Celebrating 10 Years: Desi Pubs
Celebrating 10 Years: Desi Pubs
Desi Pubs: A Celebration of Migration, Culture & Curry
As we celebrate 10 years of Creative Black Country, we’re reflecting on some of our most iconic and beloved projects—and Desi Pubs is one that truly captured the spirit, resilience, and fusion of cultures that define the region.
For over 40 years, the Black Country has been home to a quiet culinary revolution—the rise of the Desi Pub. A meeting of East and West, where: Classic English pubs with their ales, darts, and dominos; meet Punjabi food, Bhangra and community spirit.
Through the Desi Pubs project, we worked with six landlords and artists to create bespoke artwork, portraits, stained glass, mosaics, and handcrafted pub signs, telling the extraordinary story of migration, survival, love, and foodone pint at a time.
We went on organised sold-out pub crawls to visit the works and produced a stunning limited edition catalogue with Rope Press.
Each pub became a living, breathing artwork, telling a story that spans generations. Chef Cyrus Todiwala visited during the project and was blown away by the combination of creativity and Desi pub life. The pub signs have been featured on TV with Grayson Perry and have even featured in the UK Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. A project that continues to live on beyond the confines of Creative Black Country.
Celebrating 10 Years Films have been filmed and edited by Koru Films .