The Emergency Fund for Freelance Performers (EFFP), aims to raise £10,000 to cover hardship costs of all freelancers working in the Arts who have been affected by job and tour cancellations, insurance with no coverage, and with no access to sick pay, etc. The EFFP has a dedicated volunteer team with wide links within the Creative Arts.

Thanks to our growing network we are in a very fortunate position to be able to bring together and amplify the many voices of our cultural sector. During these unprecedented challenging times we would like to reach out and see how we support one another to ensure that anyone who works in the arts and cultural sector (whether an individual, an organisation or freelance) can access the support that is available.

Following announcements by the UK Government asking the population for increased social distancing, we would like to update you with our plans for the upcoming weeks.

First up for our Boredom Busters series is Project Administrator for Dudley, Gavin Medza who has taken a lovely light-hearted approach to his Black Country recommendations to help lift your mood…

CBC and CoLab Dudley invite you to join us for the Yam Yam Design Jam - a fun, creative, exciting and dynamic experience which brings together teams of people with all kinds of different skills and talents. Over just one special weekend teams will develop and prototype (try out low-fi versions of) completely new services, products or initiatives inspired by a shared theme.

This month CBC are heading to Smethwick to talk all things Creative Communities. We’ll be basing ourselves at the lovely Thimblemill Library for the afternoon to talk about our work in The Black Country, hear more about what you’re up to, see how we can connect and hear short Pecha Kucha 20x20 style presentations from some of our former supported groups and partners.

The Diocese of Lichfield are seeking an Artist/Creative/Design professional to help engage with people in these circumstances, designing graphic material which will attract their attention and speak to their situations.

The [ Discursive spaces ] residency project is an annual 6 month program of mentoring and engagement between the physical and philosophical spaces in which our local communities are creating and therefore contributing to its ever expanding [ spaces within spaces ] in the city of Wolverhampton.

We're really excited to get stuck in to a new year, new decade and new area for our Creative People and Places network and we'd love to have a coffee and chat to find out what you're excited about.

The full Literature Festival will take place between Friday 31 January and Sunday 2 February and the full programme now announced with tickets on sale.

You are welcome to join us this Thursday for a warming winter mingle at the Light House in Wolverhampton.

The independent cafe, fashion and grocery store, hairdresser and beauty salon, tailor, market stall, and takeaway are regular sights in Black Country towns and this September they are being celebrated and used as inspiration for a new set of performances.

Creative Black Country has been awarded £1,403,154 of National Lottery funding through Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme (CPP) to expand its current CPP activity to include Dudley, in partnership with Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Council for Voluntary Service.

Our biggest Arts Village to date took over a section of Victoria Park at last weekend’s Ola Sandwell & Birmingham Mela and we had a great time in Smethwick.

For the fourth year Creative Black Country is partnering with the annual Ola Sandwell & Birmingham Mela in association with Lidl, to bring its biggest Art Village to date to the event, which returns to Victoria Park, Smethwick this weekend (20-21st July).

The Ola Sandwell & Birmingham Mela returns on the 20-21st July and CBC is delighted to be the creative partner for the fourth year in a row.

With phase 2 of our Creative People and Places project well underway we’ve been busy with some great projects over the last 18 months. Here’s a few headline highlights from our work…

Visual artists are being asked to take part in Wolverhampton’s ultimate art & photography challenge as Paint the Day returns for 2019.

Great Art and Culture For Everyone - how to apply for Arts Council Project grants and Creative Black Country's Open Access Awards workshops at the Black Country Business Festival this May.

Creative Black Country’s 100 Masters project has been shortlisted for a ‘Digital & Film Award’ by the New National Creative Learning Awards.