'Desi Pubs' BCVA interview with Cyrus Todiwala by BBC's Ruchi Tandon

Cyrus Todiwala was in the Black Country today visiting the 'Desi Pubs' project and meeting some of the artists that are creating new work at the pubs. Anand and Sra talked with Cyrus and Ruchi about their portrait work and the interesting stories behind them. It was great to hear Cyrus's take on the 'Desi Pub' story here in the Black Country.

Over the last few months Anand and Sra have created new portraits at the Island Inn and The Sportsman Club, both in West Bromwich as part of a Creative Black Country commission.   

BCVA & Exodus project make headlines in Express & Star 'Art Tribute'

Black Country Visual Arts ground breaking arts project makes headlines in local press. The double page article highlights the importance of the project within the community and goes on to interview some of the participants. This was an opportunity for them to tell their stories first hand. Award winning author Sathnam Sanghera said he was pleased to see that Black Country Visual Arts was attempting to tell migrants stories through its Exodus project.  

Exodus PDF

Exodus - Exhibition Launch 15th October 2015

We had fantastic turn out for our launch evening at Bantock House Museum for Exodus 'Movement of a People' . It was great to see the participants, family and friends along with special guests attend an evening of celebration. The Express and Star also came along to interview and photograph the participants for a special article. BCVA would like to thank all of our guests for making it such a special event. 

The display of black and white images in the community gallery was a focal point for many stories of the past. During the evening it came to light that a lot of the participants knew each other from the 1960's ! 

This was the first time that the new portraits were seen by the subjects themselves and were greatly received by both themselves and family members. For most this was a first time experience in a gallery environment and all have vowed to come back and showcase the exhibition to others in the community. This is a resounding success for BCVA in our goal to engage more diverse audiences within visual arts.