We’ve tentatively started to support a lovely range of projects in Dudley this year. The CBC team and associate producers, Kerry + Laura, have thought a lot about how to approach community-based work that is safe, socially distanced and that adheres to government guidelines.

How many of us would have guessed we’d still be in semi-lockdown so far in to 2021? The last 18 months have been a really strange time for CBC but, like everyone else, we’ve adapted and changed things so that we can continue our work in this new world. Find out some of the things we’ve got coming up in the next 6 months.

Our friends and partner at SPARKS, Deaf Explorer will be hosting a thought-provoking discussion for CEDIA about equality where they will profile the stories of four deaf artists.

During lockdown many of us have suffered from not seeing our families so Barbara and Marta came up with the Love Letters to Family + Friends project that would use creative postcards and collaging to connect with a message of love to those we miss the most.

Congratulations to local community hub Gatis Community Space who are busy putting plans together for a summer of wellbeing activities after receiving a grant of £9750 from the Severn Trent Community fund.

Asylum Artist Quarter is offering 9 commissions for sound works in the form of music, soundscapes, spoken word, speeches to respond to 9 chosen sites in Wolverhampton City Centre that were once used as spaces.

A Summer of SPARKS workshops awaits giving you the opportunity to learn more about performance, storytelling and poetry with creatives Ishtiaq Hussain, Kuli Kohli and Jasmine Gardosi.

Bostin News edition 01 is available to read in full online and to download.

Offsite 9 Commissions Open Call Brief & Guidelines - 4 Commissions up £4,000. Offsite 9 commissions will support activities that increase opportunities for people to experience great creative and cultural experiences in Wolverhampton.

We want young people from Wolverhampton to help shape and reimagine the High Street of the future. Can you help design your city through arts, culture and creative ideas?

We are delighted to announce that Creative Black Country’s Desi Pubs project is featured in the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

For May Half Term Loff Out Loud! is coming to the Black Country Living Museum where you are invited to clown around with the historic characters as you discover how Black Country folk stayed playful in the past and Funny Roots is getting involved.

Join Dudley Creates during the end of May for a week of creative workshops led by photographers, poets, artists, illustrators, filmmakers and practitioners.

Watch the video from April’s Black Country Funding Network with Rachael Magson and Kevin Rogers.

The Positive Postcard Project has been bringing optimism and creativity to residents in Stourbridge and the surrounding areas of the Black Country. Supported by Creative Black Country this project is run by Artist Ruth Turnbull working with Holly Grove Art Club to create and send postcards with a positive message.

Lucky residents in Smethwick have been invited to take part in a new F WORDS project by Barbara Gibson and Marta Kochanek. Love Letters offers seniors, the separated and isolated families the opportunity to create their own postcards using materials, including the images above and below, from a pack of materials to send a note to their loved ones.

2 Meters Ap-Art Community Portraits Art Exhibition - An Outdoor Public Art Show by Ade Wressell. Monday 3rd May - Friday 18th June @ Walsall Creative Factory. The Exhibition is a collection of black and white portraiture photographs that tell the story of the Butts diverse community, celebrating identity and togetherness, whilst being kept apart during Covid-19.

Freelance Opportunity - Programme Coordinator. Offsite 9 - British Art Show local programme, 2021 -2022 - APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED.

Asylum Artist Quarter CIC, represented and affiliated with Asylum Art Gallery LTD, who oversee the programs and spaces Asylum Art Gallery and Asylum Artist Studios, are pleased to open a further venue ‘The Quarter’.

Yam Cams is a new photography project, that launched this month, which aims to inspire people to photograph everyday life in the four Black Country boroughs: Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.