2024 grants
A full breakdown of grants made can also be found here.
ARTS
Castle Bromwich Gardens £5,000
An eclectic programme of musical events and activities taking place in stunning outdoor historic garden surroundings. A chance for all ages and tastes to experience the new as well as the familiar, close up, affordable and relaxed.
Black Voices £5,000
The Doorstep Carnival will deliver a music and singing extravaganza for and with communities in Birchfield. Performances in the Grosvenor Road Studios’ Community Garden include a CBSO quartet, World Music Youth Choir, Windrush Choir, Reggae Choir and Black Voices.
Vivid Projects £5,000
We Did It Together is a pilot project remixing heritage materials through digital art. Participants will work with artists in libraries to explore the Birmingham Media Arts Archive, accessing 20 years of community stories and campaigns made in the 80s-90s.
Surge Forward £5,000
Surge Forward will commission Birmingham-based musician and composer Alicia Gardener-Trejo to deliver Home/Lands; a musical exploration of Home, co-composed with Birmingham-based musician Laura Collins and Birmingham community groups through a series of workshops and a final performance.
OPEN SPACES
Martineau Gardens £3,000
Therapeutic horticulture for vulnerable adults to help improve well-being, positively impact on mental health, develop gardening skills and engage with nature.
Cadbury Barn Trust £2,000
An activities programme in Manor Farm Park, Northfield, Birmingham to provide a positive impact on wellbeing through spending time outdoors, learning about the natural environment, engaging in physical and creative activity and having fun with family and friends.
ROAM £1,530
Six after-school ROAM Free sessions will run at Spark Green Park with local children. Through independent play in the natural environment, children will develop confidence and a stronger sense of ownership of the public realm in their neighbourhood.
Crafting Community £4,500
This project will provide free weekly, family, nature-connection Forest School sessions in Perry Hall Park. The sessions will be child-led, providing much needed, free play in nature. They will be fully outdoors with activities offered linked to the changing seasons.
HERITAGE
National Trust Birmingham Back to Backs £5,000
The National Trust and Place Prospectors, a community interest company, will share the story of social housing in Druids Heath with a community co-curated exhibition and community-led activity programme, providing participation for school groups and young adults.
Bahu Trust £4,900
The Legends of Bahu Trust podcast project aims to document and celebrate the stories of elders within Birmingham’s South Asian community, focusing on migration, intergenerational trauma, and the diaspora experience, highlighting the duality of life for South Asians in Birmingham.
Electric Cinema Flatpack Feasibility Study £10,000
An independent feasibility study exploring the future of the Electric Cinema on Station Street. The city’s first full-time film venue when it opened in 1909, the Electric has been closed since February 2024 when an 88-year lease came to an end. Manchester-based property developer Glenbrook has since announced plans for redevelopment of the site between The Old Rep theatre and The Crown pub, including a new independent cinema to replace the existing one. This feasibility work is an opportunity to ensure that Station Street and the city get the best possible outcome – one which takes into account heritage value, cultural tourism and cinema provision as well as commercial viability.
COMMISSIONS
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) £9,000
‘Reggae Origins’ is a new collaborative cross-genre BCMG commission for contemporary ensemble and reggae band, by ex-Steel Pulse guitarist, Basil Gabbidon and composer Benjamin Graves, telling the story of how reggae came to Birmingham.
Birmingham City University – Royal Birmingham Conservatoire £10,000
‘Fairlight’ is an entertaining performance about a hidden piece of Birmingham history – the invention of lawn tennis. It explores queer invisibility, juxtaposing historic and current lived experiences, giving context to the absence of any out male players in the game.
Ikon Gallery £10,000
What Did You Want To See? (spring 2025) is an exhibition of new work by UK photographer Mahtab Hussain, documenting and celebrating the living diversity of Birmingham’s Muslim communities.
Flatpack Projects £10,000
A brand new audiovisual commission for Birmingham-based experimental jazz and electronic outfit un.procedure and multimedia artist Guri Bosh. Drawing inspiration from the 1920s Art Deco movement, commemorating the centenary of The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in 1925, the performance will be premiered at the 19th Flatpack Festival.