The Second Saturday of the Month
Join us at The GAP to make your own piece of bunting inspired by Balsall Heath using paint, fabric, vinyl and more. Your artwork will be added to a metres-long bunting piece created collectively over the next several months as part of the Believe in Balsall Heath project. Once finished, it will be displayed on the streets nearby to celebrate and decorate our beloved neighbourhood.
1 – 3pm
at The GAP / The MIX Cafe
An interactive discussion exploring racial injustice, the British legal system and local history through the real-life story of Oswald Grey
Join us at The GAP for an interactive Community Conversation with writer Jon Berry exploring forgotten local history, capital punishment and racial injustices within the British legal system through the real-life story of Oswald Augustus Grey.
Oswald came to England from Jamaica aged 18 in 1960, and lived on Cannon Hill Road in Balsall Heath. Two years later he became the last man to be hanged in Birmingham and the last Black man to be executed in Britain. This is a tale of hasty injustice and deep-seated prejudice that is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago.
Join The GAP at Balsall Heath Second Saturday for Stories From The Den! 📖
A two hour session of story telling Palestinian and Arab folktales all from the comfort of the den. Get cosy, exercise your imaginations and enter into a world of myths, legends and long tales that tell us much about what it means to be human. After some storytelling we will make some space and use a range of tools and materials to explore some prompts inspired by the stories.
🕓 Saturday 13th September, 11am – 1pm. Please arrive promptly to make sure we can start the stories on time.
Join Kohinoor and Arron this Saturday for a multi-sensory creative workshop exploring the edible herbs that live in our Peace Garden 🌿🌼 Listen to plant poetry and write your own whilst touching, tasting, smelling and seeing the herbs 🖐️👂👃👄👁️
Saturday 12th July, 12 – 1pm
Workshop is aimed at ages 6 – 11 years, but all are welcome.
Free
Throughout the day you’ll also be invited to spend time in the Peace Garden, listen to some audio recordings of Kohinoor reading nature-themed poetry, and enjoy the butterflies 🦋
Exhibition Opening – Curated by Isra Kausarg
A Touch Of Green 🌱
Exhibition Opening Sat 14 June, 10am – 5pm
Curated by Isra Kausar
Featuring painting, photography, poetry and mixed media, this exhibition brings together works of art by local artists that speak to nature on many levels, calling you to connect with nature in the hopes that we can help heal it.
Some focus on appreciating the beauty of the natural world, some touch on the connection we have to it, and some encourage us to take action.
‘A Touch Of Green’ Art Exhibition 🌱
Sat 12 July, 10am – 5pm
Curated by Isra Kausar
Featuring painting, photography, poetry and mixed media, this exhibition brings together works of art by local artists that speak to nature on many levels, calling you to connect with nature in the hopes that we can help heal it.
Some focus on appreciating the beauty of the natural world, some touch on the connection we have to it, and some encourage us to take action.
There are also some tips and tricks in the gallery, for small things you could do to make a difference and help the Earth, and yourself in the process, by adding a little bit of green.
Pop by to see the exhibition this Balsall Heath Second Saturday, as well as visiting our Peace Garden to immerse yourself in nature amongst our urban landscape.There are also some tips and tricks in the gallery, for small things you could do to make a difference and help the Earth, and yourself in the process, by adding a little bit of green.
Pop by to see the exhibition this Balsall Heath Second Saturday, as well as visiting our Peace Garden to immerse yourself in nature amongst our urban landscape.
Exhibition Opening – Curated by Isra Kausarg
A Touch Of Green 🌱
Exhibition Opening Sat 14 June, 10am – 5pm
Curated by Isra Kausar
Featuring painting, photography, poetry and mixed media, this exhibition brings together works of art by local artists that speak to nature on many levels, calling you to connect with nature in the hopes that we can help heal it.
Some focus on appreciating the beauty of the natural world, some touch on the connection we have to it, and some encourage us to take action.
There are also some tips and tricks in the gallery, for small things you could do to make a difference and help the Earth, and yourself in the process, by adding a little bit of green.
Pop by to see the exhibition this Balsall Heath Second Saturday, as well as visiting our Peace Garden to immerse yourself in nature amongst our urban landscape.
11am – 1pm
Join Kohinoor Yasmin (Poet, Writer & Workshop Facilitator) in our beautiful Peace Garden for a gentle children’s workshop celebrating sunflowers:
🌻 Plant your own sunflower seed to take home
🌻 Listen to some poems about sunflowers
🌻 Write you own sunflower poem using guided prompts
There will also be an opportunity to audio record your poem read aloud to add to The GAP’s exciting new Peace Garden Spotify playlist!
🟡 For children aged 6 to 12 years old
🟡 Parents/carers must be present for the duration of the workshop. You are welcome to relax and enjoy spending time in the Peace Garden.
🟡 Free!
🟡 Book your place via Eventbrite here –
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1398323546369?aff=oddtdtcreator
Exploring the quiet power of women’s knowledge passed down through generations. At its heart are oral history interviews with four women from different cultural backgrounds, each sharing deeply personal stories about how they learned creative skills — from sewing to weaving — from mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and neighbours.
These conversations, conducted by artist Kim Chi, uncover the invisible networks of care, teaching, and tradition that often go unrecognised as “work.” In response, Kim has created a moving series of artworks, which are exhibited alongside treasured craft objects loaned by the interviewees themselves — items filled with memory, labour, and love.
The space invites participation: visitors can sit, stitch, listen, reflect, and add their own voices to a growing archive of collective memory and gratitude. This is more than an exhibition — it’s an evolving community space where women’s creativity and care are seen, heard, and honoured.
Help us bring ~even more~ life and colour to our beautiful Peace Garden through some fun creative activities using materials from the earth – clay and chalk 🌞🕊️
🟢 Play with clay and your imagination to create a unique mythical creature to live in the Peace Garden!
🟢 Use chalk to add colour, pattern and messages to the Peace Garden’s planters and pavement flooring
And as always come explore the plants and wildlife, and take a moment to enjoy being at peace within nature 🌿🪻🐦🐞🐝🪱
1 – 4pm (Drop-in)
All ages welcome (Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult)
Free
Join us this Balsall Heath Second Saturday for an intimate listening, crafting & conversation circle exploring the importance of passing on knowledge of women’s creative work between generations and within communities.
We will invite you to crochet whilst listening to a recorded interview with artist-crafter Jane Thakoordin, before opening up space to share reflections and stories between ourselves about women’s creative work.
This event launches part two of THREADS: An Interactive Exhibition Untangling The Hidden Work Of Women. The exhibition includes oral history interviews with four local women from different backgrounds about how they learnt their creative skills from other women. The interviews were conducted by Kim Chi, who also created artworks in response which are on display in the exhibition, along with craft objects loaned by the interviewees and various interactive activities.
The session will be facilitated by Isra Kausar (Curator), Kim Chi (Artist) and Ella Marshall (Programme Director).
All genders welcome
Ages 14+
No booking required – just show up at 3.30pm
Exhibition Opening: THREADS: An Interactive Exhibition Untangling the Hidden Work of Women (Part One)
Saturday 8th March, 11am – 4pm
Join us this International Women’s Day as we launch a new exhibition curated by Isra Kausar @israk_art as part of @balsallheathsecondsaturday . Featuring various craft activities and conversational prompts, the exhibition invites you to talk, listen, reflect and learn about the work of women that too often goes unnoticed and unappreciated.
The things you make and thoughts you share will be a part of the community helping to untangle and appreciate the often hidden work of women, and will be included in Part Two of this exhibition, launching in April. This second part will also feature audio interviews with women local to The GAP exploring their personal stories on how skills are passed down through generations of women, as well as objects and mixed media artworks created in response by Kim Chi (a founding member of The Culture Collective and current team member of The MIX Cafe!).
Part One of this exhibition runs throughout March.
GAP Gallery 10am-4pm
More Than Sight
An interactive exhibition by Isra Kaur exploring alternative ways of thinking about art for both sighted and visually impaired audiences
WORKSHOP
Try your hand at our sensory Clay Challenges
Saturday 8th February, 12-1pm, 2-3pm.
Drop-in / All welcome
Taking place as part of @balsallheathsecondsaturday
Peace Garden Open Day 🌄🌺
Sat 8th February 11.30am – 3.30pm
All welcome. Drop-in.Come and enjoy our beautiful Peace Garden this Saturday.
🌱 Explore the plants and wildlife
🌱 Relax and reflect on the changing of the seasons with an optional activity to leave a message in the garden
🌱 Visit the Adil Khalid Remembrance Bench
Drop-in / All welcome
SEWING SOLIDARITY EXHIBITION 🧵✨ ✊
This exhibition showcases the artworks produced by Sewing Solidarity, a GAP project led by artist Jane Thakoordin that invited young people aged 13 – 18 to create a series of new banners for Balsall Heath and The GAP inspired by the trade union banner tradition.
Over several months, young people took part in a series of sessions at The GAP in which we explored working class stories, local histories and banner art, and experimented with textile design techniques and slogans to co-design and collectively create five beautiful banners.
The final designs bring together traditional and contemporary elements, and are inspired by the diversity and culture of Balsall Heath, and the richness of its community spirit and generosity despite not being monetarily rich. In times of difficulty, people have come together to support one another and show solidarity, despite our differences.
In the trade union tradition, the Sewing Solidarity banners have been created as lasting pieces that can be used at community events, protests, demonstrations and celebrations to represent our solidarity for years to come. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for how or where these banners might be displayed in the local area!
About the artists
Jane Thakoordin is a participatory artist with over 30 years experience of co-creation with groups and organisations both regionally and nationally. Using textiles as the main medium, Jane draws on her background as a mental health professional and tutor to create spaces where people can experiment and express themselves. Follow Jane @janethakoordin_
Project participants – Nimra, Naveera, Ruby, Mohamed, Mohammed, Nasaradin, Mariya, Zahra, Chi, Ezra, Jo, Hala, Mariya, Ayda, and everyone who joined us at Balsall Heath Second Saturday!
Funded by @westmids_ca and @bhamcitycouncil
✨❄️The GAP Winter Craft Fair❄️✨ Saturday 14th December, 11am – 4pm
Pop down to @oldprintworksbrum on 14th December for a festive fun-filled day out whilst supporting local artists and young people. Expect an exciting array of unique handmade gifts and goodies for sale – all made by local young artists, designers and crafters – in amongst our cosy community cafe The MIX and during the bustling @balsallheathsecondsaturday.
Featuring….
@_achastudio
@apundantlyclear
@artbyamjam
@hannahmandrews
@capture.and.create.media
@jenkoandco
Mangoonthecanvas
Knittingcrochetions
2-5PM
The Mix Cafe
Children & family friendly
Craft activities include making:
Craft stall and baked goods for sale. All proceeds will go to MATW Limbs of Hope Project (and supporting a family in Gaza)
£5 per child, £2.50 per additional child
Sat 9 Nov 2024 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
The GAP Arts Project, 498 Moseley Rd, Balsall Heath, Birmingham B12 9AH
Join us on November 9th, as we listen to (and learn from) traditional Palestinian songs and hymns of resistance brought to us by Maramiya Band.
Promoting Palestinian heritage and history, our evening will also feature a talented Violin player, and powerful Poetry recitations. ✨
🟢 Appetizers, bite-sized food and hot drinks will be available during the break. 🧆☕
🔴 Proceeds from this evening will go to support the Palestine Action prisoners who sacrificed their freedom for the struggle and liberation of the Palestinian people. You can also support our work by donating an additional amount when purchasing your tickets.
⚫ Please note that tickets are required for this event and anyone without a ticket will be unable to attend. 🎫
⚪ Join us for an evening of supporting Palestinian identity and enriching our community that embraces the Palestinian struggle.
We would love your presence and support, and hope to see you there! 🇵🇸
🕖 Doors open at 6.30 pm, event starts at 7.00 pm
🗓️ 9th of November
📍The GAP Arts Project, Balsall Heath, B12 9AH
“Root yourself in the soil, for you will remain here.
The land is your land, young man, this country is our country.
They are ignorant, they do not know that your homeland is eternal.
So stand firm, persevere, and seek reward, for we are all behind you.
How many martyrs have given their lives to achieve certainty.
O owner of the land, hold fast, for the land is the honour of the righteous.”
🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
P.S. 1. Please let us know of any food allergies beforehand, 2. Please note this event is suitable for children 7+ and not younger.
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/youthfrontforpalestine1/1444973
Join us this Balsall Heath Second Saturday for the first session of Sewing Solidarity, an exciting creative banner-making project for young people combining textiles, activism, local history and working class customs 🧵✊📢
During this Saturday’s sessions, textile artist and craftivist Jane Thakoordin @janethakoordin_ will introduce you to the use of textiles banners in social movements, and show you a variety of textile and design techniques to try out.
🔴 For ages 13-18
🔴 Two sessions – join one or both! (11am-1pm & 2-4pm)
🔴 Free
Sign up below
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfO4gv2LJVX4zdKl0tNSEPHptrX9PN7LFiBG8KRKCEN0UhkFQ/viewform
The GAP invites you to join them this @balsallheathsecondsaturday to create your own visual artwork responding to the theme of ‘CYCLES’ and submit it to be included in an upcoming group exhibition in The GAP Gallery 💫💫💫
A wide variety of art materials will be provided, as well as prompts to inspire imaginative responses to the theme 🎨🖌️✂️✏️🧶🚲🌛🌪️🌱🌻🍂❄️🌀🌍💫🕐
1.30 – 4.30pm
Free / Drop-in / For ages 0 – 30
Peace Garden Open Day 🌄🌺
Sat 10th Aug, 11am – 3pm
All welcome. Drop-in.
This Balsall Heath Second Saturday, we invite you to our new Peace Garden, created by Bek and a group of young volunteers over the past 8 months. Located just next to The GAP and in-front of The Old Print Works’ house Myrtle Cottage, this small garden is intended as a space for the local community to learn about and connect with nature, and as a space for peace, reflection and the celebration of life. 🕊️ 🌱
It’s looking absolutely beautiful, and we can’t wait to share it with you.
For this open day, you will be able to:
💚 Help us install a wormery, learn about soil and its life-creating goodness, and contribute towards community composting by bringing along your own food waste, greens and browns to add
💚 Decorate a peace stone to add to the Peace Garden (or to take home)
💚 Create a mini pond to attract pollinators
💚 Or simply have a wonder or a sit down to soak it all in
Hope to see you there 🌻
Explore the space, take a seat, enjoy food and drinks and design a Peace Flag in this newly created space in Balsall Heath
TURNING POINT is a video installation created by Sweet Patootee Arts @sweetpatooteearts Inspired by the oral testimonies of people who lived and worked in the Caribbean in the 1920s, these films combine monologue-style performances, melodrama, comedy, projection, poetry, visual arts, folk songs and 3D sound to convey this momentous moment of history in Britain’s former slave colonies after the First World War – a new era for Black identity and pride ✊🏿
We were honoured to be approached by Sweet Patootee Arts about sharing this work at The GAP as part of their vision to tour TURNING POINT beyond large museums by bringing it directly to local communities across Birmingham and London.
Sweet Patootee also invited us to programme a series of interactive events that relate to the films in the exhibition, which members of our youth forum The Culture Collective helped us to shape. We’ll be sharing more information about these very soon 👀✨
WHAT CAN I EXPECT AT THE EXHIBITION?
🔴 Free entry, as always
🔴 The films will be played on loop in our gallery space, with headphones provided
🔴 Total running time 40 minutes (4 segments of 10 minutes each)
🔴 Please note, these films contain content which some visitors may find upsetting or distressing. Information on relevant support services will be displayed
🔴 A complimentary mini-exhibition on the political history of the period – curated by Nirad Abrol and Isra Kausar – will also be on display in the cafe area
Funded by @HeritageFundUK
© Sweet Patootee Arts 2022, all rights reserved.
Ceremony of Self to will be joining Second Saturday in The GAP on Saturday 11th May. Join them for a drop in art making workshop for all ages.
Join The GAP on Saturday 9th March, 11.30am – 12.30pm for The Storyteller of Jerusalem, an intimate & interactive event sharing stories from Palestine 🇵🇸
The stories and songs will focus on learning about and celebrating Palestinian culture, and have been especially selected by Sherazade (spoken word) and Abid (live music) with family audiences in mind 🎶📚
They’ll be interactive sensory elements, including:
✨percussion instruments to play
✨projected images of significant sites in Palestine
✨fresh mint tea to drink
✨pomegranate, figs and olives to taste
✨frankincense to smell
✨comfy cushions & rugs
Free. No need to book.
Please arrive at 11.30am – this is not a drop-in event
All ages welcome.
Parents/carers must stay with children.
The GAP Gallery
About the exhibition:
Identity, connection, nature, power – these are the themes explored through Jaden’s artwork in this exhibition, highlighting the importance of representation in carving your own identity. ‘From the Same Cup’ asks questions, encouraging visitors to see themselves in the painted faces before considering how the personal can also be universal. Through detailed portraits of familiar and unfamiliar faces, morphed with natural elements and animal features, this exhibition
highlights how power is found in our shared traits. A power that can be harnessed to
improve and heal the fractures our world suffers.
About the artist:
‘Art is my life, my joy, my passion and my superpower.’
Jaden Brown is a young Balsall Heath-based artist who specialises in portraits.
His work has been exhibited at the Birmingham Hippodrome and
he has been involved in BBC One’s Children in Need. Inspired by Hyperrealism and Surrealism, Jaden has worked tirelessly to create an expansive and powerful body of work that explores identity, community and culture. ‘From the Same Cup’ showcases his ability to handle his materials to capture the inner spirit of his subjects, aiming to inspire viewers to think about their own identity and creativity.
@jadenartist
About the curator:
Isra Kausar is a Birmingham-based creative studying History of Art and Classical Studies. Alongside her studies, she experiments with her own artworks – most recently in Islamic patterns – and writes regular blog posts and reviews of exhibitions and art events around the city. She has also run creative workshops and curated exhibitions at The Old Print Works.
@israk_art
10th Feb – Share & swap – 12 – 2pm
At the Mix cafe
If you’ve got any surplus vegetable seeds still in date bring them along, grab a coffee, meet other growers in the community as well as myself…pick some seeds up for yourself and save a little money!
Join young artist Jaden Brown for a portrait painting workshop! 👨🏿🎨🎨
Limited places – Booking required – Link below
Free. Ages 14+
Taking place within his first solo exhibition ‘From The Same Cup’, the workshop will draw upon the themes of identity and connection present within his own artworks on display.
The workshop will begin with an exclusive tour and talk about the exhibition from the artist himself, inspiring ideas for how portraits can be so much more than just a representative image of a person’s face.✨
You will then get into pairs and sit opposite each other, using acrylic paint and pencil to create a portrait of your partner. All the while, you’ll be encouraged to get to know the other person through conversation, uncovering their true identity and building connections between you. You’ll be encouraged to think creatively about how to incorporate patterns, motifs, colour, and imagery into your portrait based on what you learn about your partner through your conversation!
Ages 14+
Please arrive promptly at 2pm.
This will be a relaxed, gentle and no-pressure workshop.
No art experience is needed. All abilities are welcome!
Free.
Materials provided.
An exhibition of poetry, film, music, and sculpture by local young artists Ray, Samiir, and Nafeesa 💫
Exploring the theme of land justice from the perspective of queer Black and brown young people living in the country’s second city, their work seeks to challenge out-dated assumptions and narratives around who belongs in the natural landscape of England – a nation with a long history of excluding and displacing people from their lands, whether in England itself or in other parts of the world.
Developed as part of Write To Roam – an creative writing residency programme hosted by The GAP in partnership with The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust – the artists’ work responds to their experiences walking, wandering and writing within SBT’s heritage sites and land surrounding Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon.
Taking a playful, political and personal approach, the artists ask the questions ~
🌳 Who belongs in the English countryside, and who does the English countryside belong to?
🌄 How can we take up space in places that don’t feel safe?
⛰️What does it mean for our identities and relationship to land to be defined by legislation?
🌱How can we experiment with the act of trespassing – on land, through time, across identity?
🍀How can we heal and rewild ourselves through being in nature?
This exhibition invites you to engage with these questions and explore the intersection of identity, belonging, nature and land.
“Displacement makes a home of the world. I refuse to erase myself from English/European countrysides, even when I don’t feel welcome… If I’m here to stay, I might as well slay it and live as audaciously and authentically as possible. That’s the attitude I felt we all brought whilst being on this residency.” – Nafeesa
We want to develop an urban oasis that reflects the heart and history of Balsall Heath and its vibrant communities and cultures.
We hope that as the garden grows it will provide a place and space to nurture our collective wellbeing and help us to deepen our connections to the more-than-human life that surrounds us.
During the workshop sessions, our young people will work alongside a professional gardener and artist, Rebekah, to learn key skills needed to build and maintain a sustainable garden. Come prepared to get your hands dirty and touch some soil!
🌳KEY DETAILS:
☀️This Project is for anyone between the ages of 16-25
✨Completely FREE!
🪴No previous experience needed
