Balsall Heath's
Living Room
July - Sept 2023

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What was Balsall Heath's Living Room 'Back to Ours' project?

July 1st to 30th September 2023

This summer we invited you to come ‘back to ours’ to enjoy Balsall Heath’s Living Room.

Our iconic Gala Pool space had been transformed with artworks, rugs, materials, and soft furnishings to create a space where visitors were free to explore and enjoy its offerings. You could have a hot drink, relax, or choose from a diverse range of specially programmed, free activities, and events.

Playful installations inside and outside the building invited us to examine and celebrate our communal and individual heritage, as well as the rich, complex history of the Baths and of Balsall Heath, and to strengthen the future that we would create together.

We provided step-free access to the space. The main entrance to the Living Room was at the back of Moseley Road Baths via Edward Road. Entering the Gala pool space, you had the option of entering the pool down steps or via the newly built ramp.

Our courtyard had been turned into the Balsall Heath Play Kitchen and Pocket Garden! Designed and built by Parakeet, the space encouraged children to explore their culinary talents, engage with the natural world, and learn about the soil cycle through their play.

Balsall Heath's Living Room 'Back to Ours' project - In pictures

Partnerships made

Organisations that have contributed to Balsall Heath’s Living Room

Moseley Road Bath's partners

_Underscore/OPUS/A shape of a Pear/Arts All Over the Place Festival/ASIRT/Aum tree/BCAT/Birmingham Opera Company /Birmingham Conservatoire /Breathing project/Calypso Moon Band /Capoeira with Joyce/Central Tai Chi/Chat and Splash /Chickenscratch theatre/Craftspace/Creature Encounters/Clifton Primary school /Cresent Archers/Don’t exist inside your own head/Drone Bath/Drumnbounce/Eid party/Femtinos/Fierce Festival /Flatpack festival/Floristry with Samreena/Gong Bath – Mark/Good Enough Mums/Healing Waves/Hip hop heals/Hope and Gather/Joseph Chamberlain/Leaf Creative/Let’s talk English classes with Fiaz/Mencap/Men’s coffee, newspaper & games/Misfits’ Music/Moseley Exchange/Multi-story/Narcotics Anonymous/Not now collective /Nox Trance/Paul Tai Chi/Places Of Welcome/Queensbridge Secondary School/Rainbow Tai Chi and Qi Gong /Release and Revive Roland/Represent exhibition/Saheli/Sampad/Balsall Heath Second Saturday/St Pauls Trust/The Amalthea Ensemble/Unlocking Potential /We are Golden thread /Women and Theatre/Yoga For All/Yoga With Carol /Yoga with Julie/Zen Den/Sehra by Haseebah Ali/Sufi Poetry/Creative Storytelling with Gully Collective/Cloud Cuckoo Land  SUBMARINE/Sehra by Haseebah Ali Activity/Balsall Heath Local History Society Talk/Kate Rafiq ‘Birmingham Boy’ Reading and Activity/Mini Bookmaking with MIAH/Mechanical Pollinator Screening (on loop)/Sahiban Speaks /Young Curators Collage Workshop/Unveiling Potentials/Zimmers of Southall 1 & 2/Request Line – True Form Projects/Words and Music Evening with Hosted by Ayan Aden with poetry from Kamil Mahmood, Rupinder Kaur and music from Aayushi/Mosaic Road/Amal Creative Felt Bookmark Making/The Phoenix and the Olive Tree by Mimar Collective /”Anam Zafar: The Wor(l)d on the street/PRINT AND MATTER/Lost in Translation by Zoya Ahmed /Sofia Niazi: Recipe Zine Planning Workshop/Abeera Kamran: Urdu Typography/Mechanical Pollinator Screening by Jaime Jackson/Aaisha Akhtar: Radical Potential of Libraries | A space to dream workshop/Unaiza Karim: Cultural Objects/Comedy Night with James Cook/Fathiya Saleh/Rachel Baker/Hasan Al-Habib/Friction Arts/Balsall Heath’s Living Room/Friction Arts/Retrofit Reimagined/Civic Square/Retrofit Balsall Heath/BHTV Flatpack Festival/Cinema of Poetry Flatpack x GAP Arts/Don’t you want days like these? Bethany Steventon-Crinks/Moseley Shoals/ITCHFierce Festival: Simone Mendez immersion/Fierce Festival: Hassan Hussain and Patrick Vernon -Simone Mendez/Hamara Ghar / Amar Ghor  Ort Gallery: Nilupa Yasmin/Mothership/Balsall Heath’s Pocket Garden – Parakeet/Mini Athletics/Compost Connection CIC/Fruit and Nut Village CIC/Play Street/Glue Collective/Ask and Architect CODA Workshop/Change Kitchen CIC