Thanks to Michael Landelle for the gorgeous photos of Dawinder Bansal’s #blastphotofest2019 event, Asian Women & Cars: Road to Independence. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Following a tour of Dawinder’s exhibition, and the group exhibition Girl Gaze, Dawinder was joined by Anita Goyal, Bharulata Patel-Kamble and Jagdish Khaira in a discussion drawing from the panelists’ personal experiences of driving and influencing social change for South Asian girls and women in the UK and India. ⁣ @dawinderbansal .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ #dawinderbansal #asianwomenandcars #multistory #acemidlands #sandwellcouncil #ambitionforexcellence #photographyfestival #community #Multistory #multistoryartist #Sandwell #AmbitionforExcellence #ACE #westmidlandsartsbursary #CultureMatters #SandwellCouncil #MultistoryArtists #Community #artsfestival #ACEsupported #NationalLottery

First pickings ready for bramble jelly

Some of the wonderful photographs taken by photographer @brendanbarryphoto at Wednesbury Market on a very hot sunny day for Blast! Festival. Brendan worked from his caravan camera, taking portraits of people who passed by and developing them on the spot. The prints will be ready to pick up very soon! . . . . . . #photographyworkshop #homemadecamera #diycamera #analogphotography #multistory #caravancamera #sandwell #blastphotofest2019 #papernegative #westmidlands #photofestival #ambitionforexcellence #analoguecommunity #acefunded

Our pop-up exhibition Sandwell Stories is now open for a month at Blackheath library. With portraits by photographer @emmacasephotography and an audio installation of our related podcast series. The exhibition will evolve over time as visitors contribute their own stories to the display. . . . . . . . . . #SandwellStories #podcast #exhibition #sandwell #libraries #emmacase #communityarts #sandwell #laurapannack #photography #multistory #portraits #sandwellcouncil #artscouncilengland

Next week on Wednesday 7 August our pop-up exibition Sandwell Stories will be open at Blackheath library. The exhibition will showcase portraits by photographer Emma Case @emmacasephotography , captured while she was out and about in #Sandwell recording interviews for our podcast series “Sandwell Stories” along with @robertalexanderfilms The exhibition weaves together the words of people from Sandwell with their portraits, giving the public to access to a growing oral and visual archive of contemporary, everyday stories. The podcasts are available for the public to listen to as part of this installation, via the headphones. Photo credit: Albert Emma Case

Laura Pannack found herself drawn to an area of scrubland in Tipton and the teenagers who hangout there. She was fascinated by how this unassuming space has taken on a greater meaning for the young people that live nearby. ‘The Cracker,’ as it is referred to locally, is a youth club without walls and without rules. ⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣ “Through a narrow alleyway you enter ‘The Cracker’; rolling grass lined with blackberries and stinging nettles. Motorbikes, peds and quads bark loudly at all times of day. The boys race them until they burn out, perfecting the art of the wheelie. The girls nestle around small fires despite the baking summer sun. Here, everyone knows each other.” Laura Pannack⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ .⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ .⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ .⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ .⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ .⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ .⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ .⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ #LauraPannack #Blastphotofest2019 #artsfestival #community #sandwell #commonspace #sandwellcouncil #ambitionforexcellence #artscouncilengland #internationalfriendshipday

Last weekend, Blast! Festival drew to a close – marking the end of an incredible six weeks of exhibitions, performances, talks and guided walks taking place across the six towns of Sandwell. We’re so grateful to everyone who has been involved; from our partners, our amazing team of technicians and volunteers, to community members who contributed to the Sandwell Pride of Place Project with their stories, images and artefacts. We went out with a bang at the Blast! closing party, hosted by The Caravan Gallery in their pop-up exhibition space- with live performances from Brendan Hawthorn and members of the community, compered by the fantastic Dave from The Hollybush Pub. Thanks to everyone who joined us over the weekend, Wishing everyone a great summer and here’s to the next one! . . . . . . . . . . #BlastPhotoFest2019 #makeartnotwar #Multistory #Sandwell #AmbitionforExcellence #ACE #westmidlandsartsbursary #CultureMatters #SandwellCouncil #Community #artsfestival

Happy birthday to Jan from @the_caravan_gallery – yesterday, amidst deinstall of #blastphotofest2019 exhibitions, we sat down and celebrated with cake and other treats brought in by Colin, one of the biggest contributors to the Sandwell Pride of Place Project over the 6 week festival.