Wild Earth Movement is inviting people to step out of hibernation and into a calm, creative space with a free Weekend Wellbeing Workshop focused on junk journalling.

Feedback is more than a form at the end of a project. It is how ideas grow, how trust is built and how creative work stays responsive to the people it is made with.

Earlier this month, a warm and welcoming space was created in the Black Country as the Beyond One Culture event brought people together for a vibrant celebration of creativity, culture and connection. Supported through our Creative Communities strand, the one day event invited people from across the region to share in live music, performance, art and food, creating an atmosphere that felt open, joyful and deeply human.

Earlier this year, we commissioned a project with Misfits Music through our Creative Communities strand, to work with their Tipton Rock Collective, an inclusive community rock group for adults that meet regularly to rehearse and perform rock music in Tipton, Sandwell.

In a leafy corner of Willenhall Memorial Park, something quietly powerful has been growing. What began as a casual conversation during a walk through Fibbersley Nature Reserve has blossomed into a vibrant writing group rooted in creativity, community and connection to place.

Behind every great community project is a creative adviser - someone who brings expertise, fresh ideas and the confidence to make things happen. At Creative Black Country, we believe that supporting community groups with creative guidance leads to stronger, more impactful projects.

Creative Communities PODCAST: In Wolverhampton with Simon Suphandgali

Creative Communities PODCAST: In Sandwell with Stourbridge-based artist Ruth Turnball and Robert Bruce, CEO of the Dorothy Parkes Centre in Smethwick.

Creative Communities special series - PART 04: SANDWELL

Creative Communities special series - PART 03: WOLVERHAMPTON

CBC Creative Advisor Laura chats to illustrator Roots who supported the Friends of Abbey Street Park to design and paint a mural to brighten up a wall and celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Creative Communities special series - PART 02: DUDLEY

Creative Communities special series - PART 01: WALSALL

CBC Creative Advisor Laura chats to David who shares how he collaborated with the team at the Creative Factory and how they set up a writing group.

This month we have relaunched our Creative Communities strand of support where communities are invited to try out something new; for example craft skills, setting up a choir, or starting a garden gallery with your neighbours. You can also use the support to ‘go and see’ something like a theatre show or visit a museum or gallery.

Imaginative sculptural birdhouses tell stories of migration to Birmingham and the Black Country.

Inspiring young people to work in the creative industries with ‘Creative Confidence Sessions’ Stourbridge Jobcentre was selected to become part of CBC’s Creative Communities programme in 2020 as part of the organisation’s new programme in Dudley.

U Island CIC and West Midlands based arts organisation Juneau Projects, have been working with families and individuals originally from Russia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and the UK to create imaginative sculptural birdhouses that tell their stories of migration to the Black Country and their sense of home.

The team at Paycare, a Health Cash Plan and Wellbeing Training provider based in the heart of Wolverhampton, has donated £20,000 to Creative Black Country to help us to support 17 projects as part of ‘Creative Connections’ - our strand of work aimed at bringing joy to communities during the pandemic.

During 2020 CBC’s Creative Advisor for Sandwell, Richard, worked with Bally from the Sandwell Asian Mental Health Group to put together a calendar of positivity. With a tough year getting used to lockdowns and social distancing the members of the group worked in new ways online and via the phone to design and produce these positive messages to take us through the year ahead.