I don’t think there is a better feeling than being able to bring the community together by experiencing different cultures, talents and creativity. This Sunday (22nd April) opens the “We are Balsall Heath” Street Market! The market will run 11am-4pm and Moseley Road will be closed to motor traffic all day for this occasion, for the community and all cultures to come together. There will be market stalls, poetry, music, craft, art, heritage trails, international food hub and artistic experiences (including opera!) – to name just a few!

The social enterprise MELA has a mission to bridge cultures through the creative design and use of public meeting places. They seek to transform Moseley Road as a meeting place for the neighbourhood.  MELA started an intercultural project last year called “Balsall Heath in Conversation”. In this project Ana de Matos and Dan Burwood from Some Cities (which is based in The Old Print Works) engaged with people on how Moseley Road can become a meeting place and capture personal stories about living together in a community. Ana de Matos is a visual ethnographer which meant she used her camera to capture these stories. One way they managed to get people talking in the area was through the use of a pop-up juice bar. This project was to help develop new relationships and networks in the area and create a meeting place on the Moseley Road. The juice bar had three types of juice which were about the past, present and future. This therefore was able to help strike conversation in the neighbourhood, create relationships and connections. Below are some of the portraits created by Dan Burwood and Ana de Matos as a result of their conversations on Moseley Road.

The “We are Balsall Heath” market is a follow up of Balsall Heath in Conversation. It will be a fun packed day with a lot happening! The street market will be supporting the Balsall Heath Cook Book launch, where local chefs will be cooking their special recipes. Gymmy’s Grill will also be participating with their healthy BBQ! The street market will include emerging artists and installations on the day, communities and organisations will open their doors selling products and consulting with local people and The Old Print Works will have our own stall.

It will definitely be something you will not want to miss out on, with an expectation of around 6,000 people! Balsall Heath coming together as one – sharing all different creative talents, independent businesses, art and culture.

It is also not too late to set your own stall up if you want to promote your business or sell your products! It’s an amazing opportunity to get your name out there and make some connections! To find out more, follow the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intercultural-street-market-tickets-43785398305

Balsall Heath in Conversation