Around a hundred people gathered together with the Obama portraits at the Artists Reception for Nadav on Thursday 14 May. I can honestly say that everyone was smiling for most of the time and I have never before enjoyed such generosity of spirit between so many different people. Lorna-Mary hosted Cllr Ray Hassall and Director of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery – Rita McLean, for their welcoming speeches. I had the honour of introducing Matthew Flowers and Nadav Kander and then I went on for a bit about the collective will behind this project. More than any other project I’ve ever worked on, there has been an enthusiastic and growing support from a broad range of people, all wishing us well. To be amidst that sort of energy has been the driving force behind the success of the show, which is packed out everyday, with people going into the Marketing Birmingham Information office at the Rotunda, asking for Obama flyers and the way to the Museum and Art Gallery. Everyday we have notes or calls about the show. The sponsors, partners and individual patrons were all there, along with all those people who willed this to happen. And my Mom and Dad, the Rhubarb, Flowers and Kander teams. It was magical. And then…..

As if by magic, the arrival of Nadav and his wife Nicole, on Thursday 30 April, at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, coincided with the 100 days of Obama… It also coincided with a large group of students from Matthew Boulton, a photographer from the Birmingham Post, 40 schoolchildren and some foul weather. So we all found ourselves answering questions about the show and the portraits and then went out and dodged the rain as we all ran around the city, doing the things we had to do whilst Nadav was in town, stopping for some shopping at the Custard Factory and a lunch in two parts at the Ikon gallery. In the brief moment we had a ten minute break, on arriving back at BMAG to await BBC Asian Network, we all became briefly obsessed with imitating the portraits and did our own photoshoot, some of which will be revealed a little later in this story. We did of course, end the day with Nadav and Nicole, in a curry house on the Ladypool Road….
The verdict from Nadav was good, he enjoyed seeing his show, and his picture of him almost as Eugene Kang was published in the Birmingham Post on Friday 1st May. Watch for the same paper on Tuesday next, when Arts Editor Terry Grimley tells us what he thinks of Obama’s People….

Tomorrow Nadav and his wife Nicole will be visiting Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to see the show for the first time. Nadav was away in the USA on a big commission when we were installing. He also went, at a last minute request, to photograph… Barack Obama, for a new portrait which has today appeared on the cover of the New York Times… So the wheel continues.
So its up early tomorrow to get to the gallery and ensure its all looking wonderful and those people in the portraits haven’t had a cabinet reshuffle in the night… Would love to be there when its dark and see what they get up to.
We’ll be meeting the Director of BMAG, Rita McLean, and the team who helped so much with the project there. Then off to meet Ian Richards at Heavy Object, who did the wonderful graphics and is now working on a book of the portraits. On to the Ikon for lunch, a quick trip to Birmingham Repertory theatre to check out the venue for Nadav’s In Conversation on 15th May and then back to BMAG to meet the BBC Asian Network team, who are doing an interview with Nadav. After that, off to Must in Newhall Street, for some drinks to celebrate. Am excited and looking forward to meeting Nadav again and seeing and hearing what he thinks of his show.

We’ve just had confirmation that Nadav will be here in Birmingham on 15th May, so hope many of you can come. Here are the details:

Rhubarb Rhubarb and Flowers Gallery Present
Obama’s People Exhibition – World Premiere, Birmingham UK

Nadav Kander in Conversation….

Birmingham Repertory Theatre
1.00pm Friday 15th May 2009

Rhonda Wilson, Creative Director of Rhubarb-Rhubarb, Co-Curator of the exhibition, will be talking to Nadav Kander about the story behind the commission, his approach to the shoots, the significance of the show at this time in the world, all those questions being asked about the project, and how it became the exhibition everyone is talking about.

Tickets: £15/£10 concessions
0121 236 4455
online sales: http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/event/nadav-kander-in-conversation

Posted in: In Conversation, Nadav Kander by Rhonda Wilson No Comments

As you’ll hopefully be aware the Nadav Kander was commissioned to take the photographs for the New York Times who devoted their entire magazine to them for the inauguration. They were also put on the NYT website with audio commentary which is well worth listening to.

While you’re there check out Back Story gallery where Kander and NYT director of photography Kathy Ryan talk about the work involved in taking 53 portraits in record time, accompanied by Felicity McCabe’s behind the scenes snapshots.