Creative Black Country: Did you Grow Up In Dudley? Award-winning photographer Marta Kochanek has been commissioned by the team at Dudley People’s Archive to gather memories and portraits of people across the town.

If you have a story to tell and would like your portrait taken you can get in touch with Marta via email at gibsonkochanek@gmail.com.

Cultural Impact Development Fund. A £3.5 million fund providing small-scale repayable finance to socially driven arts and cultural organisations working with the people and communities in greatest need: https://www.artsculturefinance.org/our-funds/cultural-impact-development-fund/

Summer Workshops at The New Art Gallery Walsall
We have been delighted with the number of families returning to the Gallery so far this summer, far exceeding our expectations! There are plenty more workshops to enjoy so don’t miss out!

Bring your little one along to Baby & Me, our multi-sensory workshops for new mums, dads, carers and their 0-18 month old babies. Drop in to our Wednesdays for All workshops that are fun, free, and for all the family. Learn a new skill in our Thursday Skills workshops and take home a masterpiece! And pop along to our free Saturday Playdates to explore and play with friends!

For more information and to make your bookings, go to our website: https://thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Families-Summer-2021- Workshops.pdf

Commissioned by Creative Black Country as part of its Creative Connections commissions, Yam Cams encouraged ordinary people across the region to take a closer look at their local environment and view it with a fresh eye.

The results of the project are now recorded in a new book called ‘Yam Cams: Picturing the Black Country’. Find out more here.

Further details of the Creative Connections initiative can be found at https://tinyurl.com/tna3puns

The Creative Industries Federation and Creative England have jointly published amajor new report, The UK Creative Industries: unleashing the power and potential of creativity . It is the first publication from the Creative UK Group and was launched alongsideits new member-led campaign, #WeAreCreative.

The report and the campaign aim to show the world just how essential the UK’s creative industries really are and crucially, the incrediblepotential of creativity, to regenerate places, rebuild the economy, drive innovation and create jobs in all parts of the UK. DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

WMCA launches the cultural sector research and the cultural infrastructure map.
To access the research reports and the digital cultural infrastructure map, please visit https://beta.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/west-midlands-cultural-sector-research-project/

The reports include:

• The audience research report – which provides a summary of West Midlands demographics and cultural engagement + some provocations/recommendations
• Link to the audience dashboard (requires PowerBi licence which is under £10 and registered charities can get discounts): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonprofits/power-bi )
• The main economic & social value report – which look at things like employment, student numbers, tourism impact and a some social value impacts
• A cluster report (with focus on North Birmingham, Dudley, Leamington Spa and Digbeth)
• The Cultural Infrastructure Map NOTE: It currently works best on Microsoft Edge web browser

The cultural infrastructure map shows physical cultural infrastructure across the wider WMCA area. It is not a marketing tool or a list of cultural organisations, but can help to identify gaps, help to look at places more holistically, see transport links, look at demographics or cultural engagement, whilst looking at how these link with the physical infrastructure of the region. This is a free resource and you can also download data. Some of this information might also be helpful for funding bids.

Ahead of the Spending Review and the Levelling Up White Paper, The Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre is calling on government to make sure that new investment into the creative industries (including R&D, design, marketing and training) is targeted at creative microclusters around the UK: https://www.pec.ac.uk/policy-briefings/resilience-in-places-growing-the-creative- industries-across-the-uk

As part of its work demonstrating the value of culture and creativity, Arts Council England commissioned BOP Consulting to produce A High Street Renaissance: How arts and culture bring people and pride back to our high streets. Download the report here: https://tinyurl.com/3cde4uuv

The Festival of Britain and Walsall. Join artist Sian Macfarlane in one of a series of Festival of Britain online talks curated by the Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences; University of Wolverhampton. Find out more