THE BAG
birmingham art guide / june 2026
hello, and welcome to the june edition of the BAG.
first up, a couple of notices which pertain to my own interests: the GAP are seeking a chair of the board. they are a truly brilliant organisation who i’ve been involved with since i was a teenager. they are so playful, radical and intellectually rigorous in their essential creative work with young people, and they deserve someone wonderful in the role, so do spread the word.
playing up, a drama group i run in blocks of six weeks at pineapple house, is starting up again on sat 27th. tell a 50+ friend!
and in the meantime, many cool things to see and do! enjoy (:
what’s on
theatre
stan’s cafe are experimenting with twitch streaming with around the world - the first episode will stream on mon 1st.
on sun 7th, robert johnson and the devil, a blues-soundtracked storytelling show performed by amari harris, is at thimblemill library, courtesy of black country touring.
our public house, a new play by barney norris about a town who unanimously spoil their ballots, is at the belgrade from thurs 4th-sat 6th. it’s followed by cured by laurence clark, a comedy in which four pals take a pilgrimage to lourdes, from thurs 11th-sat 13th.
nadia fall’s stratford east production of abigail’s party is touring to malvern theatre from tues 16th-sat 20th.
asif khan’s adaptation of planet omar, a family show directed by sameena hussain, is at the rep from thurs 18th-sat 20th.
as part of their summer solstice celebration, sampad are inviting young people to join them to make a performance of icarus on sat 20th.
un-fugue, a new play by writer-director mahana narimani, is at the conservatoire on mon 22nd.
dance
emergence, a postgraduate dance company from the university of salford, have a triple bill of pieces at the arena theatre thurs 4th.
to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, jaivant patel dance company are presenting an evening of indian classical dance at the arena theatre on sat 20th.
live art
fierce jams, the now-quarterly experimental scratch night from fierce festival, is back on thurs 18th, this time at midlands sailing club on the banks of edgbaston reservoir.
film
on sat 6th, the mockingbird are screening footprints on the water, an independent film set in birmingham.
ort gallery are working with restfest to screen we year from mon 15th - sun 28th, and will be hosting a writing workshop to accompany it on tues 16th.
if you missed the screening of our land last month, it’s at the mac on sat 27th + sun 28th.
music
on mon 8th at the bramall building on the uob campus, artist and archivist faisal hussain presents visuals and musical responses to the archive he salvaged from oriental star records, the balsall heath record label who brought qawwali legend nusrat fateh ali khan to the world stage.
birmingham international piano festival is at bcu this month, starting with a community piano day on sun 14th, followed by a programme of recitals and masterclasses until thurs 18th.
this gig at centrala on tues 16th looks amazing - contemporary and experimental french violinist agathe max, with support from utopian orchestral pop band tout bleu, from geneva.
arooj aftab is playing symphony hall with london contemporary orchestra on tues 16th, blending indian classical and jazz.
if you wanted to have a dreamy day at symphony hall on thurs 18th, you could go to tchaikovsky’s violin concerto in the afternoon, followed by two gorgeous folk bands, lady maisery and jimmy&sid, playing a special summer solstice gig in the evening.
bcmg are presenting two new music commissions, still life and …and other spirits, on sun 21st at the cbso centre.
folk outfit goblin band are playing warwick arts centre on sun 27th, supported by madrigirl.
visual arts
digbeth first friday this month includes new exhibitions opening at centrala and grand union, and a performance by saheli, artist seema mattu’s music collective, at eastside projects. later in the month seema mattu’s work will be discussed in an online talk on music and anthropology.
on fri 5th and sat 6th, practice in motion is at the old print works, with exhibitions and talks exploring artistic practice as a mode of enquiry.
the birmingham media archive project continues at bmag until the end the month, with artistic responses to the archive as well as selected archival works.
hot plate: soup pt viii is the group exhibition from the latest residency at stryx gallery, opening on fri 5th and running for a month only.
seeing rhonda, which debuts the Rhonda Wilson Community Archive, is at the old print works from tues 23rd - sat 27th, delving into the life and work of the birmingham photographer, feminist and activist.
as part of the healing arts festival, TV pain, a piece from an art school within a high-security prison in finland, is being exhibited at ikon from thurs 25th until july 5th.
it’s the last chance to see jaskirt dhaliwal-boora’s exhibition fractured landscapes and how we heal at the new art gallery walsall. it finishes on sun 21st. Ten8.afterimage is running alongside it until september, exploring the legacy of the radical photography journal Ten.8, which was founded in handsworth and published from 1979-1992.
latvian sculptor daiga grantina’s exhibition lilacs is still at the mead gallery until sun 28th. under the sultan’s shadow at MIAH also closes at the end of the month.
reading + writing
i’ve heard good things about william dalrymple’s book the anarchy, about the east india company, and on mon 8th he’s giving a talk on it at the town hall.
fri 12th is the creative writing showcase at BCU, launching their annual anthology of new creative writing from students and staff.
some juicy book talks at waterstones this month, including meena kandasamy on fri 12th and lauren mooney on weds 24th.
the first ever cov lit fest is running across coventry venues from thurs 25th - sat 27th, with various talks and performances from coventry writers.
miscellaneous
on thurs 4th, academics from glasgow and birmingham will be in conversation for british trans history: stories for our times at the LGBT centre.
shout festival’s open mic night talk of the town is back on tues 16th, and the theme is rage&release.
the hippodrome are hosting a deaf creatives networking social on tues 23rd.
healing arts festival is running at various venues across the city from tues 23rd - fri 26th, with performance, talks and exhibitions themed around the healing potential of art.
opportunities
applications are open for pilgrim’s art postcard, a small grant fund for artists to attend exhibitions and other arts events in the midlands. deadline 30th june.
new grant programme made in cov is now open for artists and companies to create arts activities and events in coventry.
stan’s cafe are inviting invitations for a collaborative doctoral award, embedding a PhD candidate within the company to do practical research on their digital work. deadline 3rd june.
for curators
film hub midlands have pitch pots of up to £2k available for people who want to exhibit or screen films that broaden the experience of film in the region.
for theatremakers
warwick arts centre are relaunching their made in the midlands seed commission for new works, offering £2500 plus development space. deadline 8th june.
for actors and facilitators
if you’re quick, you can apply to join the next cohort of women and theatre’s brummie ensemble. deadline 1st june, 12pm.
freshwater theatre company are seeking drama workshop facilitators for schools and nurseries. deadline 8th june.
stans cafe have a callout for a strong solo performer for their river avon tour. deadline 14th june.
loudmouth theatre are seeking two actor-facilitators, one to play female roles and one to play male roles. deadline 12th june.
for artists
grand union are seeking four emerging artists for a project called ‘students of nature’ led by exodus crooks. deadline 1st june.
thanks for reading - if you enjoy the BAG, please tell a friend. see you next month!
anna x