Seen as it’s the beginning of the New Year, we thought we would reflect on some of the exciting things Multistory got up to in 2023.
First up, let’s look at what happened with our We Are Wednesbury programme.
For the past three years, Multistory has been working in Wednesbury delivering various creative and engaging projects across the town. In the summer of 2023, we collaborated with Black Country Touring on the delivery of Wednesbury Day: a celebratory outdoor event which included a giant puppet, theatre performances, live music, street games, a photography exhibition, and also an evening of song and spoken word at St Bartholemew’s Church- inspired by the history of Wednesbury! It was great to see so many people in the town centre getting involved with the activities on offer.
As part of the WAW programme we have also produced three, annual issues of the WAW community magazine. Featuring articles written by young Citizen Journalists, the magazine represents local voices and stories and acts as an archive for cultural programme activities. You can read past issues of the magazine here. Be sure to also keep an eye out for our last which will be published Spring 2024 and can be found in local shops and community buildings in Wednesbury, as well as online.
Next up is Green Roots!
Green Roots is a programme of art and creativity that focuses on our local environment and nature. It is centred around the question: how can we make our High Streets and local areas a welcoming place for people, insects, birds and plants altogether?
In September, we collaborated with The Wildlife Trust and New Square Shopping Centre to plant a wildflower meadow in West Bromwich (just behind Primark), with the support of amazing volunteers who dropped in throughout the day to plant hundreds of plug wildflower plants. It was lovely to have conversations about greening West Bromwich and to meet so many of you!
We also expanded the Green Roots programme to 2 more towns, Wednesbury and Tipton. So far, in Wednesbury, we have worked with artist Ranbir Kaur to hold Rangoli workshops, and held our biggest Green Roots event yet, a wonderful Lantern Procession where we worked with the talented Bostin’ Arts and various incredible Wednesbury community groups. Look out for Green Roots Tipton in 2024.
Some more highlights to share from 2023 are from our BCN (Blast Creative Network) artist. After receiving a funding boost from Arts Council England, we have expanded our events and opportunities for Sandwell and wider Black Country-based artists.
We launched Assembly, an annual exhibition for emerging visual arts practitioners, and the BCN Artist Residency programme in collaboration with Wolverhampton School of Art; we also launched ‘The Printing Room,’ an experimental art writing journal. It has been a big year for the BCN programme!
We would also like to thank everyone involved in the Lantern Procession this year: the two stilt-walkers from Helter Skelter; Bostin Brass; Jamma de Samba; and the stewards who supported the event.
We also hosted various workshops and events, including a trip to Wren’s Nest Nature Reserve in Dudley and an Artist Winter Social at Lightwoods House. This coming year, look out for more events, opportunities, and residencies for local artists, including the upcoming Tools for Practice workshop series launching very soon…
In 2023, we also launched OUTWORK, an arts project sharing stories of women who worked at Kenrick and Jefferson (K&J) Print Works in West Bromwich. Artist Sophie Huckfield developed the project through interviews and creative screen-printing workshops, capturing the herstories of women workers at K&J.
The resulting limited edition book can be purchased via our website and you can still visit the resulting outdoor exhibition on West Bromwich High Street. Stay tuned for the OUTWORK podcast launching soon.
It has been a busy year here at Multistory and we are excited for what’s coming up in our programme in 2024!