An amazing array of events and exhibitions celebrating film, art, music, sport and dance is on offer in the city this summer as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The series of creative events is taking place in the city from now until early September, forming part of one of the largest ever cultural programmes to surround the Games.
Exhibitions and events:
Black Country Beats - Wolverhampton Art Gallery - 7 May to 4 September 2022
Black Country Beats celebrates the diverse musical genres that emerged from the area between the 1970s and 2000s. It spotlights iconic artists whose styles were influenced by the unique heritage of the region and the social and political change that happened here during their formative years. From Slade to R&B, reggae to bhangra via 90s indie bands, the exhibition includes a wide range of memorabilia, instruments, costumes and even a customised jukebox.
Where Is Home? - Wolverhampton Art Gallery - 9 July to 29 August 2022
Where Is Home? is a nationally touring exhibition that explores global migration of South Asian communities. 2022 is a momentous year for South Asian heritage, marking India and Pakistan's 75th anniversary of partition, and the 50th anniversary of Asian Ugandan expulsion. These globally significant events have shaped modern Britain and Where Is Home? will look first hand at the stories of those directly affected by these cultural shifts and explores the origins of how they began.
All About The Fight - Going the Distance! – Arena Theatre – 16 and 17 July 2022
On July 16 and 17 powerful dance performance All About the Fight - Going the Distance! will be at the Arena Theatre. The show honours the skill, culture and spirit of boxing and tackles issues and personal fights through empowering storytelling that promotes the resilience and strength of the human spirit. Performed by Sterran Dance Theatre, the work has been choreographed by Katy Sterran in collaboration with Bright Star Boxing Academy, composer Matthew Peters and city-based Grime artist J Man. For tickets visit arena.wlv.ac.uk
Nation’s Finest, Putting Down Roots and Birthing - Wolverhampton Festival Site - 4 August 2022
West Midlands-based filmmaker Beverley Bennett has been specially commissioned to produce a film for the Commonwealth Games. Her work, Nation’s Finest, Putting Down Roots and Birthing, plays homage to the pioneering Blk Art Group and its legacy and influence on the art scene and her personal practice. Her film, which is part of a larger work involving local gatherings and public billboards across Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton, features two young black gymnasts from Sandwell Flyers gymnastic club and captures their skilled routines and tumbles, determination, focus and dedication to their sport. The film will be shown on August 4 at the city’s Festival Site in Old Market Square where people can also watch all the excitement of the cycling Time Trial on the big screen.
To The Streets - West Park - August 28 at 1.45pm and 7.45pm
An uplifting new concert musical, bursting with ska, calypso and rock ‘n’ roll and inspired by the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott. The performance tells the story of youth worker Paul Stephenson who led the boycott of the Bristol Omnibus Company, which refused to employ black or Asian drivers or conductors, and teenager Lorraine who joins the fight for equality.
For tickets visit birminghamhippodrome.com