Already renowned as the vanguard of creative content, the New Generation Arts Festival (NGA), running from June 5^th – 20^th in various venues around Birmingham, notoriously champions the independent cause of showcasing the brightest emerging graduate talent in the arts world today. Previously supported by a host of celebrities including model Erin O’Connor, social commentator Germaine Greer, comedian Frank Skinner, artist Anthony Gormley and author Philip Pullman, this year the New Generation Arts Festival, organised by Birmingham City University and supported by Arts Council England, celebrates youth, diversity and the rise of digital culture.

The topic of this year’s festival is Digital Utopia, where the exploration of the digital theme takes centre stage through a dynamic blend of celebrated talent and hotly tipped emerging artists on the verge of international success. Pushing the boundaries of innovation, 2008 will feature over 35 massive performances, exhibitions and special features including exhilarating collaborations with musician Julian Lloyd Webber (performing a live, improvised piece accompanying the BBC evening news titled ‘And Now, the News’ at the launch event on the 5^th June, which promises to be quite a talking point), acclaimed digital artist Jane Prophet, and applauded curator Mona Casey. The eminent ‘Big Debate’, with a panel of renowned guests, chaired by the BBC’s technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, will explore whether the digital revolution gives us More Power, or is it making us More Powerless?

A centre piece of the festival is the ‘You and Your Friends Pixellated?’ event which seeks to engage the local Birmingham community by inviting them to submit mobile phone pictures of “Life in Birmingham”. The photo gallery will be exhibited on the BBC Big Screens across the city alongside ‘Billboard Narratives’ supported by the Betty Trask winning novelist Nicola Monaghan. By posting storylines on billboards located around the city commuters will be encouraged to contribute their ideas and responses via text message which will be developed by a network of writers, allowing members of the public to fashion their own unique story board.

This year the festival also has Germaine Greer on board as a guest blogger, where she will be blogging on issues around this year’s festival theme. Renowned for her extremely thought-provoking and at times controversial point-of-view, Germaine’s blog promises to be a big talking point during the festival.