"The Art of Happiness in Cities" is a week long festival taking place at the University of Birmingham, representing a custom celebration of inclusion, diversity and vibrancy of the city of Birmingham
The exhibition, which will take place at Edgbaston Park Hotel at the University of Birmingham representing a custom celebration of inclusion, diversity and vibrancy of the City of Birmingham using film photography and silver gelatine printing. The exhibition features many different communities from all parts of the City captured in both portrait photography and landscapes.
Born in Russia and raised in Portugal, Alexander Kharlamov has dedicated most of his life to develop his artistic vision, receiving his formal education in fine art painting and classical music in a conservatory, yet, photography remains his favourite medium. His portraiture has been published in books and magazines. His fine art work received many distinctions and featured in both individual and collective exhibitions over the last years.
Commenting on the project, Alexander Kharlamov said: “I believe that studying inclusion and diversity through art helps us rediscover cities as we can better understand how different cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds come together to form the multidimensional tapestry, which contributes to our everyday life”.
The exhibition is a part of a week-long “Happiness in Cities” festival hosted at the University of Birmingham which is free to attend which consists a series of events to explore different angles from which the University of Birmingham Business School is engaging with the city, policy makers and society at large. It was inspired by the School’s Happiness in Cities project, which aims to understand how different communities across Birmingham contribute to the city's development and how this diversity can help us build happier cities.
The exhibition will be open to public from 10 am to 5 pm and is free to attend. The organisers are using the festival to accept voluntary donations which will go to Birmingham PHAB Camps – a Birmingham charity which runs holiday programmes with the special purpose of integrating children of all abilities, backgrounds, faiths and ethnicities.
Ganna Pogrebna, one of the organisers of the festival said: “According to the United Nations, 68% of the world population will live in urban areas by 2050. Yet, modern cities still fail to maximize people's potential. Using an example of the city of Birmingham, the Happiness in Cities project aims to understand how different communities across Birmingham contribute to the city's development and how this diversity can help us build happier cities. We are very excited to host the Happiness in Cities and the exhibition! We are very grateful to the University of Birmingham, Economic and Social Research Council and the Alan Turing Institute for financial support.”
Exhibit address: Edgbaston Park Hotel, 53 Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2RS
Exhibit is open to public on Saturday, October 26th, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more General Festival matters please email Ganna Pogrebna on + 44 7383 080 349
