logo
Hidden Kings Heath art gallery celebrates anniversary

Hidden Kings Heath art gallery celebrates anniversary

BBC News26-06-2025
Tucked away on Institute Road in Kings Heath, Nook gallery was thought as an "unachievable dream" by Gosia Weber, but the independent art gallery is now celebrating its first anniversary."I've been a designer for 15 years and I was longing for a change so during the lockdown I had a pop-up gallery and it left me with this joy," Ms Weber said. Nook gallery is a craft and art space showcasing "emerging and underrepresented" local artists' work to the public. To mark its first year open a paper exhibition is running until 30 June."We are a little bit hidden so it's not obvious where we are but when people walk in, it's amazing to see their faces brighten up," Ms Weber said.
"There was a need for something like this in the area, maybe in Birmingham altogether, because there isn't a lot of spaces that showcase and celebrate local art."Artists and makers told us there is a need for a space where people can show their creations, where they can support each other."It has become more of hub and place for peer support for our creatives," she said.
The exhibition, titled PAPER, will display work by Jennifer Collier and Sam Pierpoint and local names like Joe Lycett and Tat Vision.A series of workshops and a performance by a paper puppet theatre group are also part of the exhibition."I think it's crucial for a lot of artists and makers to have to have a to exhibit their work on a daily basis," Ms Weber said."The exhibition will encourage connections with other artists and people who love art."
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

David Olusoga receives Newcastle University honorary degree
David Olusoga receives Newcastle University honorary degree

BBC News

time17 minutes ago

  • BBC News

David Olusoga receives Newcastle University honorary degree

TV historian David Olusoga says young people are moving into a "very different world" to the one he graduated into, as he receives an honorary social historian, from Gateshead, said it was "lovely to be recognised" by his "hometown" before he was made an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law by Newcastle who won a TV Bafta for his documentary Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners in 2016 and received the Bafta Special Award in 2023 for his impact on the TV industry and wider society, was awarded an OBE in of his graduation speech, he said it was "very difficult" to offer advice to new graduates because of how quickly the world was changing. "It's lovely to be back in Newcastle and lovely to be recognised by my hometown," Olusoga said."I've always cared about Newcastle."I, like many people from my generation, left because of the economic pressures at the time." 'Unbelievable change' Despite moving away, Olusoga said he never wanted to "disconnect" from north-east England."I still care about this region deeply," he asked what advice he would give to this generation of university graduates, Olusoga said the situation was challenging."I think it's very difficult to offer advice to this generation because we're living in an age of unbelievable change," he said."So other than congratulations, I think the thing we need to recognise is that young people are moving into a world that is very different to the world I graduated into." On Tuesday, campaigner Huffty McHugh from Newcastle's West End Women and Girl's Centre will also become an Honorary Doctor of Civil McHugh said she felt "privileged" to receive the honour "as a proud Geordie and on behalf of the thousands of women and girls both past and present who attend West End Women and Girls Centre"."This award recognises that gender equality is an ongoing fight for social justice, not only here in the UK, but globally," she said."If I may echo the words of Dr Martin Luther King, a previous recipient of this award, 'No one is free until we are all free'."Other notable figures receiving honorary degrees include Prof Richard Oreffo, founder of the Cowrie Scholarship Foundation, Leon Restaurants co-founder Henry Dimbleby and Paul Walker, the former chief executive of Sage Group plc. Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.

Singer-songwriter takes to the stage at TRNSMT festival - but can you guess who her major Hollywood star brother is?
Singer-songwriter takes to the stage at TRNSMT festival - but can you guess who her major Hollywood star brother is?

Daily Mail​

time18 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Singer-songwriter takes to the stage at TRNSMT festival - but can you guess who her major Hollywood star brother is?

An Irish singer wowed crowds in Glasgow on Sunday with her performance on the BBC Introducing stage at TRNSMT festival, but can you guess which Hollywood icon she's related to? Nell Mescal, 22, is the sister of Gladiator and Normal People star Paul Mescal, 29, and she proved that he is not the only talented member of the family at the event. She performed a set including her unreleased track Carried Away and to her delight the audience sang back the lyrics after she teased the track on TikTok. Nell later wrote on social media: 'I'm [actually] still beaming from ear to ear thank u [Transmit]. I will think about u for a long long time.' The Irish artist said her musical influences include the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Frank Ocean, and Bon Iver. She has been a rising star since moving to London in 2021, where her brother Paul also lives, to seriously pursue singing and songwriting. Nell said: 'If I can write a song that makes someone feel something in any capacity or give them some kind of release, that was always my number one thing. 'I didn't want to write a song that someone just listened to and said "oh this is nice", I want them to actually feel something and sit there and think about it.' Also performing at the Glasgow festival was headliner Jade Thirlwall, who has found newfound success as a solo artist after rising to fame in Little Mix. She is now the first solo artist who was once a member of a girlband to receive a Brit Award - having won the Best Pop Act at the 2025 event. The star expressed her love of Scotland when she stepped onto the a stage in a racy tartan dress. She also admitted that she is a fan of both haggis and Irn Bru in a backstage social media post. Jade notably suffered a wardrobe malfunction when she performed on the main stage at Glasgow Green and had to stop her performance. Amused by the fail, she said: 'Oh my god it is hot. I know we've just got going, but if you don't mind I'm going to take myself stage right as my t**s are literally out. 'There's a great bit of areola on show right now.' Jade performed a set that consisted of her own songs as well as Little Mix classics like Shout Out To My Ex. She also covered Madonna's Frozen. Jade said: 'I'm so excited to be here in Glasgow. 'I haven't performed here for a few years. 'The last time I was here with Little Mix and it feels sometimes weird but very exciting and liberating to be here as a solo artist.' 'I'll give you everything I have.' The festival was a hit with Scottish audiences, who enjoyed some of music's biggest acts as the city basked in a heatwave of up to 30 degrees.

‘I broke down in the studio from all the raw emotion': Richard Hawley on making The Ocean
‘I broke down in the studio from all the raw emotion': Richard Hawley on making The Ocean

The Guardian

time20 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

‘I broke down in the studio from all the raw emotion': Richard Hawley on making The Ocean

My wife, Helen, had driven our two young kids down to Porthcurno beach in Cornwall. It's where Rowena Cade had carved the Minack theatre into the granite cliffs. I'd been playing a gig so arrived two days later, and for a boy from a smoggy industrial city, the blue sea and palm trees felt revelatory. Roger, the landlord of the old smuggler's pub, told me everyone had gone to the beach, so I took my boots off, rolled my suit trousers up and walked towards them. I saw the silhouettes of my wife and children playing at the ocean's edge. By the time I reached them a song had popped into my head. Helen knows the glazed look in my eyes when this happens. She said: 'You're writing a song, aren't you?' I said: 'I'm sorry, dear. I am.' I bombed it back to the cottage we were staying in, got my guitar, banged out the tune and then went back to the beach and enjoyed the rest of the holiday. When we got home I jammed the idea with the band. There are only four chords in the song and one of them is a sort of special gift from my uncle Eric. He's in his 80s now, but his fingers are so swollen from working the hammer in the steelworks that he's always had to play rhythm guitar with his fingers down a semitone. That produces an A major seven, which is the first chord in The Ocean. I can laugh about this now, but at the time I was 31, which felt old for a musician. I had come through playing with Treebound Story, Pulp and Longpigs. I'd quit heavy drugs, got married, launched a solo career and been dropped by my label. I had been on tour constantly, making very little money, been brutalised by the industry to an extent and away from my family for a lot of time. All these thoughts fed into The Ocean. The emotionally edgy vocals were done in one take. People have to make their own minds up whether it's 'Still dressed in your morning suit' or 'mourning suit' because it's almost two extremes, life and death. I actually broke down during the recording, in the middle eight after I sing 'I assume, I assume'. I only just managed to hold it together. It felt like the last throw of the dice and I was trying to harness my raw emotions. I wanted to make music that would last. When Richard was in Longpigs the record company needed a single so they gave each member of the band £1,000 to record a song in a place of their choice. Richard came into Sheffield's Yellow Arch studios with me. He was a bit of a recovering mess, really, and by his own admission the song was shit. He didn't have anything else for Longpigs but said he had these 'piddling little tunes I do for myself', so I suggested using the studio time to record those. After I kept him there for a week of heavy drinking and psychotherapy we had a mini-album. He asked me and Shez Sheridan [guitar] to be part of his first solo band and we've been there ever since. The early records got good reviews but when we came to make Coles Corner it did feel a bit 'last chance saloon'. We made the album without a record deal and Richard wanted to push the boundaries. I played double bass as opposed to the usual electric. Opening the album with a string section felt brave and we also used it to great effect on The Ocean. I wanted him to sing the bit after the middle eight up an octave. He thought it would be embarrassing and didn't want to but I said: 'No, it's emotional. Go up!' It's a song that he particularly connects with, especially that section. When we play it live, people's hands go up in the air and the lighters come out. It's hard to know why it's become his most streamed song, but the opening line – 'You lead me down to the ocean' – is very evocative. Most people go to the seaside for their holidays, dip their feet in the sea, look out over the waves and it can feel as if all your troubles are behind you. There's something intangible about the ocean that people seem to connect to. A 20th anniversary Zoetrope vinyl format, a half speed master vinyl LP and an expanded two CD version of Coles Corner is released on 1 August. Richard Hawley plays Gaiety theatre, Isle of Man, on 30 August. Then tours until 10 October

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store