In September 2020 DESIblitz will host its first online Digital Literary Festival for creative writers from the British Asian community.

Hannah Taylor has been producing the Fragments Archive - a project that looks at the impact shielding has been having on members of the public from the Black Country and how they are responding to it.

The City of Wolverhampton Council, the University of Wolverhampton and Creative Black Country has been accepted onto Actors of Urban Change, a Europe-wide programme which promotes sustainable urban development and will give young people in Wolverhampton a voice in the development of their city.

Turning Points (who we were, who we are, who we will be) is a new creative project. Working with participants across the Black Country regions, Laura Dicken will remotely record personal reflections on subjects such as happiest memories in the Black Country, what we have to be proud of as we collectively navigate the present moment and aspirations for the future.

Poster Positivity is designed to increase unity and wellbeing in Sandwell by sharing images of hope and happiness around the community. The project is run by Foka Wolf, a satirical artist who uses posters in his work to tackle serious issues with humour.

Deaf stand-up comedian and theatremaker, Rinkoo Barpaga, focuses on his intersectionality as a Deaf brown man and the double discrimination Deaf people of colour face. For this project he will be retelling the stories of the Deaf community during lockdown.

Newhampton Arts Centre has joined forces with other West Midlands companies who are coming together to celebrate the region’s art and culture with a Midsummer Festival.

Young Sketch Bookers is a new project that will be taking place July to September 2020. The team’s aim is to supply art materials to children during and after the Covid-19 lockdown. And they are looking for artists to offer inspiration to those receiving the packs.

Luke Perry’s Corridor of Colour is now LIVE to see in Stourbridge. It’s a beautiful outdoor gallery of bunting made by Luke with the help of his neighbours that lines his street and the High Street in Wollaston.

Hannah Taylor’s Fragments Archive commission has been underway for several weeks. Her project explores how memory shapes our understanding of information and the disparity between oral histories and digital archives.

Black Country Touring have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

Black Country Arts Council’s project aimed to bridge the gap between creative projects and community-focused outreach by offering free art packs that were distributed with the help of CBC’s Arts Advisors to groups and communities around the Black Country to help support children to overcome barriers to learning.

Milcote Assembled is a project focusing on making connections on one road in Bearwood. This road is Milcote Road. The project aims to get people to connect with one another through a series of small ‘operations’ over the course of a few weeks. This will be done through anonymous communications.

LearnPlay Foundation launched a hub tasking the local community to design their own fantasy characters.

Sarah brings the joy of group drumming and sound relaxation to people across the UK. Playing drums is uplifting, stimulating for mind and body, and a wonderful way to connect with others.

Finn is a Deafblind visual artist currently working on mixing digital art with Haptic technology to create the sensation of touch to augment 3D animation.

We have set about trying to find out what is so unique about Black Country humour. From the comedians, the style, to the location - but one thing that can't be ignored is the accent!

Creative Black Country is delighted to announce that we’ll be continuing our work in the Black Country until 2023 thanks to funding received from Arts Council England under the Creative People and Places Programme.

So we've found out where the Black Country actually is. We know who the key comedians are, but what is it that makes them so funny?

Creative Black Country have supported 20 new projects that respond to creativity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Over £30,000 of commissions has been handed to projects across the Black Country to help communities stay creative, learn new skills, and keep connected.