Shibboleths // Ben Waddington

Sat 16 Sept // 11am // 120 mins // SOLD OUT!

Meet: Outside Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6NH

A shibboleth is a phrase, word or custom that uniquely identifies a particular group of people. Throughout history, shibboleths have been used as a kind of cultural password to demonstrate affiliation to a society and to increase group solidarity. In more recent years, a shibboleth may mean a local characteristic—something unique to a particular town or city. In this broader sense, it may be ‘outsiders’ who are better placed to make such observations. So, then: what are the shibboleths of Birmingham? This field study explores the city on a quest for these intriguing instances, with examples drawing from art, architecture, advertising, cuisine and the wider cultural fabric of the city.