Balsall Health Local History Society – Gazette December 2020
Balsall Heath Local History Society’s monthly gazette is now available to download.
News
Commonwealth Co-design
The Gap Arts Project are working with 3 local arts organisations, Craftspace, Ort Gallery and Celebrating Sanctuary, to plan a large scale project in 2022 which will feed into the Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games cultural programme.
Sound Tapestry Creative Workshop Series
The Gap Arts Project are inviting 12 – 18 year olds in Birmingham to join artist Meera Shakti Osborne and producer A.G. in a FREE creative workshop series exploring self-expression and healing through sound.
Through 6 fortnightly online sessions, you will work with the artists and other young people you meet on the programme to create a Sound Tapestry. This Sound Tapestry will be a collaborative artwork made during the Zoom sessions through sound recordings based on our feelings. The work will be exhibited at The GAP later in 2021 as part of a touring exhibition.
Sound Tapestry is an opportunity to be part of a collaborative art making process, to learn about sound art, and to meet new people.
Who: 12 – 18 year olds living in Birmingham. We especially welcome young people from working class backgrounds and/or who are Black or a person of colour.
Where: Online via Zoom
Date: 13th January – 24th March 2021
When: Every other Wednesday
Time: 5 – 6.30pm
Interested?
Drop an email to el**@******************co.uk with your Name, Age, and Postcode
Spaces are limited so get in touch soon to reserve your spot!
Funded by Arts Council England Project Grants.
Simple energy advice
With so many of us spending more time spending time at home this Winter, it’s more important than ever to be aware of ways to save money on energy bills as well as stay warm. This post from Balsall Heath is Our Planet provides some useful advice.
Balsall Heath Artist Survey for 2022 Commonwealth Festival
Are you an Artist or Creative Practitioner, living or working in the Balsall Heath area?
Celebrating Sanctuary (CSB) is working in partnership with Gap Arts, Ort Gallery and Craftspace to plan and design a project and event for 2022 as part of the Commonwealth Cultural Festival.
As local artists we would like your views and input in its design. This process will influence how we approach an inclusive, community focussed project & event in the Moseley Rd and surrounding areas of Balsall Heath. We want to identify emerging and established artists in the area, especially those from refugee and migrant backgrounds who could be involved in artist development, performance & exhibition opportunities, or delivering creative workshops.
We will be holding some online consultation sessions this month which will be advertised soon. But in the meantime, we have created this short online survey to find out who the local artists are, what they do and what their views and needs are. The survey is very short, so we ask you to please take 5 minutes to give us your feedback.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.
Family Support & Funding
The Hall Green Families team are able to take referrals from community professionals and self referrals from families in Hall Green who are in need of support.
Youth Covid Challenge
Covid guidance can be confusing and hard to understand… Youth Covid Challenge is a group of young people retelling the rules!
Ort Gallery Wellbeing Messages
Wellbeing Messages written by local primary school children are being sent to the elderly in the Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook community spreading festive joy and support during the ongoing hardships caused by the pandemic.
Ort Gallery worked with artist Sabba Khan, whose work is an exploration of first world city life as a second generation Azad Kashmiri Muslim migrant. She explores themes of belonging, memory and identity underpinned by philosophical and psychotherapy concepts that explore the nature of self within and outside of the collective.
Sabba created 6 postcards in co-design with local women that are being shared with our community as part of the recovery period mid/post-lockdown. The idea is to spread a positive message and remind people that they are not alone. Moreover they also encourage people to look after their mental health.
The elderly in the community are receiving the messages through foodbank parcels and through the delivery service of hot means by the Muath Trust who reach up to 90 elderly people each week.
Pupils from two local primary schools – Ark Tindal Academy and Nelson Mandela Primary wrote personalised messages to the elderly in the community to spread festive joy this December and to send hope and solidarity to those in the community cut off from family and friends. The project will support the elderly to write back to their young penpals.
The Wellbeing Messages project was supported by The Community Fund.
Old Print Works ONLINE Christmas Markets
The Old Print Works would like to invite you to our Christmas Market on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September 2020, from 11am-4pm. The event showcases the artists, makers and entrepreneurs that are based in the Old Print Works, many of whom will have items for sale!
Training courses with The Muath Trust
The following courses are available at The Muath Trust. Upskill yourself for the New Year!
Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath East Virtual Ward Forum meeting now online
During Covid-19 lockdowns, Ward Forum meetings have gone online. They are now available to view through YouTube. Ward Forums are an opportunity to hear from local Councillors and other key local partners about issues affecting your area.
The “Kindness Project”, for those in need of bereavement support – Volunteer recruitment
The Bahu Trust are launching ‘The Kindness Project’, an interfaith project to support people in need of bereavement support. They are currently recruiting volunteers who can commit to the four training sessions in January.
Balsall Heath Fairy Doors
Arts organisation ‘General Public’ are running a competition for children to design a ‘Balsall Heath Fairy Door’ – magical doors to other worlds.
Balsall Health Local History Society – Gazette November 2020
Balsall Heath Local History Society’s monthly gazette is now available to download. A man searches for his mother, we learn about a local wrestler and Heath Mount Primary celebrates its 50th Anniversary.
Click the image to read the full newsletter.
Digital Skills Surveys
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the inequalities that exist when it comes to digital skills and access to digital equipment. To better understand the digital needs of both residents of Hall Green constituency and community groups that provide activities and services, the Hall Green Neighbourhood Network Scheme team have devised two rolling surveys.
The first survey is intended to be completed by residents of Hall Green constituency, which includes the wards of Balsall Heath West, Brandwood & Kings Heath, Hall Green North, Hall Green South, Moseley, Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East, and Sparkhill.
The second survey is intended to be completed by community groups, other community assets in Hall Green constituency to understand the digital skills of organisations. The Hall Green NNS team have a pot of money to undertake capacity building which includes improving the digital skills of organisations in Hall Green. The information that the team gather from this survey will help to shape the training and support we provide.
Hall Green Neighbourhood Networks Scheme will be gathering the data from these surveys over the coming months. If you have any questions about the survey or would like to know more about the Hall Green Communities digital skills work please e-mail Na***************@*************rg.uk.