Clipping The Ikon

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Fri 21 Feb 2025

A centuries-old tradition is to take place at a Birmingham art gallery this week as part of a city-wide festival of light. The Clipping the Ikon event is being held at the contemporary Ikon Gallery in Brindleyplace on Friday 21st February. Led by Birmingham-based Czech artist Tereza Bušková, Clipping the Ikon will revive a centuries-old tradition in which ‘clipping’ means to form a human chain around a sacred building or place.

The day will begin with free creative workshops and performances between 2pm and 5pm, before the candle-lit, ceremonial ‘clipping’ of Ikon Gallery will take place as the sun sets in the evening. The workshops will involve wreath and costume-making with Mariana Novotna, with participants contributing to decorating a costume and headdress for the final performance.



Visitors can also enjoy live music from Karolina Wegrzyn, a South Staffordshire-based folk singer and musician, alongside processional cellist Bela Emerson who will reprise her original score for Clipping the Church in 2016. That event, also involving Tereza Bušková, brought Birmingham communities together to join hands around a church and community centre in Erdington. A film documenting this performance is currently showing at Ikon Gallery.

The procession to encircle the art gallery takes its inspiration from both Czech and British folklore, and will be followed by warming refreshments from Yorks Café, within Ikon, from 6pm until 8pm.



The Clipping the Ikon event is presented as part of the Birmingham Light Festival 2025 and is supported by the Grantham Yorke Trust. It celebrates the final weekend of Ikon’s exhibition Friends in Love and War – L’Éloge des meilleur·es ennemi·es. This exhibition is supported by the British Council and is presented as part of UK/France Spotlight on Culture 2024 Together We Imagine, with additional support from Fluxus Art Projects and Birmingham City University.

PROGRAMME
2 – 4.30pm
Second Floor Galleries
Wreath and costume-making workshop with Mariana Novotna

4.45pm – 5pm
Second Floor Galleries
Live music from Karolina Wegrzyn, Folk singer and musician, and Bela Emerson, Processional Cellist who reprises her original score for Tereza Bušková’s performance Clipping the Church.

5 – 5.45pm
Outside Ikon Gallery
Performance ritual and Clipping the Ikon

6 – 8pm
Yorks Café at Ikon
Thank you speeches and drinks

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