Bearwood Hub Newsletter
What's occurring in October? (Spoiler Alert... there's a lot!)
As well as our usual Stay & Play, Grief Kind Space, Co-Working & Wellbeing Service, find out below what else is happening with Bearwood Community Hub…
Wednesday Warm Welcome
And… we’re back, every Wednesday during (Sandwell) school term-time!
11:30am - 1pm - Advice and guidance from Sandwell Cost of Living Team
11:30am - 1pm - Bring Your Own Art Club - Co-Arting!
11:30am - 1pm - Makers and Menders sewing group with Make Good Arts CIC (9th, 23rd Oct)
1pm - Community Lunch
12pm - 2pm English for Everyday
All day - Free shop, tea, coffee, boardgames & chat
3:30 - 4:45pm After School Play
Find out where you can find the Cost of Living Team the rest of the week.
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Thanks for helping us raise £55.40 for Macmillan last Wednesday! According to Macmillan Cancer Support, every 90 seconds someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer, and 1 in 2 of us will develop cancer at some point during our lives. Macmillan provides services for people at every stage of their cancer journey, from emotional support to practical, physical and financial support; as well as campaigning and advocating for better cancer research and care. Every donation counts towards providing those essential services, so thank you!
We’ve joined Sandwell Consortium’s Language Network! 🎉
We’ve been successful in our funding application to Sandwell Consortium’s Language Network, who will be funding our English For Everyday classes. Thanks to this funding we will be able to expand our offer to 2 classes per week for pre-entry beginners! Watch this space for further announcements!
After School Play - Inspire to Aspire
Black History Month Creative Sessions
October marks the start of Black History Month in the UK and this month 5-13 year olds (and their guardians) can join us after school for fun, free and creative sessions focused around Black History, with universal themes for all.
Birmingham Open Studios
5 - 6th October, 28a Abbey Road, B67 5RD
There’s just one weekend left of Birmingham Open Studios, where you can meet the Artists, see the work and see the creative process! Catch the Happy Painters Group at West Smethwick Park, Yevheniia Mikheenko at Windmill Community Centre, and Matt Eaglesfield, Wes Griffin, Carolyn Percival & Paul Stephenson at Bearwood Coworking Space - 28a Abbey Road, B67 5RD.
Matthew Eaglesfield is a self-taught fine artist based in Bearwood, working mainly in acrylic, mixed media and monoprint. He creates work with a deeply personal connection – landscapes inspired by the local places he enjoyed as a boy with his grandfather, that he is now experiencing anew with his own child.
Carolyn Percival is a poet and artist whose joyful watercolour drawings of birds and flowers succeed in bringing the natural world indoors. Despite showing an aptitude and enthusiasm for art at a young age, she was prevented from studying art formally, being required instead to take, what was considered at the time, more “gender-appropriate” courses in typing and secretarial work. Returning now to her passion for art, Carolyn shares her talents generously with others, and has been a pillar of the local art community for many years. She is a well-known cornerstone of our Bring Your Own Art Club, with a reputation for inspiring and helping others to unleash their potential.
Wesley (a.k.a Rev Wez Orange) Griffin is an artist, poet and musician who likes to turn patterns back into chaos. Wes creates his mesmerising ‘dazzlyeglyphs’, colourful segments which hypnotise the eye and invite the viewer to play with perspective. A regular of our Bring Your Own Art Club for the last year or so, Wez has been working on the front sleeve of his latest album ‘Donkeys Ears’. Now finished just in time for Open Studios, you can come and enjoy the finished article, and have a listen to his otherworldly tunes.
Paul Stevenson (Artemis Glass) has been working with glass for over 25 years. Now retired, Paul continues to sculpt glass from the comfort of his shed turned studio. Displaying his latest series of glass hearts at our coworking space this Sunday, Paul has generously decided that any and all of his sales will go towards Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Coffee ‘n’ Canvas
After a mega popular first event, Coffee ‘n’ Canvas returns to Tamu! It's the perfect opportunity to sip on your favorite brew while unleashing your inner artist. No experience needed - just bring your creativity and we'll provide the rest! Whether you're a seasoned painter or picking up a brush for the first time, this event is for everyone. Booking is required as there’s only 15 spaces.
Sandwell Borough of Sanctuary Films
Bearwood Community Hub and Black Country Touring have been working together with Forward Poetry Prize winning poet Bohdan Piasecki, to create four short films that challenge the negative narrative around migration by sharing authentic stories from local sanctuary seekers who have built new lives in Sandwell. You can now watch 3 of them, with 1 to be released shortly!
Follow Bohdan as he interviews four locals about their experience of moving to the UK and how they’ve made Sandwell their home. We set Bohdan the challenge of writing a poem inspired by each person he spoke to, within 24 hours of their conversation.
With big thanks to The Space for supporting and making this project possible.
Smethwick Arts Collective!
Idlib by Storm in the North Theatre Company
Friday 11th October, Bearwood Baptist Church Hall, 12 noon til 2pm
If you’ve been missing the Bearwood Community Bakery, then we have the perfect show for you! Part performance, part cooking show, join us for this uplifting story of kindness.
Let’s make bread - the Syrian way.
We’ll mix the dry ingredients, in a bowl bought in a Souk from Idlib*, then we add water… then wait for it to rise. And when the bread is ready, and the room is filled with the smell of freshly-baked bread, we will share it with our friends and neighbours – and enjoy it with Syrian Meze.
When he was in Turkey, writer Kevin Dyer was told by a Syrian refugee, ‘Do not forget Syria’. This is our attempt, with baking, and a thrilling piece of drama, to keep the proud people of that country in our minds – with food and a story of hope.
Suitable for 14+
A toddler friendly creche will be provided 12 noon - 1pm within the church. Children will be able to join for the meal at 1pm.
* Idlib is in the North-West of Syria.
In and around Bearwood:
Training for Parents & Carers: De-mystifying EHCPs
Fantastic Journey's CIC - Friday 11th Oct 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Bearwood Writer’s Group - Kicking off 23rd October!
