  There is still a strong village mindset within most of the Black Country, despite the fact the once dense, partitioning forests have given way to a blurred merging of places.  This can be a positive thing to work with – the sense of community – in these times of economic and social questioning.

The hills also ought to be looked on as part of a green belt within the conurbation and protected and opened up as such.  Already the housing developments have encroached across the hills.  It is time to stop and leave the rest as an officially designated natural urban park, opened up with better facilities to encourage more to come and enjoy the walks.  The benefits to the image of the area, to people’s health and even to the inspiration of more local artists will be great.

Posted by Glenn at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It has been a while since our earlier commentary on The Public arts centre in West Bromwich. With recent changes in its ownership it is time to consider what has happened to the centre and identify the key lessons to be learnt. In our opinion this can be done quickly and cheaply, without the need for an expensive public inquiry, as has been called for by some of people. Surely, when so much money has already been spent, these people ought to be concentrating on avoiding wasting more cash rather than grandstanding.

There are two main lessons we can learn from The Public saga:

1. Poor management – the managers behind the original project could not cope with the scale of the project. They didn’t have the expertise to plan the work and manage the budget. Hence, the extensive overrun and ballooning of cost. In future, better project planning and management are needed for such work, with more upfront consideration given to the management skills of the team behind the project. To simply give the work to a team who had the artistic vision was misguided.

2. A vision lost in space – the team behind the original idea seem to have become isolated along with their vision. As the walls of the building were constructed they became more entrapped within them, losing contact with the local communities they were meant to serve. The grand visions they could dream became the reality for them. Space to them became the innovative design of the building and an unrealistic plan for a cyber-space gallery – the section that has still not opened, and the part that visitors will eventually have to pay to visit. The space beyond this, the reality in which local people live, became much too far removed from the dream of those planning the centre.

The centre is trapped in its own world, removed from the local community. This has fed the poor quality, negative media coverage, political wrangling and low public understanding and commitment to the arts centre. As the centre is now in the hands of new management under the Sandwell Leisure Trust for a trial period (for three months, though surely not enough time) there is an opportunity to break out of this trap, a legacy of the original management team.

There are some encouraging signs. Recent events, including a Sunday afternoon concert by the Sandwell Youth Jazz Orchestra (http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcclark/3365232562/), and a weekend long beer and music festival have had crowds flocking in. The reason is clear: events which connect with the local communities are appreciated and attended. This is not to say that events have to be limited in scope. The recent ‘Stories in Six Words’ project has shown that artistic activities can be challenging yet also rooted in local lives. Through works such as these we can see Sandwell beginning to construct and assert a positive self-image enhancing the confidence of local people and giving outsiders a better perspective on the borough.

We wish the new owners well and offer our support in their exciting endeavour to reconnect the Public to the local communities. In six words? Public and Sandwell have bright future.

Posted by Glenn at 02:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)