BASS Festival starts this week

The British Arts and Street Sounds (BASS) Festival gets underway in Birmingham this week.

It is the UK’s only month-long celebration of black music and art and returns this month for its fifth consecutive year, taking place at various venues across the city throughout June, organised by Punch Records.

With a theme of ‘DNA’, music, arts and performance events will be staged at venues including Mac, The Custard Factory, Sence, the Hare & Hounds and the Rep, getting underway in earnest on Thursday (June 3).

Among the highlights is a UK premiere of an exhibition of political protest artwork at Devonshire House at The Custard Factory in Digbeth. Protest: Fight the Power, Twenty Years of the Political Poster will be unveiled to invited guests on June 2 before going on display to the public fromJune 3 until June 26. The provocative exhibition has toured Asia and Africa and presents a fascinating insight into decades of grassroots political movements and campaigns that have shaped the modern world. Entry is free every day between 10am and 5pm.

Also starting on Thursday (June 3) is Raycho Stanev’s artistic installation The Great Escursion, an interactive featured aimed at giving a unique insight into the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian Turks from Bulgaria in 1989.

The free-to-view installation is presented by Friction Arts at The Edge in Cheapside, Digbeth, until June 19, open from 1pm to 7pm from Tuesdays to Saturdays.

For music-lovers, Jazzie B, a key figure in the evolution of black British music and founder of Soul II Soul, will perform an intimate DJ session at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath High Street on Friday (June 4), presented in partnership with promoters Leftfoot, celebrating their 10th anniversary. Advance tickets are £8 in advance. For ticket details click here.

Other highlights of the festival include Jah Shaka Sound System at the Rainbow Warehouse on June 25 and DNA: The Rave at Sence, led by DJs Jetza (pictured) and Felix Splashment on June 19.

To see the full programme for the BASS Festival see www.bassfestival.co.uk.