Those Were The Decades: 1960s

Day Passes (includes Evening Film Screening): £15 and £12 concessions.
Evening Film Screening only (Medium Cool): £7.50 and £5.50 concessions.
Also available on the door (cash only). Please note that online booking closes at 9am on Saturday 29 March.

The first in a series of special events focusing on the five decades of Ikon’s history and the social, political and cultural context, including talks, debates and film screenings.

1960s: The rise of counterculture
Heritage Learning Space Level 4, Library of Birmingham Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2ND

To Sir With Love: 1968, popular culture and the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies – Illustrated Talk
11am–12pm
Dr Kieran Connell, Research Fellow, University of Birmingham, explores the influence of the student protests and popular cultures of the late 1960s, with particular reference to the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (which also celebrates its 50th year in 2014) and a tribute to its former Director the late Stuart Hall, who helped to establish the global field of cultural studies.

Ikon in the 1960s
12.15–1.30pm
A panel discussion, chaired by Ikon Director, Jonathan Watkins, with Ikon Icons artist John Salt; one of Ikon’s founders, Jesse Bruton; and former arts editor Birmingham Post and Arts Lab pioneer, Terry Grimley.

Exploring the archives with Dr Chris Upton
2.30–3.30pm
Join local historian Dr Chris Upton as he explores material from the Library archives for evidence of Birmingham’s counterculture in the 1960s. With thanks to Rachel MacGregor, Collections Curator, The Library of Birmingham.

4–5.30pm
Option A
Film Screening
A screening of Motorcity Music Years: Second City Sinners (1992) (30 mins) by Jonnie Turpie,  featuring the music of the Brumbeat groups that rivalled Liverpool’s Merseybeat in the mid-‘60s. Followed by a Q & A with filmmakers Jonnie Turpie and Roger Shannon.

or
Option B
Tour of Ikon Gallery – a short introduction to Ikon and its current exhibitions.

6–8pm
The Alternative ‘60s – sound and vision
Film Screening: Medium Cool
Dir: Haskell Wexler, USA, 1969, 111 mins, Cert. 15
Studio Theatre, Library of Birmingham, Centenary Sq, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2ND
Few films capture the spirit and music of ‘60s counterculture as potently as Haskell Wexler’s Medium Cool,  a news cameraman’s free-wheeling journey through 1968 Chicago, coinciding with the turbulent Democratic Convention. The film includes the local wing of the Black Panthers and musical contributions from Frank Zappa and Mike Bloomfield. Medium Cool was also the first feature shown at the newly-formed Birmingham Arts Lab. This one-off screening, in association with Flatpack Film Festival looks at the film’s fraught shooting conditions and its enduring influence.

Booking is essential for Those Were The Decades. Please book online or call Ikon Shop on 0121 248 0711.

Day Passes (incls Evening Film Screening): £15 and £12 concessions.
Evening Film Screening only (Medium Cool): £7.50 and £5.50 concessions.
Season Tickets available for all five days (20% discount): £60 and £48 concessions.
Also available on the door (cash only). Please note that online booking closes at 9am on Saturday 29 March.

Those Were The Decades is organised in collaboration with Flatpack Film Festival, The Library of Birmingham, University of Birmingham and Writing West Midlands.

Future events:
Saturday 14 June
1970s: Politics and Protest

Saturday 12 July
1980s: Anything Goes

Saturday 11 October
1990s: The March of Globalisation

Saturday 29 November
2000s: The Age of Turbulence