A photographic journey of cooking and companionship in Birmingham immigrant communities.
A photographic journey of cooking and companionship in Birmingham immigrant communities.
An exhibition by Francesco Falciani
Darkroom Birmingham The Old Print Works 506 Moseley Road Balsall Heath B12 9AH
Evening reception Thursday 30th June 7-9pm Exhibition runs until 20th July, Tues-Thurs 10-3, Saturday 9th 11-4 and by appointment.
One of my earliest memories with my mother was when I was small enough to have my hand round her leg and feeling the motion of her body as she was chopping and cutting food ingredients. That is a beautiful memory!
Sadie, Spring 2022, Change Kitchen
Breaking Bread is an ongoing, research led, documentary photography project by Birmingham based photographer Francesco Falciani. He writes:
‘Sharing food has always been an obsession for me. I have always seen this as a way to reach people, an integral part of how I communicate my love and affection, how I try to inspire trust. Being an immigrant has made this aspect of my character even more important, an instrument to remember who I am and where I come from but also a way to integrate in the country I choose to live in. ‘
Through photography and interviews I have been exploring the way people feel the emotional and ritual element of cooking and eating together.’
This project was developed through the 15 Frames exhibitions programme at darkroom Birmingham, and in association with Change Kitchen CIC.
This is a space where artists, makers, community convenors and anyone interested in the power of participatory arts can come together to help build our creative community over a relaxed pot-luck lunch.
This is a space where artists, makers, community convenors and anyone interested in the power of participatory arts can come together to help build our creative community over a relaxed pot-luck lunch.
What can you give this community? What do you want to get out of this community?
We’ll be asking:
How might we make our neighbourhoods viable places to make and create art?
How might we engage more people in community arts and making?
How might we ensure that local artists can pursue meaningful creative careers?
In the spirit of sharing generously, all attendees are invited to prepare a 3 minute presentation on their work so we can all get a flavour of what others in our area are up to. You can be as creative as you want – present in person, prepare a powerpoint, perform something you’re working on, show us your finest work, pre-record a film…
We also are welcoming contributions to our pot luck lunch. This would ideally be lovingly homebaked soulfood, but we also have no issue with food foraged from the Lidl across the road!
Birmingham is a city of thousands of creative trades from jewellery making to grime music and yet its biggest asset is ‘the people’. Birmingham is in the process of developing a new Arts and Culture Strategy for the next decade. A range of meetings have been planned to give the people of Birmingham a chance to have their say.
Birmingham is a city of thousands of creative trades from jewellery making to grime music and yet its biggest asset is ‘the people’. Birmingham is in the process of developing a new Arts and Culture Strategy for the next decade. A range of meetings have been planned to give the people of Birmingham a chance to have their say.
Whether you have a passion for Creativity, Arts and/or Culture or you just want to share your ideas, we would invite you to join us in smaller discussions focussing on ‘your experience of creativity, arts and culture, the councils role and shaping the vision for the future.’
Your views matter and will contribute towards beginning to paint the picture of what the creative future of Birmingham should look like by 2032.
The first meeting will take place on the 10th of June at Wynner House in Birmingham City Centre 10:00 – 12:00. Click here to book a place.
If you are unable to attend this meeting, there are other opportunities to take part this month. Please see our schedule here.
Sophia Moffa’s practice is focused on the connections between the plant kingdom and society, commenting on contemporary issues of privilege and inequalities within society.
Sophia Moffa’s practice is focused on the connections between the plant kingdom and society, commenting on contemporary issues of privilege and inequalities within society.
She uses natural found materials which she sources within the urban green spaces, creating works that often transforms in parallel with the seasons in the city where she lives. Her work is influenced by the belief that we live in an oversaturated environment, which clouds and persistently feeds the mind. Due to this, her works are cyclical, temporary, and sustainable.
Moffa often works collaboratively with artists across different countries to build on a more collaborative art world and practice. This year she also set up “the travellers’ tree” a CIC which runs art workshops in nature for asylum seekers living in hostels across the West Midlands. Merging art, physical activities, and nature together to enable refugees to have a safe space to express themselves. She has run workshops for the Canal & River Trust, Super Slow Ways, Amal and the New Art Gallery Walsall.
Call out for Artists who could deliver Arts in Health sessions.
Call out for Artists who could deliver Arts in Health sessions.
The Arts in Health Project funded by BCHC Charity aims to deliver a far-reaching, accessible and participatory arts and cultural programme for the patients and healthcare workers of Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. This helps to improve the mental health and wellbeing of patients and staff through arts sessions.
We are offering paid opportunities for freelance artists who are able to deliver bespoke artistic sessions; either directly to patients on wards, or to our hard working healthcare staff in numerous settings.
The wide ranging benefits of arts in healthcare include supporting physical, mental and emotional health as well as improving recovery through decreasing anxiety, relieving stress, boosting confidence and raising morale.
Arts Sessions currently offered by BCHC Charity
Thanks to generous grants, fundraising and donations, BCHC Charity offer the following types of sessions:
Music – including live performances by musicians, or interactive sessions e.g. drumming workshops.
Movement – such as dance or tai chi.
Arts and crafts workshops – such as painting, sculpting, mindful colouring etc.
Drama, including live performances or interactive workshops.
We are always looking to broaden our network of artists.
Do you think you can offer something new?
If you are a freelance artist who could provide an Arts in Health session and would like to know more please contact: rashad.gregory1@nhs.net
Are you a community artist with availability in June and July?
As part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival for the Commonwealth Games, Art Works are very pleased to share that we have been successful in a public vote for both Balsall Heath West and Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East ward ‘Celebrating Communities’ funding. If you cast your vote for us then thank you!
We want to creatively explore the many and varied journeys that people have made to Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook from both near and far, celebrating the area as a place of refugee and a home to people from around the globe.
As part of developing these plans, we are on the lookout for community artists who can deliver participatory workshops with adults, and possibly some Key Stage 2 pupils, during June and July. Any work produced will be exhibited to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. You may have noticed our previous callout for this project, but after a period of planning we we unable to appoint an artist and are putting this role out again.
We anticipate that we will be working with two Sparkbrook school parents’ groups and a third community organisation for workshops over six weeks in June and July. These will likely be a 1-2 hour morning workshop each week with each group. However, we are also exploring the option of a more intensive programme, delivered over a few days towards the end of term. We are open to working with an artist who can deliver workshops for all three groups, or three artists working with one group each.
Fee: £1,000 per group (6 sessions at £150 per session, plus £100 planning and liaison)
To apply: Send a CV plus a short paragraph, video or voicenote outlining your interest in the project and how you may approach the brief to hello@artworkshallgreen.co.uk by noon on Friday 27th May.
Analogue photography facilities and project space. Since 2012 we’ve been running photography courses, offering use of darkroom facilities, putting on exhibitions and delivering projects.
Analogue photography facilities and project space. Since 2012 we’ve been running photography courses, offering use of darkroom facilities, putting on exhibitions and delivering projects.
I am an artist, mainly working in acrylics, watercolor, oil paints, resin, alcohol ink.
I am an artist, mainly working in acrylics, watercolour, oil paints, resin, alcohol ink.
I take online kids art classes, half term painting workshops in Cartland Tea Room, Kings Heath and Creative Coffee Hub on Raddlebarn Road. I have participated in Birmingham Open Studios and various art fairs.
As part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival for the Commonwealth Games, Art Works are very pleased to share that we have been successful in a public vote for both Balsall Heath West and Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East ward ‘Celebrating Communities’ funding. If you cast your vote for us then thank you!
We want to creatively explore the many and varied journeys that people have made to Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook from both near and far, celebrating the area as a place of refugee and a home to people from around the globe.
As part of developing these plans, we are on the lookout for community textile artists who can deliver participatory workshops with adults, and possibly some Key Stage 2 pupils, during June and July. We know that participants have some experience and/or interest in working with textiles, so we want to build on existing skills and support development of new skills. Any work produced will be exhibited to coincide with the Commonwealth Games.
We anticipate that we will be working with three community groups for weekly workshops over six weeks in June and July. We are open to working with an artist who can deliver workshops for all three groups, or three artists working with one group each.
Fee: £1,000 per group (6 sessions at £150 per session, plus £100 planning and liaison)
To apply: Send a CV plus a short paragraph, video or voicenote outlining your interest in the project and how you may approach the brief to hello@artworkshallgreen.co.uk by noon on Monday 16th May.
Save the date!
Art Works Gathering and AGM
The Old Print Works, Friday 8th July, 12noon-3pm
Save the date! Art Works Gathering and AGM The Old Print Works, Friday 8th July, 12noon-3pm
This July we are bringing together creative folk for an afternoon of community and connection. This is a space where artists, makers, community convenors and anyone interested in the power of participatory arts can come together to help build our creative community over a pot-luck lunch. We’ll be asking:
How might we make our neighbourhoods viable places to make and create art?
How might we engage more people in community arts and making?
How might we ensure that local artists can pursue meaningful creative careers?
In the spirit of sharing generously, all attendees are invited to prepare a short (3-4 minute) presentation on their work so we can all get a flavour of what others in our area are up to. More details on the format of the day, plus booking details, will follow soon. In the meantime, do get in touch with ideas or questions.
Stage2 are proud to present two FREE Workshops at Brandwood Centre on the 9th April.
We have collaborated with Birmingham City Council on the Celebrating Communities Project, looking at our local identity and what community means to us. We have produced two commissioned pieces and are now offering totally free workshops to anyone aged 7-21, of any level of experience.
The workshops will consist of fun drama games and exercises that will allow you to get to know other young people, and explore the question ‘What does Community mean to me?’.
The workshops run from 1-3pm and 3.30-5.30pm: you can do just one or you could even do both of them if you like!
Art Works commissioned B’Opera to co-create a new musical production with children under five and their families at The Springfield Project in Sparkhill. It was shared in a performance at The Springfield Project in February.
Art Works commissioned B’Opera to co-create a new musical production with children under five and their families at The Springfield Project in Sparkhill.
B’Opera have co-created a new musical production, ‘Hello Bird, Hello Fish!’ with and for children and their families who are users of The Springfield Project Children’s Centre, Mini Springers and Park Road nurseries. Funded through Birmingham City Council’s ‘Next Generation’ fund, the piece was devised through a programme of participatory sessions and was showcased at The Springfield Centre on 22nd February 2022. Families were invited to this special performance to see their ideas in development.
Read more about the whole project, including the process of co-creating the work with pre-school children and their adults and exploring big ideas with little people on our ‘Hello Bird, Hello Fish!’ project page.
Relaxed, interactive and inclusive
Everyone was greeted with free-flow sensory play opportunities with members of the B’Opera team to allow children and their adults time to explore the space, meet the performers and touch some of the props. This was crucial in creating a relaxed, interactive space where everyone was welcomed and made to feel comfortable.
High quality opera in Sparkhill
The playfulness continued as B’Opera began the performance, with some children moving, singing and dancing alongside the performers. The audience was treated to a combination of classical opera, new versions of classical nursery rhymes and a lullaby in Urdu. Characters wore colourful costumes that accentuated each animal’s movements – the gracefulness of fireflies, the elegance of fish or the swooping and swishing of the lost bird.
Space to reflect
The audience was invited to gather for food and reflection following the performance, through informal conversations or adding written comments to the ‘feedback fish’. Some spoke about their own experiences of feeling excluded, through racial or faith based discrimination. Others commented on their parents’ use of lullabies to soothe them as children.
Sarah Robbins, CEO of The Springfield Project, has written a piece (opens as a PDF in a separate window), outlining the value of this project for the community she serves in Sparkhill. Thanks are due to Sarah and all of the staff at The Springfield Project for embracing and facilitating the project throughout.
Where next?
This initial sharing of ‘Hello Bird, Hello Fish!’ is hopefully the first outing for the work – B’Opera hope to develop it further and tour the piece to other children’s centres and community venues. There are plans to include performances as part of this year’s Commonwealth Games Festival programme and The Springfield Project’s Creative Families Festival.
If you are interested in learning more about ‘Hello Bird, Hello Fish!’ or would like to host a performance, contact Zoë Challenor at zoe@bopera.co.uk.
BCAT have a range of events for people looking to develop and enhance their Arts and Health practice.
For more information on ‘Introduction to Arts in Health’, ‘Creative Relaxation Techniques for SEN’ or ‘Introduction to Dance Movement Psychotherapy’ at The Buddhist Centre in Moseley, contact Dawn Durrant on dawndurrant@bcat.info or visit www.bcat.info.
Join this networking event for those exploring arts and health activities in Birmingham.
Join this networking event for those exploring arts and health activities in Birmingham.
Who is it for?
Anyone working in the health and social care sector in Birmingham looking to enhance their knowledge of arts activities which deliver social care outcomes.
Anyone working in the arts sector in Birmingham looking to enhance their social prescribing knowledge, contacts and arts & health good practice.
Join Keith Piper and Gary Stewart for an informal conversation about their experiences of attending the Moseley School of Art and other shared experiences.
About the artists
Gary Stewart is an artist concerned with social and political issues, particularly with reference to history, identity and culture, working across sound, moving image and performance. Collective practice is key to his work using experimental media practices and technologies to explore the unique spaces emerging in public spaces, art galleries and museums formed by the shifting intersections and blurred boundaries between audiences, authorship and participation.
Currently Lecturer in Fine Art (Studio Practice) at Goldsmiths, University of London, he is a founder member of interdisciplinary artist, research and performance group Dubmorphology and Artist Associate at People’s Palace Projects based in the Drama Department of Queen Mary University of London working with activists and academics on projects that address a wide range of social justice and human rights issues.
Keith Piper is a Visual Artist and Associate Professor in Fine Art at Middlesex University London.
His creative practice exists in response to specific issues, historical relationships and geographical sites, and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Piper was a founder member of the Blk Art Group in the early 1980s and during this period he established a research-driven approach prioritising thematic exploration over an attachment to any particular media. His work over the past 40 years has ranged from painting, through photography and installation to a use of digital media, video and computer-based interactivity.
Calling young theatre-makers in and around Balsall Heath!
Calling young theatre-makers in and around Balsall Heath!
Are you a performer, director, designer or theatre-maker aged 18-30? Do you live in Balsall Heath or surrounding areas? The GAP invites you to join The Basement Theatre Ensemble.
This small collective of local theatre-makers meet fortnightly to share skills, hone creative practice and make work.
When: Wednesday evenings from 9th March Where: The GAP Arts Project
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION] The top half has text that reads: “Are you a performer, director, designer or theatre maker? Aged 18-30? Live in Balsall Heath or surrounding areas?
Join The GAP’s basement theatre ensemble. Starting Wednesday 9th March.”
At the bottom there is a photo of two young people filming a scene with another person sat on a bed. Under the photo, text reads: “hone creative practice // develop methodology // create work.”
Friction Arts is looking to support three aspiring young journalists to be part of an exciting community journalism project in Digbeth, capturing the voices of people telling us their We Made Birmingham stories, which will feature in digital displays across the city to celebrate the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Friction Arts is looking to support three aspiring young journalists to be part of an exciting community journalism project in Digbeth, capturing the voices of people telling us their We Made Birmingham stories, which will feature in digital displays across the city to celebrate the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
We will support you to undertake a short five session course in community journalism training that will equip you to be part of our We Made Birmingham team – recording and sharing stories of heritage, community activism and migration from residents of the Digbeth area.
Pictures from Friction Arts 2021 How Were You? community interviews
Training
All training sessions will be held at:
BVSC Centre, 138 Digbeth, Birmingham, B5 6DR.
The first two sessions are on Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd February, and will run for three hours each, with the choice of a morning slot (10:00am – 1:00pm) or an afternoon slot (1:00pm – 4:00pm).
There will be three additional Saturday training sessions held before Easter. These five x three hour sessions will include:
theory behind conducting an excellent interview
pre-production processes
technical set up of the equipment,
camera techniques
a session led by a working journalist
The Project
During May and June, you will work at least three half days (times and days to be flexibly arranged) as part of a team of three community journalists and a professional caricaturist, using your training to capture the voices of people as they tell us their We Made Birmingham stories. These interviews will then be edited to become Augmented Reality connected to the twenty portraits as part of a touring exhibition to different sites during Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth.
Friction Arts and our commitment to you
Friction Arts is passionate about heritage, interviewing, oral histories and gathering awkward as well as historic stories. We have a long history, of over thirty years working creatively across Birmingham with experience in oral history (training, interviews, editing and distributing) across different digital formats including Augmented Reality, video, recordings, montage and animation.
Not only will we support you with training, travel and refreshment expenses, you will be part of a live community journalism project with Friction Arts, a well established community arts organisation, who will help you to evaluate the experience and then support you in potential opportunities for the future.
