I DJ at parties, clubs, at gallery openings and festivals. My DJ name is Sister 45 as I play only 45s and I am pretty evangelical about vinyl and analogue music. Here is some more info… Sister 45 grew up in rural mid Wales on her mum’s eclectic music collection listening to Soul, Reggae, Blues and Folk. She began DJing in 2002 taking initial influence from Hip Hop and Blaxpoitation soundtracks and in 2004 held a residency at Funked Up in Swansea, one of the longest running vinyl only Funk and Soul nights in the UK. That residency secured her passion for black music and her love of seeking out rare original funk and soul 45s. She has held nine residencies since then and in 2006 started her own night; mama feel good! in Birmingham UK, with DJ Bobbalin’ Hot. Sister 45 has played at well respected funk nights at The Powder Room Barcelona, Soul Spectrum Edinburgh, Sunday Joint Barcelona, Funkshun Limerick, and at the Soul Service club Balsam and Regenercia in Poland, at festivals DBNB, Shambala, The Larmer Tree and Bass Festival. She has also played for Roy Ayers, Jazzman Gerald, Roger C, Fryer, DJ Amma, Nia Saw...

A social media project for 16-20 year olds that represents a unique perspective on the arts in Birmingham I am the Creative Programmer at Bright Space and for this project I recruited 17 young people aged between 16-20 yrs from Birmingham and the West Midlands to be the authors and editors of the Platform blog. Over six months the group have received training, support and guidance from industry experts and creative professionals in multimedia journalism. The Platform journalists have shaped the voice, content and direction of the Platform blog by attending, discussing, reviewing and examining the creative opportunities available to them and other young people in their city. The aspiration for Platform is to amplify young people as unique, dynamic, cultural commentators that successfully communicate, inspire and engage other young people. It is also hoped that Platform will become a vehicle that cultural organisations, venues and promoters connect with to ensure their programming reflects the breadth and individuality of young people in Birmingham and the West Midlands. The Platform Journalists meet up monthly; if you would like to come to a meeting please get in touch. For more information about Platform, please contact Amy Martin on 0121 772 6932...