4th November 11am to 8pm & 5th November 10am to 7pm Moseley Community Hub at The School of Art
Exchange Festival is a free 2-day event taking place on Saturday, November 4th, and Sunday, November 5th, at the Moseley Community Hub in The School of Art, Balsall Heath, Birmingham. This festival is set to explore the potential of Balsall Heath Library upon its reopening in 2025 and the connection between the library and our historic building.
Throughout the year, Moseley Road Baths has been working closely with local and regional artists, facilitators, and practitioners to develop programme with a community led approach. The Exchange Festival’s steering group, deeply rooted in the Balsall Heath community, has played a crucial role in shaping, and curating the festival’s activities.
The festival provides a platform for open dialogues with our audiences, encouraging mutual idea sharing. It not only inspires residents to reimagine, connect, and actively participate but also ensures their inclusion in shaping the future of their beloved community library.
Exchange Festival is part of the Diving In project, made possible through the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This project has given Moseley Road Baths the creative space to explore how both the Balsall Heath Library and Moseley Road Baths can continue to serve the needs of local people.
Festival programme
4th November 11am to 8pm
Assembly Hall
Cloud Cuckoo Land – Submarine Family activity 12pm to 3pm View event page
Sehra by Haseebah Ali Interactive display 11am to 8pm View event page
Sufi Poetry Performance and discussion 11am to 12pm View event page
Sehra by Haseebah Ali Activity Artist led activity in making paper flowers to go on the structure. 1pm to 2pm View event page
Kate Rafiq – Birmingham Boy Reading by author & an arts and poetry activity 3pm to 4:30pm View event page
Young Curators workshop led by Yasmyn Nettle Collage Workshop 4:30pm tp 6:30pm View event page
Drawing Room 2
Mini Book Making with MIAH Workshop session 1:30pm to 2:30pm View event page
Unveiling Potentials by Hassan Hussain 16+ workshop 5pm to 7pm View event page
Drawing Room 3
Creative Storytelling with Gully Collective With Rupinder Kaur and Kamil Mahmood 11am to 1pm View event page
Balsall Heath Local History Society Talk Balsall Heath Local History Society Talk 2pm to 3pm View event page
Mechanical Pollinator Screening ‘Love And Extinction’ is a ML generated moving image work responding to the ecology crisis by Jaime Jackson. 3pm to 4:30pm View event page
Zimmers of Southhall 1 & 2 Film screening 5pm to 5:45pm View event page
Request Line – True Form Projects Film screening 6pm to 6:30pm View event page
5th November 10am to 7pm
Assembly Hall
The Phoenix and the Olive Tree by Mimar Collective Family storytelling workshop with Mimar Collective 11:00am – 12:30pm View event page
The Phoenix and the Olive Tree by Mimar Collective Family storytelling workshop with Mimar Collective 2pm to 3:30pm View event page
Comedy Night Hasan Al-Habib Content Warning: Some material may not be suitable for children 5pm to 7pm View event page
Drawing Room 1
Haseebah Ali Interactive display 11am to 6:30pm View event page
Amal Creative Felt Bookmark Making 10am to 2pm View event page
Mechanical Pollinator Screening ‘Love And Extinction’ is a ML generated moving image work responding to the ecology crisis by Jaime Jackson. 4pm to 5pm View event page
Request Line – True Form Projects Film screening 5pm to 5:30pm View event page
More about our programme
What we have explored and delivered this year
Who's better than who?
August and September 2023
A couple of so-called friends act out a medley of familiar children’s stories from their story box to help them understand how to get on with each other. A bird-like storyteller guides them through it all, with lots of audience interaction.
Donald Insall workshops
Park Hill Primary school, Moseley, Birmingham June 2023
Two Year 4 classes at Park Hill Primary School in Moseley visited Balsall Heath Library to create 3D junk models of places where they would like to read. The school are part of an initiative ‘Drop Everything and Read’, to encourage reading as something that can be done anywhere and anytime. There was a really broad range of ideas, including treehouses, nests and food themed reading spaces.
Queensbridge Secondary school, Moseley, Birmingham June 2023
Year 9 girls from Queensbridge Secondary School in Moseley recently worked with Donald Insall Architects and Red Bear Landscape to design plans for the land at the back of Moseley Road Baths. The space will become a community garden and growing space by the end of decade. They took a tour of part of the building, explored design principles based on ‘Make Space for Girls’ and were invited to create their own creative, imaginative designs. As well as encouraging the students to choose Design and Technology for a GCSE option, their work will influence the longer term design plans.
Ark Tindal Primary school, Balsall Heath, Birmingham September 2023
Pupils explore the meaning of what a Library could offer – more detailed information coming soon.