Kerry Thomas tells how Eye Candy, a visual pop culture festival, made such a positive impact on Birmingham’s Southside.
Ever since the launch of Fused Magazine 12 years ago, along with editor David O’Coy, I have been keen to champion excellent and inspiring examples of illustration. But there were few opportunities to showcase such work within the West Midlands. Eye Candy was born out of a desire to raise the profile of illustration and generate showcasing opportunities, combined with the opportunity to make a real impact with the festival in a physical space.
Southside in Birmingham is the city’s most diverse district. It encompasses Chinatown, the Gay Village and theatre district, and is home to many of Birmingham’s independent bars and venues. This rich cultural mix, central location and good transport links made it the ideal place to host the festival.
We were supported through a grant from Southside Business Improvement District’s (BID) festival fund and Arts Council England. Southside BID was established in April 2011 to improve the business environment, and the launch of a festival fund in 2012 with support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was a key strategic move by BID to bring new visitors to the area, support local traders and promote the district as a cultural hub.
We selected world-class exhibitors, speakers and designers to showcase illustration, art and design across Southside through exhibitions, meet-ups, interventions, industry talks and workshops. The festival partnered with Birmingham Zine Fest (BZF) which celebrates alternative publications from exhibitors who self-publish books, comics and magazines.
Over the four days, Eye Candy welcomed 12,000 visitors, a quarter of those being active and engaged consumers. This was a significant output for Southside BID, and provided a specific benefit to businesses in the district. With the support of BID’s manager Julia Chance, we were able to get many of the local businesses involved with the festival through hosting events. French restaurant Le Truc held a number of events including the launch party, live drawing with SKETCH, Inkygoodness and Ammo Magazine, and a Draw Serge Day with Jonathan Edwards. Sidewalk bar brought in over 30 exhibitors to BZF and attracted over 1,000 people throughout the day of the showcase.
Another benefit has been repeat custom for businesses. Le Truc restaurant has seen an increase in return visits from its target demographic, which, having only opened some months before, was invaluable. As well as bringing in new revenue, Eye Candy also strengthened the working relationship between Southside’s venues, with many expressing interest to host the festival again.
The festival featured several high-profile guest artists including Jeremyville, who hosted the UK debut of his Public Service Announcements, and Filthy Luker whose 18 feet mechanised tentacles were also seen for the first time in the UK. This brought additional profile to Southside through media coverage, social media mentions and positive word of mouth.
The fact that venue owners requested that the temporary outdoor works should stay, brightening up otherwise empty spaces, was a key success. These include Jon Burgerman’s monster window vinyls on a currently vacant nightclub space. Street artist Lucy McLauchlan turned the previously uninspiring gateway to Southside into a work of art. The area has historically been a target for graffiti, but since the festival, graffiti in the areas where the artworks remain has been significantly reduced.
With the support from Southside, we are now tentatively looking at bringing the festival back for a second time with the belief that it could be the catalyst for further like-minded showcases across the West Midlands. We have seen that matching the right creative approach with the host location can bring real rewards to both.
Kerry Thomas is Co-founder of Eye Candy Festival.