Celebrating a Decade of Creativity: Creative Black Country’s 10-Year Party

The Creative Black Country team with members of the Consortium - image by Lee Allen

On Thursday, 20th March, Creative Black Country marked a milestone—ten years of threading creativity through our communities. Wolverhampton Art Gallery played host to an evening filled with insightful discussions, hands-on workshops, vibrant performances and future-focused conversations.

Above: The panel - images by Lee Allen

The night included an inspiring panel discussion chaired by Darren Henley, CEO of Arts Council England. Joining him were key figures who have played an essential role in CBC’s journey:

  • Satnam Purewal, landlord of The Red Lion in West Bromwich, reflected on the Desi Pubs Project, which brought creativity and heritage together in unexpected places.

  • Connie Jennings, Director of Stronger Communities at Walsall Housing Group, spoke about the transformative Artist in Residence programme featuring Juneau Projects, bringing arts into the heart of housing communities.

  • Mark Davis, CEO of Sandwell Voluntary Council, highlighted the impact of the Creative Communities Programme, which has empowered local groups through creativity.

  • Vicky Hines, CEO of One Walsall, discussed the role of the voluntary sector in fostering creativity and community engagement as well as the importance of cross-sector partnerships.

Images above by Dee Patel

Guests were encouraged to roll up their sleeves and get creative with a screen printing workshop with Laura Onions which gave attendees the chance to take home a unique memento of the night.

Images above by Dee Patel

Meanwhile fun Portraits were drawn by Roots 0121 who captured guests in live, spontaneous, animal -inspired artworks, adding a touch of interactive artistry to the evening.

Dalbir Singh Rattan - Image by Dee Patel

The soundtrack of the night was provided by the incredible Dalbir Singh Rattan, whose live music set the atmosphere for celebration.

Choir Diversity Music First - image by Lee Allen

The evening also featured a moving performance by choir Diversity Music First, showcasing the power of collective voices coming together.

Beyond celebrating our past, the event looked towards the future. At the Future Gazers Station, facilitated by Bostin Creative, guests shared their hopes and ideas for the next decade of creativity in the Black Country. From grassroots projects to bold new collaborations, this was an opportunity for everyone to have a say in what comes next.

Creative Black Country’s 10-year journey has been one of co-creation, community pride and artistic innovation. Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve the following:  

  • Delivering over 2,500 creative events  

  • Engaging 2.2 million people 

  • Working with nearly 40,000 participants 

  • Facilitating over 10,000 hours of creative activity 

  • Securing and investing over £5.5 million into arts and culture  

And creating this shift 

  • Transforming narratives and creating new positive stories: We have seen increased interest in areas that are usually overlooked.

  • Increasing creative confidence; more people tell us that they see themselves and believe in themselves, to develop creative projects, and more people are applying for funding from the region.   

  • Activating spaces; local neighbourhoods and community spaces have been populated with creative activities, some for the fist time, meaning more people can access creative opportunities on their doorstep without facing barriers.

Above images by Lee Allen

Above images Dee Patel