Free creative festival
As part of Birmingham Permaculture Network Weekender, learn how to make a bike powered generator, for sound systems, device charging and more. Led by Rakesh Rootsman Rak.
Reserve a space here.
This workshop is free, please consider making a donation here.
The CDT room has a range of tools for turning, milling, precision cutting, drilling, engraving and pyrography. Projects are designed and led by children, who make musical instruments, vehicles, furniture or whatever they can imagine out of wood, plastic and metal. Children are also encouraged to adapt and repair their tools.
These sessions are run by Richard Newton who has 30 years of experience teaching craft, design & technology to children.
90 minute session. £8 per child / £6 per sibling
Richard Newton is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
Join artist Dominika Kubalova for a beginner’s bookbinding workshop, in which you will learn a saddle stitch binding method and create a one of a kind pocket journal to take home.
All tools are provided, along with a wide selection of papers, card stock, magazines, old books, maps and more. You will get to pick the pages for your notebook, learn how to bind them together and then decorate the cover in your own style. Feel free to bring with you: old envelopes, pages from unused notebooks or sketchbooks, sheet music, maps, posters, old books, cards, paper bags, wrapping paper. Anything goes!
Suitable for older children accompanied by an adult (we will be using sharp tools – an awl, needle, scissors and craft knife).
Change Kitchen CIC take over the MIX cafe at The Old Print Works for a pop up as part of Balsall Heath Second Saturday on 11 April.
This workshop, led by Community Energy Birmingham, gives people hands on experience installing home energy efficiency measures. Funded by Central Co-Op.
11am onwards – drop in, The Old Print Works upper gallery
Wood working skills that can set you up for life
pricing available in workshop
Bric a brac/clothes/local makers/curios and more
April stallholders include:
AimeeJMakes, selling handmade gifts that are upcycled, foraged and repurposed
Anawim, Birmingham’s Centre For Women, selling pre-loved clothes and recruiting volunteers
Daily Thread, selling craft kits and tote bags. Also free kits available to make your own shopping bag.
Fahima Akthar, delivering decorative henna tattoos and selling henna cones
Lisa Birchall, selling hand-drawn illustrations
The Old Print Works, bric a brac
Youth Front For Palestine, information and merchandise
If you would like to be part of the market, please contact us at info@oldprintworks.org or book a stall here (cost £10 or £90 for 12 months).
Photographer Laura Gale: Druids Heath
The Old Print Works hosts a Community Photography Exhibition, organised in partnership with PRISM, Darkroom Birmingham and IGERS Birmingham.
Photographers were asked to submit up to 3 digital images focussing on the theme ‘Community’ and over 75 photographers submitted their images.
This project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The Original Art Club is a safe creative space for children to explore, create and develop their artistic skills. This is project-based learning tailored to each individual and their ability. The idea is progress not perfection and with an ‘I can do’ attitude here at the club we want all our budding artists to feel confident and encouraged in their creative journey.
We teach several 2D and 3D techniques within our projects using a wide range of materials from pencil, acrylic paint and watercolours, to clay and paper mache. Our mixed age and mixed ability classes is a unique way in building self-confidence, independence and social bonding. Those children who have been with us longer will have gained more flexibility in steering their own projects and outcomes. We use mediums such as acrylics, watercolours, oil/soft pastels, inks, fine liners and 3D work with papier mache, clay and paper sculpture. At the club we value art and believe it is a significant component for the holistic education of children.
This workshop is free, please consider making a donation here.
Spring is here! Come and join Wonderfish Art Studio to draw and paint your spring, and bunnies, bees, blossoms, birds and breeze… We’ll learn various techniques and celebrate spring together!
Saturday 11 April 12-1pm
Materials are provided. Drop-in, free.
Recommended age: 4-12 years old
If you’re an artist (at any level) developing a creative practice + seeking fresh perspectives 👁️ then YOU ARE INVITED to my studio aka ✨ @seemaworld_boon_ ✨
vibes:
1️⃣ bring along one piece of work (at whatever stage) to share with others in the group.
2️⃣ each person will have the floor to ask questions + exchange intentional feedback in an open peer-led environment, with reflective takeaways👖
3️⃣ it’ll be chill + kind but ultimately supportive
4️⃣ in the interest of being non-hierarchical, i’ll also look to share something (if there’s time + space) and be vulnerable too
Join us on Saturday 11 April, 12–2pm. In this session with MAKE & TADA!, participants can make a personalised hanging mirror. Leave with something you made and a message you need.
This is a relaxed, welcoming free community workshop, suitable for all abilities. All materials are provided, along with guidance throughout. *Children under the age of 8 must be supervised by an accompanying adult*
This workshop is free, please consider making a donation here.
MAKE & TADA! is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
The Balsall Heath Alliance is a group of local community organisations working across Balsall Heath.
They are keen to update the policies that govern how local Planning Decisions are made, and to do that are consulting on updating the current Local Neighbourhood Plan. At this stage, they are keen to get feedback from residents about all the issues that matter to them. They will be asking local people a few key questions so that they can collate feedback about the priority local issues.
Meet members of the Balsall Heath Local History Society and learn about their current project Balsall Heath in Changing Times.
Balsall Heath Local History Society is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
Join MIAH Gallery to create your own artwork inspired by the 17th-century Mughal albums.
All materials are provided.
Age: Suitable for adults and children aged 12+ years.
For safeguarding reasons, the accompanying adult for under 18’s must remain in the building and be available and accessible throughout the session.
Tickets: To guarantee your place, please book your tickets in advance.
Standard Ticket: £15.00 (+ ticket fees)
Concessions (students, low-income, over 65s): £12.50 (+ ticket fees)
Please present proof of concessionary status with your ticket upon arrival, where applicable.
The Sundragon Pottery workshop is back for Second Saturday – come and get friendly with clay! Just drop in, stay as long as you like.
This workshop is free, please consider making a donation here.
Sundragon Pottery are a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
As part of Balsall Heath Second Saturday on 11 April, explore the BRL collection, borrow books and take part in free workshops and activities. Open to all. The venue has step free access.
Browse, Borrow & Return
Explore the Birmingham Resistance Library collection and borrow a book. No membership required. You can browse the catalogue in advance online too at www.birminghamresistancelibrary.co.uk
1-5 pm
Design and Colour in a Bookmark
Drop-in activity suitable for all ages
1-5pm
REC’s Community Pop-up DVD Library
Radical Exhibition Collective’s (@radicalexhibition) community DVD library has been created with the intent to increase access to independent film and moving image in Birmingham. With a focus on platforming subaltern expression and films that may be unavailable to freely stream, rent or find online, REC’s pop-up DVD library recognises the value film holds in the cultural sphere and seeks to address gaps in engaging with it.
1-5pm
Book Return💫
If you’ve borrowed a book from the library, please remember to return it this upcoming Browse, Borrow & Return session
Donations✨
Donate a book on the day, link in bio for our wish list or donate a book related to ‘resistance’ that you have read and recommend.
About REC
@radicalexhibition
Radical Exhibition Collective is a film collective with the aim to support the development of access to film culture in Birmingham. Through diasporic programming and centring subaltern expression, REC seeks to increase access to independent, archival and experimental film and moving image. They recognise the potential of film watching spaces as sites of resistance, community gathering and a tool for collective liberation.
Community Energy Birmingham (CEB) is running the Seeing in Colour project (funded by the University of Birmingham) to host free thermal imaging workshops and evening walks in your
neighbourhood. These events will help local residents grow their understanding of heat loss in homes.
CEB are a non-profit organisation who have experience since 2012 in delivering projects which improve the city of Birmingham’s relationship with energy.
Our thermal camera classes will show you:
This is an excellent educational opportunity for families with complimentary snacks and hot/soft drinks provided.
Feeling the draughts in this freeeeezing weather? Improve the cosiness of your home by making a draught excluder to go by the door. You choose the fabrics you want, Kirsty will help by sewing it for you, and you can stuff it! 11am-1pm. All welcome. Free – donations welcome.
The MIAH Foundation is excited to present a new exhibition, Devotional Art, featuring artworks by talented UK-based artists. The exhibition is the result of a recent open call that invited UK-based artists to submit artworks exploring the theme of devotion.
The selected artworks in the exhibition show the remarkable creativity and skill of local artists in interpreting devotion. Visitors will encounter intricate miniature paintings with delicate brushwork, vibrant textiles that merge pattern and symbolism, and contemporary pieces that explore spirituality through innovative forms and materials. Each artwork invites close observation, offering layers of meaning through color, texture, and composition, while reflecting the artist’s personal engagement with faith and devotion. The collection as a whole celebrates both the richness of traditional practices and the fresh perspectives of contemporary interpretations.
Art enthusiasts, collectors, and anyone interested in the intersection of faith and creativity are welcome to explore the exhibition, with select original artworks and prints available for purchase.
Exhibition Period:
27 November – 13 December 2025
Open Thursdays to Saturdays
12:30 – 5:30 PM
Art Sale: Saturday 6 and 13 December 2025, 12:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Exhibition entry is FREE; we appreciate donations that go towards our operating costs. Booking is encouraged; however, walk-ins are also welcome.
Join us to explore Timurid architecture and create your own ceramic coaster to take home. This workshop is being delivered as supportive programming for the Architecture Course.
The Timurid empire (1370-1507) was founded by Timur, a descendant of Genghis Khan. He made Samarkand (modern-day Uzbekistan) his capital, patroning grand buildings there and making it the crown jewel of his vast empire. Some of the most impressive Timurid constructions in Samarkand include the Registan square, the Shah-i Zinda necropolis, and the Bibi Khanum mosque, named after Timur’s wife.
The Bibi Khanum Mosque is one of Samarkand’s most impressive monuments, and was one the largest and most magnificent mosques of the Islamic world in its time. In typical Timurid fashion, it is adorned with radiant tiles displaying geometric designs, vegetal motifs, and calligraphic compositions, in the classic Timurid colour palette of dark blue, turquoise, and white. By the mid-1900s, its sheer monumentality and frequent earthquakes had led to its structural collapse, but it was restored by the Soviets.
During this workshop, you will study the tile patterns around the Bibi Khanum Mosque in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. You will recreate the central floral composition of the tile design on a ceramic tile that can be taken home to be displayed or used as a coaster. Please note: this workshop focuses on the design of the tile. Due to the length of the workshop, the design will be painted using acrylic paints and not the underglaze.
To secure your place, please book in advance.
Tickets:
Standard Ticket: £12.50 (+ticket fees)
Concessionary Ticket (for students, over 65s and low-income households): £10.00 (+ticket fees)
Who is this course for? All levels of ability are welcome. Suitable for ages 9+. All materials are provided.
REFUND POLICY: Please note that tickets are only refunded (minus the Eventbrite admin fee) if requested more than 7 days before the event.
This workshop is being delivered as part of the ‘Balsall Heath Second Saturdays’ programme – a monthly mini-festival celebrating creativity, community, local culture and the arts, held on the second Saturday of every month.
Image Reference: Bibi Khanum Mosque, Samarkand, Peregrine.
head, face, top of neck, hands, feet, general relaxation all donations to SIFA Fireside
Updating the Balsall Heath Neighbourhood Plan 2015. How has Balsall Heath changed in the last 10 years, and how should it change in the next 10 years?
Join Darkroom Birmingham for an open evening featuring a relaxed introduction to analogue photography and a hands-on print demonstration. Meet the photographers behind the space, discover upcoming workshops, and enjoy a friendly, welcoming environment for anyone curious about analogue photography processes.
5-7 (ish)
Join Hannah and Jude for a fun and creative family friendly wreath making workshop.
In this hands-on session, you will craft your very own unique wreath using a variety of locally sourced materials.
All materials included.
The workshop will be held in the Drawing Room at The Old Print Works – with step free access.
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 Wonderfish Art Studio at Balsall Heath Second Saturday for a hands-on creative collage workshop! Perfect for ages 4–10 and their grown-ups.
In a safe creative space, we’ll be exploring what we feel about Birmingham and Balsall Heath with the art of collage, using different materials. Together, we are making collaborative artworks that celebrate our beautiful city and connect community and culture.
Saturday 8 November 11am-1pm
Drop-in, free, no booking required!
