Birmingham’s network of more than 200 Warm Welcomes is being celebrated with a ceramic art installation at St Martin’s in the Bull Ring next week (Monday 24 July).
Since their launch last year, Warm Welcomes have been offering advice, community and support to citizens across the city, as people continue to face the cost of living crisis.
Birmingham City Council has been working with community and charity partners, including Thrive Together Birmingham, BVSC and Places of Welcome to establish a network of 213 sites across the city – ranging from leisure centres and libraries to community centres and places of worship
Visitors have been painting tiles to illustrate what their local Warm Welcome means to them and more than 400 tiles will form an art exhibit in the nave of the church for an event celebrating the impact of Warm Welcomes nationally.
The artwork will remain on public display at St Martin’s in the Bull Ring Church from 25 July to 30 July 2023.
Cllr Nicky Brennan, Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities, said: “Birmingham’s network of Warm Welcomes has provided a free lifeline for many people as the cost of living crisis continues – whether that’s tea and a chat, learning life skills or accessing support.
“For many, being in crisis can be lonely and isolating so this is not just about being warm, it’s about local communities coming together to support one another throughout the year, not just during the winter months.
“I can’t wait to see these tiles which tell the story of how Warm Welcomes are helping people across the city, through acts of kindness in what continue to be very tough times.”
As part of this, Thrive have been liaising with the national Warm Welcome campaign – co-ordinated by the Good Faith Foundation, who have provided funding for Thrive to evaluate the impact of Warm Welcomes in Birmingham.
Thrive commissioned Birmingham Centre for Arts Therapies to deliver this project and over recent months they have visited Warm Welcome spaces to find out what difference these make to those who visit them.
Fred Rattley, CEO of Thrive Together Birmingham, said: “Thrive are proud to be supporting the developing Warm Welcome network in Birmingham. We were delighted to secure a grant through the national Warm Welcome network to support the evaluation project in Birmingham.
“Key to its success has been the partnership with Birmingham Centre for Arts Therapies (BCAT) whose creative team of artists have visited more than 30 Warm Welcome spaces in recent months to creatively capture the impact that the spaces have made for people who have visited them.”
Further details can be found on the Thrive Together Birmingham website:
https://thrivetogetherbham.org/initiatives/warm-welcome-spaces-in-birmingham
