Events

Andrew Kinmont ARBSA explores atmosphere, movement and the felt experience of nature.

Childhood walks through Africa’s wild landscapes shaped his sensitivity to light, space and rhythm.

He graduated from the University of Wales with a First-Class Honours in Fine Art in 2007, with further training at St Martins College and West Dean College. Exhibited widely, he won First Prize at the RBSA International Summer Exhibition in 2024. His work features in major collections, including Raffles Hotel in London and the Corinthian in Bucharest.

Now based near Chester, he draws inspiration from North Wales and Middle England, creating paintings that privilege sensation over description.

Exhibition closes: Saturday 13 June 5.00pm

Featured image: Andrew Kinmont ARBSA, Autumn Chorus 

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

Laura Adkins ARBSA is a Solihull-based ceramic sculptor who creates reliefs, sculptural assemblages and 3D forms using slab construction and individually sculpted tiles.

Her work draws on ancient and cross-cultural symbolism, British folklore, ancestry, and ideas of memory, ritual and the passage of time. She is especially interested in how objects can act as carriers of belief and narrative.

Research, travel, photography, drawing and writing all inform her practice, helping shape a visual language that moves between the abstract, the figurative and the illustrative.

She balances planning with improvisation, allowing each piece to evolve through the making process. Working mainly in crank clay, with oxides and gas firing, she creates tactile surfaces that suggest age, weathering and excavation.

Exhibition closes: Saturday 13 June 5.00pm

Featured image: Laura Adkins ARBSA, Wild Self Portrait

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

Andrew Tromans RBSA is a printmaker and artist maintaining studios in the West Midlands and Central France.

His sketchbooks inform his subject matter, which is rooted in an ongoing investigation through layering, mark making and the use of hand crafted and found imagery. The physicality of carving, etching or inking is central to his process, allowing each print to carry traces of its making.

Recently he has explored Japanese woodblock techniques and is incorporating these experiences into his work combining tradition and risk taking to achieve creative output. Much of his inspiration is sourced in the industrial West Midlands and Central rural France.

Exhibition closes: Saturday 13 June 5.00pm

Featured image: Andrew Tromans RBSA, Puffin

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

The RBSA Portrait Prize, last held in 2024, is a celebration of portraiture, one of the oldest artistic genres in existence.

Throughout history, portraits has been employed as a way of immortalising a person or group, and preserving their appearance for future generations. No other type of painting can give such insights into social and cultural history, and portraits allow us the unique gift of being able to connect with individuals, both living and dead. Indeed, the importance and popularity of portraiture remain undiminished today.

More recently, portraits have used to express more abstract themes, including the emotions or the state of the inner-self, without necessarily focusing on physical likeness, and greats such as Van Gogh, Kahlo, Picasso, Bacon, and Rembrandt all documented emotional turbulence in powerful self-portraits.
The RBSA Portrait Prize is open to established and emerging artists working in any media, including photography and digital art, and entries came from both UK based and international artists.

This year’s exhibition will be selected by:

• Brian Bishop – Senior Lecturer in Fine Art and Course Director for BA (Hons) in Fine Art, Birmingham School of Art
• Anthony Connolly President RP – President, Royal Society of Portrait Painters
• Dr Hannah Higham – Head of Collections, Royal Academy of Arts

The following prizes will be awarded:

• First Prize: £1000
• Second Prize: £500
• Third Prize: £250

Up to six highly commended certificates will be awarded

Preview Evening: Tuesday 5 May 6.00pm – 8.00pm

Exhibition closes: Saturday 13 June 5.00pm

Image: Jamie Coan, Ponder

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

The Small Works Exhibition is a unique show from the Society’s Membership, intended as a starting point for those visitors wishing to embark upon building an art collection.

All of the work included in the exhibition is no larger than 45cm, and everything is priced at £500 and under, making the work highly affordable.
The artworks on display come from RBSA Members, Associates, and Graduate Artists, and demonstrate the breadth of techniques and approaches employed by the Society’s artists. With an ever growing Membership, contemporary pieces sit next to more traditional works, resulting in a rich and diverse exhibition of both 2D and 3D works.

At various times throughout the exhibition, exhibiting artists will be present in the Gallery to discuss the work with visitors, and advise on how to build up a collection. Visitors can also ask advice on caring for artwork and the best ways in which to display it.

Exhibition closes: Saturday 13 June 5.00pm

Image: Michael Salt RBSA, Autumn Water

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

In September 2025, we started the Trash to Treasure project, funded by the Ladywood Neighbourhood Network Scheme. The participants are adults with lived experiences of long term disabilities, who came to us from Ladywood and neighbouring locations, and our own on site Argent College. They took part in monthly, day-long craft sessions using waste materials. The aim was to show how materials can be reclaimed to create beautiful vibrant works of art and craft. The sessions were delivered by the Hive Heritage and Arts Team in collaboration with our wonderful network of makers and artists, including: Julie Smith, the Dual Works, Nilupa Yasmin, and Fae Kilburn.

The art and craft produced is showcased in this exhibition, co-curated by the participants. Trash to Treasure is also a new programme for the Hive focusing on repurposing ‘waste’ materials. Look out for more initiatives and activities under this name.

Birmingham’s world-famous Jewellery Quarter has been Britain’s main seat of jewellery and silver manufacture for at least the last 150 years.

It has been described as a ‘National treasure, a place of unique character and a particular combination of structures associated with jewellery and metal working that doesn’t seem to exist anywhere else in the world.’

Join us on a lively guided walk looking at the people, places and themes that have helped to shape this singular working district.

Please Note: This guided walk begins outside St Paul’s Church in St Pauls Square B3 1QZ and ends at the Museum of the Jewellery quarter.

Please arrive in good time with your pre-booked ticket as the walk will begin promptly at 2pm.

Pre-booking required.

If you are looking to enhance your artistic skills, calligraphy classes offer a unique opportunity to explore the beauty of handwriting art.

Calligraphy has become a popular hobby for many, allowing individuals to express creativity through elegant lettering. For those keen to dive deeper, calligraphy classes offer an excellent way to refine skills and learn new techniques. Indeed, enrolling in calligraphy courses can significantly enhance your abilities.

Learning Calligraphy
Fraktur
Fraktur is a simple form of Gothic Script, which had its origins in German folk art, which became more colourful and elaborate mainly in America.  Pennsylvania became home to entire towns of different religious dissent.  There were clusters of Mennonites, Moravians, Lutherans, and various other German Protestant sects.

Although diverse, all these German settlers had in common – they were all farmers who spoke German, all prized religious tolerance and all practiced the same distinctive artform of Fraktur.  It was used mainly for domestic certificates such as marriage, baptism, births, bookmarks etc. In these sessions you will learn to write Fractur basic letter forms using a broad edge metal dip pen.
Wikipedia

Held at the Pen Museum, the classes are designed for both beginners and more experienced calligraphers. Learn the key elements of calligraphy and take information away to continue developing your style at home. Participate in sessions to enhance your art. Some materials will be provided, and calligraphy products can be purchased from the Museum shop.

12 Spaces are available for each session:

• Session 1: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
• Session 2: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
• £12.75 per session.
• No requirement to book both sessions
• Museum admission is not included.
• Course suitable for adults only, especially those interested in perfecting their calligraphy skills through these comprehensive courses.

Freeing ourselves from the shackles of cringe culture one workshop at a time through positive and mindful wellbeing activities, strengthening our community values with the space to be creative.

Kicking off every event with a craft workshop followed by live performances from local creatives and a short interview with a promising brand/small business. Let’s laugh together, learn together and make together a better place to live.

Workshops run by a qualified artist, suitable for friends, couples, bachelor parties and crafty hands Art club Perfect for hobbiests, music lovers and anyone fighting boredom

• All Art Club attendees have access to art supplies and materials to start new projects or finish incomplete ones during the event*

What you will get:

• All the equipment provided to complete the workshop*
• Introduction and Workshop Demonstration
• Assistance on hand
• A glass bottle to turn into a functional vase, centre piece or candle holder
• Assortment of paint, pens, brushes, tissue and paper to create your pieces
• Paper bag to put your creations in

Plus the company of some amazing local creatives
NOTE: Upstairs venue, stairs only access

• *Refunds issued if event is cancelled*
• *Please be aware that this event will be filmed and photographed for promotional purposes. By attending, you consent to your voice and likeness being recorded and used for these purposes. Wristbands available for anyone who does not wish to have their faces featured in the promotions *