Come experience the authentic, mouthwatering flavours of the Levant!
Newly opened at the MIX Cafe, SHOF serves delicious Syrian food including falafels, healthy salads, fresh pastries and refreshing drinks.
Open Monday – Saturday, 10am-6.30pm
-
Collective Sanitary Pad Making for Kenya with Jane Thakoordin. 11am-2pm, Textiles Space, Upper Gallery, OPW
Join artist Jane Thakoordin, The Nairoshi Foundation UK and feminist activist collective Women Together, to create a supply of hand-crafted sanitary pads for a girls’ school in Kenya.
Working alongside activists in Kenya, we are creating period packs, with love, for all the older girls in the school.
No experience needed and all materials provided.
Any donations of clean bath and hand towels gratefully received.
Venue: Daily Thread community textiles space, Upper Gallery. Please note this space is accessed via a staircase and unfortunately we do not currently have a lift.
Jane Thakoordin is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
-
Woodwork with MAKE & TADA! 11am-2.15pm, Lower Gallery, OPW
In this session with MAKE & TADA!, participants can make their own spooky wooden tealight holder to take home.
Participants will choose from a spooky design and learn drilling, cutting, hammering and painting.
This is a relaxed, welcoming community workshop, suitable for all abilities. All materials are provided, along with guidance throughout. Booking is essential as places are limited, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
Workshop sessions:
11am-12.15pm
1-2.15pm
Cost: £5 +booking fee (covers material costs)
Booking is essential, please book here.
Aimed at children aged 6+MAKE & TADA! is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
-
Craft Design & Technology Room Open Day. 11am-3pm, Upper Gallery, OPW
Come and take a look at the CDT room which has a range of tools for turning, milling, precision cutting, drilling, engraving and pyrography.
The CDT room is run by Richard Newton who has 30 years of experience teaching craft, design & technology to children. 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.
90 minute session. £8 per child / £6 per sibling
Please note the Upper Gallery is accessed via a staircase and unfortunately we do not currently have a lift.
Richard Newton is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
-
Retrofit Balsall Heath Annual General Meeting. 10am-12pm, MIX Cafe, OPW
Join us to celebrate everything Retrofit Balsall Heath has achieved this year, and look ahead to the next stage of our shared journey.
Come and enjoy drinks and tasty refreshments from ChangeKitchen CIC, find out more about retrofit in our neighbourhood and meet others working for positive change in Balsall Heath.
Everyone welcome!
Book your free place: https://events.humanitix.com/retrofit-balsall-heath-agm
-
Beyond the Margins: Stories That Stay. 11am-4pm, Upper Gallery, OPW
After months of creating, exploring and sharing, Beyond the Margins is proud to present Stories That Stay – our end of programme showcase, celebrating the creativity, voices and journeys of the young people who have taken part in this year’s programme. Organised by Inspire Hub.
Join us at The Old Print Works for a welcoming afternoon of art, storytelling and community as our exhibiting artists share work that holds personal meaning to them. From culturally significant traditions and heritage, to identity, belonging, memory, resistance and self-expression, every piece tells a story worth hearing.
Whether you’re passionate about the arts or simply curious, we’d love for you to come along, explore the exhibition and celebrate these powerful young voices.
Here’s what you can enjoy:
Explore our storytelling exhibition
Try our Poetry Prescription activity and take home a little healing
Contribute to a collaborative community artwork
Take home a Polaroid memory
Arts & crafts table for children
Free refreshments from 11amYou can also take part in a free zine making workshop with illustrator Layla Sadiq (1.30-3pm). More information here.
Bring your friends, bring your family, or come on your own—everyone is welcome. Come and discover the stories that stay with us long after we leave.
📍 The Old Print Works, B12 9AH
🗓️ 8th August 2026, 11am–4pm
🎟️ Free drop-in exhibition -
Children’s Author Session: My Rice Is Best with Selina Brown. 11am-12.30pm, Courtyard/Lower Gallery, OPW
Rice and peas or jollof rice?
The great rice debate is coming to Second Saturday at The Old Print Works.
Join award-shortlisted children’s author Selina Brown for a fun, joyful children’s session based on her hilarious picture book My Rice is Best.
There’ll be a lively story reading, arts and crafts, a chance for children to ask Selina questions, and books available to buy on the day.
Expect big laughs, bold opinions and plenty of children shouting about which rice is really the best.
Free to attend — all children welcome.
Saturday 11th July 2026 at The Old Print Works, 498-506 Moseley Road in Balsall Heath, B12 9AH,
11am–12.30pmMy Rice is Best follows Shane, who knows that rice and peas is the best rice in the world — until his friend Yinka turns up with jollof rice and starts a delicious showdown.
A funny, warm and colourful celebration of food, friendship, culture and pride.
Selina Brown is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works and the founder of the Black British Book Festival and the inaugural National Reading Hero recipient of the Queen’s Reading Room Medal. Her Penguin picture book My Rice is Best has been shortlisted for the British Book Awards 2026, The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2026 and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2026.
-
Beginner’s Bookbinding Workshop. 11am-2pm, Lower Gallery/Courtyard, OPW
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).
This session is free, please consider making a donation here.
-
‘Trees of Life’ – A Family Workshop with ITZATNA Arts. 11am-3pm,Studio ITZATNA, Upper Gallery (Courtyard)
ITZATNA Arts invite you create your very own ‘Árbol de Vida’ – a ‘Tree of Life’ – inspired by the colourful handicraft tradition of México. The craft originated in central Mexico, blending indigenous clay-working traditions with Spanish colonial Catholic imagery.
In this hands-on family workshop, you’ll build a tree sculpture that tells your family’s story: your roots, your lineage, the people and objects that make you who you are. Using cardboard, paper, collage materials, and plenty of imagination, each family will design and construct a one-of-a-kind tree to take home and treasure.
No art experience needed – just bring your curiosity and your family stories. We’ll bring everything else.
Suitable for families with children aged 5+. All children must be accompanied by a participating adult at all times – this is a together activity, not a drop-off.
Session times (30–45 minutes each):
- 11:00
- 12:00
- 14:00
Spaces are very limited, and our studio is small and cosy, so places go quickly! Please arrive a few minutes early to secure your spot. Limit of 6 people per session.
How to join: Sign up on the door outside Studio ITZATNA in the Upper Gallery at The Old Print Works on the day. First come, first served.
This is a taster workshop ahead of the full event at Thimblemill Library, Smethwick, as part of the exhibition ‘Raíces/Roots’ at *discovery room sandwell – curated by Abigail Villaroel. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Follow for more: @discoveryroom.uk // @abigailvillarroel.art
This session is free, please consider making a donation here.
ITZATNA Arts are a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
-
The Old Print Works Market. 11am-4pm, Courtyard/Lower Gallery, OPW
Local makers and crafts / bric a brac / clothes / curios and more
November stallholders include:
- AimeeJMakes, selling handmade gifts that are upcycled, foraged and repurposed
- Daily Thread, selling craft kits and plants
- Delish Bakery, selling Gluten-Free cupcakes and brownies
- House of Yris, selling framed origami paper artwork plus cards and digital prints
- Little Crafter, selling bookmarks, cards, key rings, necklaces, rings, bracelets and airdry clay
- Miss Symi Makes, selling handmade unique and practical accessories made in Birmingham using upcycled fabric and materials
- Reloved Brum, selling pre-loved clothes in aid of Birmingham Hospice
- Tammy Woodrow, visual/performance artist and OPW Studio Partner, selling prints and pamphlets. You can also make your own print with her mobile etching press.
- Taradhin is a small reworked fashion/accessories business which focuses on reducing textile waste and making slow fashion more accessible and inclusive.
- The Old Print Works, bric a brac
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).
-
Each Child a Light Exhibition. 9am-7pm, Upper Gallery, OPW
From 12 – 14 June, Each Child a Light is working in partnership with the Centre for Migration and Forced Displacement to present an exhibition of the quilt alongside a programme of events at The Old Print Works.
Inspired by radical traditions of quilting and fabric arts, Each Child a Light aims to make visible the scale of the ongoing atrocity in Gaza, creating a space to mark, to mourn and to bear witness. Stitching each child’s name is an act of solidarity, of remembrance, mourning, and kinship – and importantly, counters erasure. In collaboration, and square by square, our quilt will create an essential record and lasting memorial to so many young lives lost. Together we will remember.
Exhibition Opening hours:
Upper Gallery (Entry via the Front Entrance)
Friday 12th: 9am – 5pm
Saturday 13th: 9am – 7pm
Sunday 14th: 9am – 2pm
Free entry. *Please note there is no lift access to the Upper Gallery.Creative workshop led by artist Jane Thakoordin
Saturday 13 June, 11.30am–1pm
This is a free event but booking is essentialPanel Discussion ‘Conversations around the Quilt’
Saturday 13 June, 1.30–3pm
This is a free event and no booking required -
Darkroom Birmingham Open Day. 11am-4pm, Upper Gallery, OPW
As the renovation of Darkroom Birmingham nears completion, join the team for analogue and digital portrait adventures, to book early-bird workshop and darkroom access offers, and to have your say in shaping the facilities.
Darkroom Birmingham is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
-
DIY Home Energy Solutions with Community Energy Birmingham. 11am-4pm, Courtyard/Lower Gallery, OPW
This workshop, led by Community Energy Birmingham, gives people hands on experience installing home energy efficiency measures. Funded by Central Co-Op.
-
Banner making workshop with WMPSC. 11am-4pm, Lower Gallery, OPW
Join a free workshop to design banners for West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign (WMPSC). They will also be promoting their upcoming events and produce from Palestine.
This session is free, please consider making a donation here.
-
Seeing Rhonda Exhibition + Zine making Workshop. 11am-4pm, Upper Gallery, OPW
The work, activism and far-reaching influence of Birmingham photographer Rhonda Wilson are being brought back into the spotlight through an exhibition titled Seeing Rhonda and a community archive led by Birmingham City University and The Old Print Works.
Together, the exhibition and archive span over three decades of Wilson’s work, from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photographs, letters, posters and publications sit alongside personal notes, sketches and overlooked ephemera, revealing not just what Wilson created, but how she worked, collaborated and built opportunities for others. Seeing Rhonda presents Wilson as more than a photographer; as a cultural entrepreneur, journalist, educator and activist, she spent over 30 years championing others and reshaping the photography landscape in Birmingham and beyond. Wilson’s constructed social documentary style of photography was underpinned by her commitment to addressing issues of women’s representation, low pay and homelessness.
The project was initiated by Dr Annette Naudin, Associate Professor at Birmingham City University, in partnership with The Old Print Works and in collaboration with PRISM Photography Network. This exhibition is supported by Birmingham City University and The Old Print Works.
Opening times (free entry):
Saturday 12 September, 11am-4pm. Presented as part of Birmingham Heritage Week.Location:
Upper Gallery, The Old Print Works
Please note access is via a number of stairs and The Old Print Works does not have a lift.Workshop:
Drop in for a fun, hands-on zine making workshop based on the Seeing Rhonda exhibition. We will make mini-booklets known as ‘zines’, using collage and drawing. All materials provided and suitable for all ages.This is a free exhibition, please consider making a donation here.
Photo: Archive material, Rhonda Wilson community archive. Image courtesy The Old Print Works.
-
Balsall Heath in Changing Times Exhibition. 11am-4pm, Director’s Office (Courtyard), OPW
Balsall Heath Local History Society presents an exhibition celebrating the history of the local area: showcasing Mick Turner’s photographs, archive images and interviews with local people.
The years 1960 to the 1990s saw a transformation in Balsall Heath. Many migrants moved in to the area, and some long established residents were compulsorily rehoused elsewhere as whole streets were demolished. Meanwhile the area was in decline with uncleared bomb sites from the Second World War, poor housing, high unemployment, appalling health statistics, poverty and a major prostitution problem.
This was also a time of new opportunities, new organisations and new ideas. There was growing dynamism and hope as the groundwork was laid for the thriving multi-cultural community of today’s Balsall Heath.
The Mick Turner Archive of photographic images is a vast collection of images, thousands of which were published in the Balsall Heathan through this time. We will use these images as a starting point to understand Balsall Heath through the eyes of people who have lived there.
Balsall Heath Local History Society is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
Photo: Mick Turner
-
Sketching workshop with Midy. 11.30am-2.30pm, Director’s Office (Courtyard), OPW
Join local artist Muhmood Tahir (Midy) for a free drop in workshop and have a go at sketching, inspired by the wonderful imagery of Mick Turner’s photographs of Balsall Heath, on display in the Balsall Heath in Changing Times exhibition. Workshop and exhibition organised by Balsall Heath Local History Society.
Midy will be on hand to help out offering tips, support and all the materials you need to make your own masterpiece!
Drop in. Workshop open to all ages.
This session is free, please consider making a donation here.
Balsall Heath Local History Society is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
Image: artwork by Muhmood Tahir (Midy)
-
Balsall Heath Repair Cafe. 11am-2pm, MAC (Midlands Art Centre)
Balsall Heath Repair Cafe travels to MAC Birmingham!
Our repairers were invited to join MAC as part of their activities to mark the Big Green Week. We are happy to support them and to share Balsall Heath Repair Cafe with MAC visitors.
If you join the Repair Cafe regularly please do come and see us at the MAC on Saturday 13 June. Located in Cannon Hill Park its a short distance from The Old Print Works and accessible via public transport.
Balsall Heath Repair Cafe returns to The Old Print Works on Saturday 11 July.
-
Believe in Balsall Heath Celebration. 12-2pm, MIAH Gallery, 496 Moseley Road
Join us at MIAH to celebrate the launch of Balsall Heath’s new street banners designed by artist Faisal Hussain, marking the culmination of the Believe in Balsall Heath project.
The five banner designs celebrate the people, stories and culture of Balsall Heath, bringing local heritage and creativity into the streets of the neighbourhood.
Meet Faisal and hear about the inspiration behind his designs, and enjoy music from the Oriental Star Agencies collection as we come together to celebrate the project and the community it represents.
📅 Saturday 12 September | 12–2pm
📍 MIAH Foundation Islamic Arts & Heritage Gallery
496 Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, B12 9AH
🎟️ Free | Booking requiredBook here or scan the QR Code.
Believe in Balsall Heath is funded by Birmingham City Council and brings together The Old Print Works, MIAH Foundation, The GAP Arts Project, Fruit & Nut Village and Balsall Heath Local History Society to celebrate the history, heritage and creativity of Balsall Heath.
-
The Original Art Club. 11am-4pm, Courtyard/Lower Gallery, OPW
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.
-
Balsall Heath Local History Society. 11am-4pm, Lower Gallery/Courtyard, OPW
Meet members of the Balsall Heath Local History Society and learn about their project Balsall Heath in Changing Times and the relaunched local newsletter The Heathan.
Balsall Heath Local History Society is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
-
ChangeKitchen CIC. 12-4pm, The MIX Cafe
ChangeKitchen CIC will be doing a Cafe Takeover and running The Mix Community Cafe at The Old Print Works.
Open 12-4pm, serving artisan drinks and ethical, climate-friendly food that’s yummy, and does more good across our communities.
-
Balsall Heath City Farm Open Day. 11am-4pm, St Paul’s Community Trust
Visit Balsall Heath City Farm for a family fun day, with stalls, refreshments, sheep shearing, bouncy castle, animals, plant sale and more!
11am -4pm, £50p donation
They raising funds to support the Farm and help cover the rising costs of animal feed, bedding and vets’ bills.
-
Pedal Powered Energy Workshop. 10am-4pm, Transfer Co-Working, Upper Floor, OPW
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.
-
Risograph Printing with Print and Matter. 11am-4pm, MIAH Gallery, 496 Moseley Road
Join artist Sofia Niazi from Print and Matter for a Risograph workshop at MIAH Gallery (11am-1pm, £10) or a private print slot (2-4pm, 30 min slots, £10 technician fee + cost of print job).
Sofia Niazi is a Studio Partner at The Old Print Works.
-
Change Kitchen pop up cafe. 11am-4pm, The MIX cafe
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.
-
Birmingham Resistance Library. 11am-4pm, The MIX Cafe
As part of Balsall Heath Second Saturday explore the Birmingham Resistance Library collection, borrow and return books. Open to all.
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.
Please note, Birmingham Resistance Library is located in The MIX Cafe at The Old Print Works. 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
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.
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
-
CDT for under 11’s
11am onwards – drop in, The Old Print Works upper gallery
Wood working skills that can set you up for life
pricing available in workshop
-
Community Photography Exhibition, 11am-4pm, Upper Gallery, OPW
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.
-
Arabic Calligraphy. 12-2pm, MIAH Gallery, 496 Moseley Road
Join MIAH Gallery for a Diwani Script Workshop.
All materials are provided.
Age: Suitable for adults and children aged 11+ 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.