Which UK city is the most creative? Birmingham?

Like many people who work between London and Birmingham offices, I have the luxury of enjoying two cities and perspective to view Birmingham from.

While we have acclaimed events like Artsfest (Europe’s largest free arts festival) and less acclaimed ones like the “Germingham” Market (with talking moose head, polar bear shaped), visitors are not confronted with thought provoking art on every corner. Instead, we ask that our guests work for their cultural fix.

Nobody likes a moan like a Brummy. We take pride in it, an ability to inflict a rambling whinge on the nearest audience. We have a raw talent for the beat down and telling the world how it should be done. It’s our thing and I’ll explain why it will make Birmingham the City of Culture in 2013.

Our scene bubbles away just below the surface. It’s driven by ordinary people who grumble about the mundane because they believe in making things better. They don’t rely on others to do this for them; they get out there and forge their own path, using the tools of the city like amazing post-industrial spaces and vibrant ‘village in the city’ communities. The execution is often subversive, always imaginative, and usually with a sense of humour.

Pockets of music, theatre, dance, skateboarding, flashmobbing, web development, jewellery design, knitting…it exists all around us in the city. The real, true joy of the creative Birmingham is the moment you discover one of these for yourself in the most unexpected of settings. You claim it as your secret, sharing it with your friends. The scene in Birmingham is not reserved for the highbrow few, nor is it disposable pop for the masses; instead, it’s thriving just below the surface, doing its own thing and waiting for you to dip a toe.

Some of my own favourite discoveries:

• Outdoor Lord of the Rings amateur re-enactments in Moseley on Tolkien Weekend.

• Cold Rice hosting bleeding edge line ups like the Strange Boys; hailing from Texas, massive in New York, playing in a pub.

• Mr Hudson, from Birmingham. May 09: plays The Rainbow. August 09: Kanye West touts him as one of the most important artists of his generation.

• 4am Project. Gathering a collection of photos from around the world, each taken at 4am. Amateur photographers roam the city looking for their own moment.

• James Newman, jeweller. Orlando Bloom has been wearing his Neil Barrett designs for two years.

• Stuart Whipps, photographer. Paying visits to the empty Rover factory for over a year. His images won The Observer Hodge Prize.

• The Ikon’s neon installations atop of multi-storey car parks.

So, scratch the surface, dig a little. Feel the smug glow when you claim that nugget for yourself. Find a local and ask where the good stuff is; you’ll never find it from a tour bus. It’s there under your nose but you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. This is what makes the Birmingham creative experience so rewarding.

(Photography courtesy of Alex Sican, Flickr)

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