What is the art of Birmingham?

This text is my written response to the three questions posed by Eastside Projects for their exhibition and programme of events. The ‘Birmingham Show’ explored three questions; ‘What is the art of Birmingham?’, ‘Is there an accent to Birmingham’s art making?’ and ‘How is Birmingham useful for the production of art?’ There could of course have been many ‘Birmingham Shows’ and so, as part of the project, the curators collected responses to these three questions from a wide range of people. These stories, histories, insights and perspectives were presented as part of the exhibition, and used to re-write ‘The Art of Birmingham’ page on Wikipedia, creating a new and evolving history written from many positions.