Crack Up!

Free event.

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group performs music by Japanese composers Toshi Ichiyanagi and Shiori Usui across Ikon’s galleries as part of the 4 Squares Weekender. BCMG’s players will be scattered amongst Ikon’s current exhibition Something that Floats / Something that Sinks by Japanese artist Shimabuku.

The playful, experimental nature of both Ichiyanagi and Usui’s music – including Usui’s Crack Up, a piece composed from the sound of a friend’s laughter – goes hand-in-hand with Shimabuku’s work, which encourages visitors to enjoy experiences as if they are happening to them for the first time.

4 Squares Weekender is a weekend of outdoor arts from Friday 6 – Sunday 8 September 2013 marking the opening of the Library of Birmingham and featuring stunning artists from across the UK and beyond. Organised by the city’s major arts organisations, of BCMG is one, the city’s central square – Oozells in Brindleyplace, Centenary, Chamberlain and Victoria – will be transformed with live music, dance, art, film, circus, theatre … and a dose of the unexpected. And it’s all free of charge.

Ikon’s Shimabuku exhibition will be open from 11-6pm with BCMG’s half-hour informal performance at 12pm and repeated at 4pm.

4 Squares Weekender is produced by Birmingham Hippodrome on behalf of the Birmingham Arts Partnership with support from Arts Council England, Birmingham City Council and European Regional Development Fund.