Paradise Circus multi-storey car park to become a stage for multi-media arts event

An exciting arts event which includes painting, spoken word, and video projection, comes to the Paradise Circus multi-storey car park in Birmingham this month.

The event – titled ‘Re-imagining the Opposition: The Art of Empathy’ – will include a performance by futurist storyteller Mark Gonzales and include original artworks by prominent Brummie street artist Mohammed Ali; alongside award-winning British-Iranian artist and lecturer Dr. Mohsen Keiany.

Organised by Birmingham-based international arts accessibility outfit Soul City Arts, the project will take place at the Paradise Circus multi-storey car park in Birmingham city centre, and aims to stir up discussion and engage people to see art and performance in a new and refreshing light.

Discussing the new project, socio-political graffiti artist Mohammed Ali, who is Artistic Director of Soul City Arts, wrote:

“I’ve been wanting to deliver something in a car park for a while. They are neutral spaces where everyone parks wherever they can find a place, no hierarchy. It’s only once you ascend via an elevator where we go into our separate worlds.”

The Soul City Arts group will transform a floor of the car park into an engagement space for arts and communities on the evening of June 25th, from 6pm.

Also including the involvement of international storyteller Mark Gonzales and artist Dr. Mohsen Keiany, the production will present a cycle of Keiany’s paintings, which work through the artist’s traumatic experience of war and the dehumanisation and opposition they bring.

American creative Gonzales will navigate through the artworks, feeding off original film work and projections by Ali; and captivating the audience with ideas and dialogue around the theme of empathy and how it can transform thinking and relationships.

In keeping with its theme, the event also plans to place the voices of the community at its heart. The hopes, dreams, and memories of the community feature both within the art itself and will help structure the event, according to its curators. Active audience participation and organic discussion will be encouraged.

The project is inspired by the  academic work of Dr. James Hodkinson  from Warwick University on ‘How art can promote empathy and transform relationships between faiths and cultures’, and as such funded by Arts Council England, Warwick University, Lottery Fund, Hybrid and Film Birmingham.

‘Re-imagining the Opposition: The Art of Empathy’ will take place at Paradise Circus multi-storey car park (behind the Library of Birmingham), Brindley Drive, Birmingham, B1 2NB on Tuesday 25 June, starting at 6pm. This is a free, ticketless event and all are welcome.