In this beginner’s bookbinding workshop, 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)
Join us at the MIAH Islamic Arts Gallery, Balsall Heath, on Saturday 13th April where we will be exploring the art of Arabic calligraphy. You will learn about the use of calligraphy in different objects and then create a calligraphic composition of your own. This workshop is being delivered as part of the ‘Balsall Heath Second Saturdays’ programme – a monthly mini-festival celebrating making, creativity, community, local culture and the arts, held on the second Saturday of every month.
Date: Saturday 20th April Time: 12-2pm
To secure your place, please book in advance.
Tickets: Thanks to the Barakat Trust and the Heritage Fund, this workshop has been partially subsidised to ensure accessibility. We request a donation of £10 to cover materials and costs (£8 for students, low income and over 65s). Free entry to the exhibition is included with the ticket.
Who is this workshop for? Suitable for ages 11+ years. The ability to read Arabic is useful. All materials are provided.
Image Credit: The Ibn al-Bawwab Qur’an: Is 1431, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. A reproduction of this Qur’an can be seen in our current exhibition, Taught by the Pen: the Qur’an & the Art of Calligraphy
The Upholstery Group will have their doors open so you can visit and see their work – and maybe get involved – all day, Lower Gallery, The Old Print Works
Craft a Masterpiece with Serefina’s Iron on Vinyl Workshop Unleash your creative spirit at Serefina’s iron on vinyl Workshop, where you can transform your crafting ideas into wearable art. Whether you’re a seasoned crafter or just starting out with your family, this hands-on workshop is designed to provide you with the techniques and inspiration needed to create custom designs using iron-on vinyl. Upstairs at The Old Print Works 1 pm onwards. Bring your clothes, tote bag or similar, we have the vinyl. You can find out more about Serefina on her Instagram www.instagram.com/serefina_taylor or on her website SerefinaTaylor.co.uk
Taught by the Pen: the Qur’an and Calligraphy explores the role of the art of calligraphy in the preservation of the Qur’an in its written form through the centuries. The exhibition was launched during the month of Ramadan, during which the first verses were revealed.
The exhibition will be open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 12pm-6pm, MIAH Foundation
Join Hayley for a quick drop-in portrait, headshot, a new profile picture, a photo with your friends or family… whatever you’re looking for to make a lovely memory from Second Saturday.
PHOTO-BOOTH:
Drop in Photo Booth, comes with print out of image to keep – create a lovely memory from Second Saturday
PRICE: Suggested payment £5 per print
TIME: Drop in between 11am & 3pm
HEADSHOT EXPRESS:
20 minute express portrait/headshot sessions – for those in a rush or on a budget!
Includes up to 2 outfits and/or backdrops, and 2 digital images that will be emailed to you within 1 week.
TIME: 5 slots available throughout the day, between 11am & 3pm.
BOOKING: Email hayleycsalter@gmail.com , or DM @headshotswithhayley on Instagram to book
PRICE: £60, plus £15 per image if you’d like more than 2 photos. £10 discount with a valid student ID.
Join our beginners crochet workshops at consecutive Balsall Heath Second Saturdays. In April we’ll be making Granny Squares. This workshop will help you to start seeing the potential of crochet. And you’ll take home your piece at the end of the session. Left-handed tuition available.
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
Square Kufic is a geometric style of calligraphy that has often been used in the architecture of the Muslim world, either through inscriptions in stone or through the use of different coloured bricks or tiles.
Join us on Saturday 9th March 2024 at the MIAH Islamic Arts Gallery to learn about square Kufic. We will look at examples of square kufic in art and architecture from the Muslim world, including in UK museum collections. You will have a go and creating your own design before re-creating a square kufic composition as a paper weave. This workshop is being delivered as part of the ‘Balsall Heath Second Saturdays’ programme – a monthly mini-festival celebrating making, creativity, community, local culture and the arts, held on the second Saturday of every month.
To secure your place, please book in advance. We will allow a small number of walk-up bookings on the day, subject to availability, if they arrive by the start time.
Thanks to the @barakat_org and the Heritage Fund, this workshop has been partially subsidised to ensure accessibility. We request a donation of £8 or more towards materials and costs. Who is this workshop for? All levels of ability are welcome. Suitable for ages 9-99+ years – younger participants may require additional adult support. All materials are provided.
The MIX Cafe has kindly opened it’s doors for this months edition of The Crafty Social….Crafty activities, a bit of food, a couple of drinks and some tunes – see you there
Balsall Heath Repair Cafe is back again at Balsall Heath Second Saturday. Repairers include textiles and knife sharpening, Check balsallheathrepaircafe.org for repairers closer to the day
Come to the first in a series of beginners crochet workshops at consecutive Balsall Heath Second Saturdays. In March we’ll kick off with learning to start your crochet with a magic ring (they really are magic!), along with learning four other basic stitches. This workshop will help you to start seeing the potential of crochet. And you’ll take home a star at the end of the session. Left-handed tuition available
Come celebrate the saving of Moseley Road Baths, with an accessible and entertaining theatre production. As the Baths begins a redevelopment programme to repair, restore and transform, Women & Theatre tells the story of how these beloved Edwardian swimming baths were saved. Performed by a community cast, this is a fun, imaginative and engaging celebratory piece of theatre exploring how a group of wilful individuals united and rescued this civic space. Women & Theatre is a Birmingham based theatre company who have been making deep work about things that matter, using the language and lives of ordinary people for over 40 years.
Art Therapist, Art Facilitator & Artist, Kayleigh Ditchburn will be empowering women through an arts and crafts workshop for International Women’s Day 11-12.30 at The Old Print Works
“I’m a HCPC registered Art Therapist, Art Facilitator & Artist based in Birmingham. My pronouns are she/ her. I work online and face to face with themes including childhood abuse, abuse, trauma, complex trauma, domestic violence and abuse, depression, anxiety, GSRD (Gender, Sex & Relationship Diversity), neurodivergence, learning difficulties, displacement, racism and classism.
I use art materials to explore expression, thoughts, feelings and different ways of communication, both verbal and nonverbal.
I graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 2020 with a masters in Art Therapy.
I am an Art Therapist with lived experience in mental health and I’m neurodivergent. So I understand how tricky it can be with trying to figure ourselves out and ‘just being’ in various environments too.
…and now the other stuff…
As you can imagine, I’m a HUGE fan of the arts.
I am also an avid traveller! You can usually find me in a gallery, museum, live music event or exploring a town, city or country somewhere, taking in the cultures, sampling the foods, snapping the architecture and landscapes whilst sipping a coffee and eating chocolate…lots of chocolate!
True Form Projects ‘Oriental Star Express’ installation at The Old Print Works. In 1970 Mohammed Ayub founded Oriental Start Agencies in Birmingham. This record store and then label became one of the most influential and important parts of South Asian history and diaspora in the UK and world wide, before the store had to close in 2017.
Including pottery from Sundragon members, deals on bikes from BiclasB12, art from Lisa Birchall, wooden things from Pathcarvers and lots more – lowe gallery at The Old Print Works
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
🍉❤️ Daily Thread are running a drop in badge making workshop🍉🪡. In solidarity with Palestine we will be creating watermelon badges as well as Valentine’s Day hearts ❤️. Advanced skills in crafts or sewing are not needed to join the fun, we will also provide the materials needed, see you there! ❤️🍉
⏰~1-2:30pm at The Old Print Works (506 Moseley Road, Birmingham, United Kingdom).
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!
Join us to learn about this Dome of the Rock tile design and create your own ceramic coaster to take home. This workshop is being delivered as part of the ‘Balsall Heath Second Saturdays’ programme – a monthly mini-festival celebrating making, creativity, community, local culture and the arts, held on the second Saturday of every month.
This workshop is inspired by the ceramic tiles that decorate the Dome of Rock, or Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra, in Jerusalem, Palestine (occupied Palestinian territories). Painted in an underglaze of cobalt blue on a white tile, this floral design can be tesselated to create a never-ending pattern. During this workshop, you will study one of the tile patterns that adorn this building, which is currently housed at the British Museum and in the teaching collection of the MIAH Foundation Islamic Arts Gallery.
You will recreate this design on a ceramic tile that can then be taken home to be displayed or used as a coaster. Please note: this workshop focusses on the design of the tile. Due to the length of the workshop, the design will be painted using acrylic paints and not underglaze.
To secure your place, please book in advance using ‘register’. We will allow a small number of walk-up bookings on the day, subject to availability.
Book your place today: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dome-of-the-rock-tile-workshop-tickets-820148435047
