Making the most of… supporting volunteering opportunities for the D/deaf community. In 2022, CBC received funding from Arts Council England after a successful funding bid made through Culture Central to set up the Culture Volunteers WM project.

Making the most of… participatory opportunities for communities. Curl Girl Theatre Productions is a small, Birmingham-based theatre company, established in 2023 by Kiren Jogi, a professional actress, writer and creative practitioner.

Making the most of… international partnerships and connections. Launched in 2021, Cultural Bridge is a national programme which aims to forge international partnerships and foster creative collaborations between the UK and Germany.

Making in the most of… creativity and performance at MELA. Birmingham MELA (also known as Sandwell and Birmingham MELA), established in 2011, is the “biggest South Asian music festival” of its kind across the UK and Europe.

Making the most of… exploring the Black Country. As part of the Creative Communities programme, Creative Black Country (CBC) provides support for groups of people to engage with cultural activities that they might have no previous experience with.

Year 7 Summary - April 2021 to March 2022. With the ongoing challenges of COVD-19 and its after-effects the approach to our work has continued to reflect and react to what our network of artists, creatives, organisations and communities tell us.

Responding to new challenges and supporting sector resilience. The CBC team continued to respond to new challenges, with the impact of COVID-19 on communities and creatives being a key area to address.

CBC has been on a self-development journey building actions over the years to create work which is accessible. This has been achieved through a number of ways…

A series of quick-fire sharing events to help inspire creativity across the Black Country. 20x20, is a series of online events in which two creatives spend 20 seconds each presenting their work and experiences with the help of 20 slides.

In 2017 the Chamber set up the Black Country Business Festival, a showcase of the range of businesses that proudly make up the Black Country. The now, annual event promotes the area’s investment potential and enables the local business community to collaborate and share best practice.