Grand Union

Last week saw us return to the garden at St. Anne’s Hostel in Digbeth as the 2025 growing season begins! ☀️ It was great to get back into the garden and catch up with residents who have worked with The Growing Project in the past, as well as meeting some new faces who came to chat and get involved for the first time. 💚 It was a gentle session, looking at how the garden and the raised beds have fared over winter (they’re all looking good!) and making plans for the year ahead. 🌱 After some weeding and organising of the green house we cooked up some sausage sandwiches to enjoy together. We also prepared some purple sprouting broccoli and fennel that we had harvested from the beds that morning! 🌭🥦 You can find out more about The Growing Project and St. Annes via our website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eMwjgNfd @springhousing [image descriptions - Image one - A portrait image of a figure standing in a garden with their back to the camera placing garden waste into a large orange builders sack. Brick wallsare visible in the background, along with a compost bin and a bird table. Image two - A close-up portrait image of cut plants in a silver metal sieve. There is purple sprouting broccoli and bright green fennel tops.]

What if Digbeth… turned plans into actions? 🤝 🗓️Wednesday, 9 April 2025 ⏰ 4–6pm 🗺️ Eastside Projects, Digbeth⁠ Over the past five months, Grand Union and Eastside Projects have been working together to create a Cultural Development Plan for Digbeth. 💖 The plan has been developed with stakeholders, including cultural organisations, local businesses, audiences, creative freelancers and landowners, people connected to Digbeth who know it better than anyone else. 🏙️ The process of developing the plan has been one of coming together, recognising and celebrating the growth of the cultural community in Digbeth. This workshop is an opportunity to reflect on what has been developed, hear about the practical actions that have emerged to support the cultural life of Digbeth, and plan for the future together. 🌟 You can find out more information about this event via our website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/edkrwmqY 📸 Image by Irina Mackie (@irinamackie), 2025 [image description - A landscape image of a group of people sitting around a large round table, talking with each other. They sit in front of a white wall that holds a poster filled with different notes and bits of writing.]

For April’s Digbeth First Friday we are so excited to be partnering with SHOUT to present an evening of performances entitled ‘Where does the sex go?’ ❤️🔥 🗓️Friday 4 April, 2025 ⏰ Beginning at 6pm 🗺️ Grand Union, DIgbeth We ask where does the sex go when venues are forced to close to make way for the latest tower block? Where does the sex go when the flats are too expensive for anyone to own a bed in them? Where does the sex go when the harsh stage lights shine down on a sterile production set, illuminating every corner and every pore? Where does the sex go when the clubs shut their doors at 11pm to avoid noise complaints, turfing people out just as the night gets going? And where does the sex go when the secluded footpaths that once led to cruising spots become bustling thoroughfares? 💋 On the 4 April, three artists will explore what the gentrification of Digbeth means for sex and intimacy, what happens to the ‘margins’ that have fostered sweaty human connections, and navigate the precarity of spaces where humans are free to make and seek a whole range of experiences - sexual and emotional. 🌆 The artists will be announced in due course. 👀 Find out more about this event via our website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eZyGSPaU [image description - A black and white image of a city taken from above. Dense back to back housing and factory spaces are visible. White text on a black background is superimposed on the image. The text, in capital letters reads 'Where does the sex go?']

💙Job Opportunity: Grand Union Programme Assistant 💙⁠ ⁠ ⏰ Hours: 3 days a week, 10am-5pm, (including Saturdays during exhibitions)⁠ 💸 Salary: £13,759 per annum (Based on £22,932 pro rata. 35 hours per week at the Real Living Wage rate of £12.60 per hour)⁠ 📆 Applications due by March 27, 9am.⁠ 🗣️ Interviews will be held on April 11.⁠ ⁠ Grand Union is looking for a new Programme Assistant to join the team on a part time (0.6) basis to support in the delivery of our artistic programmes, communications, and operations.🌟⁠ We aim for our recruitment process to be as open and inclusive as possible, therefore, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of our team to ask questions. You can find all of our email addresses listed on our website, and we would be happy to arrange the best way to talk through the process. 💌 You can find the full job pack detailing how to apply and giving more information about the role via our website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/erRMJNWS 📸 Install shot of ‘Love is Real, and It’s inside of my Computer’ by Babeworld x utopian_realism, at Grand Union, Birmingham, 2024. Image by Patrick Dandy. [image description - A portrait image of a person dressed in black with long ginger hair sitting with their back to the camera, in front of a monitor on a busy desk in a pink-walled room. The walls have images of anime characters and costumes pinned to them. Neon, light blue/ turquoise text across the image reads ‘Work WIth Us’ in capital letters. Much smaller, white text in the bottom right corner of the image reads ‘Grand Union’.]

A few weeks back we visited the National Trust Back to Back Houses with the Minerva Group! 🏠 It was great to learn more about Birmingham’s industrial and social history through visiting the museum. This site is the last surviving example of back to back houses around a courtyard in the UK. 🏙️ We were fascinated to learn that people lived in the houses at the Hurst Street site up until the 1960s, and that the last shop operating from the courtyard – George Saunders’ Tailoring shop – closed its doors in 2002. 🪡 We all had the perception that back to back housing belonged to the 18th and 19th Centuries, so it really challenged our perceptions to hear how recent their history stretches forward. 📚 Thank you to the Birmingham Back to Backs for facilitating this fantastic day out for our Minerva Group, we had such a brilliant time! 💗 You can find out more about the Minerva Group via our website🔗 https://lnkd.in/e2adpd-y @ntbacktobacks [image descriptions - Image one - A portrait image of a person standing in a dim room, facing away from the camera.They wear a beige knitted hat and a dark green parka coat. The wall paper of the room is dark blue and patterned with a floral repeating pattern. There is a wrist iron bed frame behind them. Image two - A portrait image of a group of people wearing coats standing outside in a brick courtyard with dark green wooden fixtures, such as window frames and doors. The group stands in a circle, listening to an explanation of the site.]

🔔 Artist Opportunity: Bruntwood Studio Call out! 🔔 ‼️Please send in your application by: Thursday 27 March 2025, 9am. 📨 Contact Hannah Wallis on hannah@grand-union.org.uk if you require more information. Grand Union and Bruntwood SciTech are working in partnership to offer an opportunity for two artists to be in residence in Bruntwood SciTech’s Cornwall Buildings in Birmingham city centre for eighteen months. 💚⁠ Throughout the 18 months, the selected artists can expect the following: 🌟24-hour access to a free workspace at Bruntwood SciTech’s Cornwall Building (shared between the two successful applicants). 🌟Integration within the wider Bruntwood SciTech’s community, and introductions to their clients and customers. 🌟A £2000.00 fee/production budget to create a commissioned work for the Bruntwood SciTech’s collection. 🌟Ongoing support and mentoring from the Grand Union team. 🌟An open invitation to take part in wider Grand Union social and studio events. 🌟Introduction to wider Grand Union and Bruntwood SciTech’s studio community. Find out how to apply and for more information about the residency here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ekgAUQsq 📸 Bruntwood Cornwall Building studio. Image courtesy of Bunny Bissoux, 2025. (@bunnybissoux)⁠ @bruntwoodscitech⁠ [image description - A portrait image of a busy and cluttered desk in a studio space. The desk is covered in pens, papers, stickers, and other objects and equipment. The white will behind the desk is covered in posters, images, and clippings. A pale pink filter subdues the colour of the image. Bright green text across the top of the image reads ‘Artist Residency Opportunity’ in capital letters. At the bottom on the image smaller black text reads ‘Grand Union’ and ‘bruntwood SciTech’]

Grand Union’s Co-Programme Director, Hannah Wallis, recently visited Reading University's School of Art, to deliver some teaching to Art Students and the Curating Committee. 🧑🎨 The session that Hannah delivered explored curatorial methodologies, artistic practice, and playful interventions. These interventions were inspired by artists Flora Parrott, Claudia Brazzale and Johanna Hedva. 🛝 Hannah and the students then spent time curating a mini-exhibition of their work in the Reading School of Art galleries before undertaking group crits, alongside Seán Elder and Ishmail De Niro. 🖼️ [image descriptions - Image one - A portrait image of a group of students sitting on the grey concrete floor in groups of three and four. The groups sit in circles, looking down at the floor between them, many are smiling. Behind the group of students, tall white studio walls and art equipment are visible. Image two - A portrait image of a large classroom monitor showing a scene from Babeworld’s ‘Love is Real, and it's inside of my computer’. The scene features a person in a long black wig with a short fringe holding a mini microphone and talking directly to camera next to a pile of books. Image three - A portrait image of students sitting on a grey concrete floor with sheets of paper in front of them. They all hold sweets and look as if they are chewing them.]

💙Job Opportunity: Grand Union Programme Assistant 💙 ⏰ Hours: 3 days a week, 10am-5pm, (including Saturdays during exhibitions) 💸 Salary: £13,759 per annum (Based on £22,932 pro rata. 35 hours per week at the Real Living Wage rate of £12.60 per hour) 📆 Applications due by March 27, 9am. 🗣️ Interviews will be held on April 11. Grand Union is looking for a new Programme Assistant to join the team on a part time (0.6) basis to support in the delivery of our artistic programmes, communications, and operations.🌟 The Programme Assistant role is a vital part of our team, connecting activity across different strands of our programmes. Therefore we are looking for someone with the following essential experiences and skills: - Strong digital and written literacy to support administration across our programmes and activity. ✍️ - Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail, and able to work on their own initiative as well as within a team. 🌱 - Excellent people skills and experience of working with a wide range of people and communities. 🫂 Please see the Programme Assistant Job pack on our website for further information about the role and application process. The job pack is available as a PDF, a Powerpoint Document. An audio/ video recording of the job pack will be available shortly (by Monday, 3 March.) 💗 You can find more information on this role and how to apply through this link 🔗 https://lnkd.in/erRMJNWS [image description - A portrait image of two people standing across a table from each other outside. The table is filled with flowers and the two figures are making bouquets, smiling widely at each other. Bright yellow text overlaid across the centre of the image reads ‘Work with us’. Smaller white text in the bottom right corner reads ‘Grand Union’.]

🔔 Artist Opportunity: Bruntwood Residency Call out! 🔔 ‼️Application Deadline: Thursday 27 March 2025, 9am 📨 Contact hannah@grand-union.org.uk for more information. Grand Union and Bruntwood SciTech are working in partnership to offer an opportunity for two artists to be in residence in Bruntwood SciTech’s Cornwall Buildings in Birmingham city centre for eighteen months. 🌟 Now in its fifth round, the programme provides a free studio space for artists who would be interested in working within the frame and environment of another organisation, and supported by the Grand Union team. 💚 As Birmingham approaches an unprecedented surge in growth, it is vital that the city’s arts and cultural scene continues to be supported, as well as developing the city’s home grown talent. As a group, Bruntwood SciTech has a long-term commitment to creating thriving cities, and recognises that both arts and culture are key components to a city’s quality of life. 🎨 We understand that expressing an interest is an investment of your time and we are open to the form this takes to make this as easy for you as possible. In your application, please include: - A proposal giving an overview of your practice, how you would like to use the studio/residency, and how you will benefit from the opportunity (500 words max or a video lasting no longer than 3 minutes) - 5 images of recent work or web links (max pixels 1200 on longest dimension). Find out more about this opportunity via our website. Please note that PDF, Word doc.x, and audio recorded versions of the call out are available here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ekgAUQsq 📸 Bruntwood Cornwall Building studio. Image courtesy of Amaan Jahangir, 2025. (@amaanjahangir) @bruntwoodscitech [image description - A portrait image of a cluttered studio space, with pale walls, a parquet wood floor, and overhead lighting. The wall is filled with framed, expressive paintings with mythic theming, such as a knight with an arrow through their chest. A table filled with paint tubes, bottles of turpentine, and brushes sits in front of the wall, and this equipment spills onto the floor as well. Bright yellow text overlaid on the image reads ‘Artist Residency Opportunity’.]

Last year, our Co-Programme Director Jo Capper Contributed to an episode of the EcoSomatics Conversation Series. This is a project conceived by Dr Polly Hudson from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham City University. 🔊 The series invited sharing of engagement, practices and thinking around environmental awareness through embodiment activities, dance, and art. It posits a definition of “EcoSomatics” as of the body-mind-ecology and takes the form of open public dialogues between two (or more) people: independent artists, practitioners, and academics. 🌱 Jo contributed to episode two of the podcast, ‘Tenderness’, alongside movement artist Simon Whitehead. The conversation came out of discussions about ‘questions around home, homelessness, and the idea of belonging,’ with “embodiment” as a key starting point. How do we experience home rather than it being something of loss or something that we’re trying to find? 💚 You can find the podcast here via our website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ePbdTmWe 📸 Image by Ming de Nasty @mingdenasty [image description - A landscape image of cow parsley, a delicate green plant with small white flowers on it. The image is slightly blurred and hazy, evoking a dreamy summer day.]