Bus Boycott Block Party

The community spirit our grandparents had, and the kind we felt during the pandemic, is the kind that needs celebrating.

China Plate Theatre has been making an arts programme in collaboration with residents which celebrates North Birmingham’s heritage of migration and activism through the ages. As part of our planning for 2022, we’re exploring what it means to belong to a community, the art of protest, and intergenerational stories within Caribbean and South Asian communities.

So to get to know us, and for us to get to know you, we threw a Block Party on Saturday 28 August!

It’s was free family-friendly fun day, where people could:

Explore the grounds of Soho House
Enjoy food from our South Asian and Caribbean stalls.
Two-step with throwback tunes from our live DJ.
Get crafty with our artists Jane Thakoordin and Nilupa Yasmin.
Map their memories of the area with Black Heritage Walks Network and Overhear.
Rediscover Handsworth through a walking tour with Black Heritage Walks Network.
Catch exclusive previews of songs from our brand-new Bus Boycott musical.
Say “Remember when?” as you marvel at our retro bus from National Express West Midlands.
Behold the first bus stop gallery that’s “On Our Way”.
And other children’s activities too!

This programme is inspired by Birmingham’s own reputation of intergenerational activism and the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott campaigners. They galvanised the nation into creating the first piece of legislation which explicitly outlawed racial discrimination.

Bus Boycott Block Party is created by China Plate in association with Birmingham Hippodrome, supported by Garfield Weston Foundation, National Express West Midlands, Birmingham Museums Trust, Soho BID, Transport for West Midlands, Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council.

Artwork © Malikah Holder

Since the Bus Boycott Block Party in the summer of 2021, each of the commissioned artists worked towards developing their projects; We Still Here, Soho Settlers and On Our Way, for the Birmingham 2022 Festival.

These 3 community-led projects bought residents and artists together to explore what it means to choose communities, the art of protest, and intergenerational stories within Caribbean and South Asian communities, and have been grown alongside To The Streets!

Head over to those project pages linked above to discover 8 bus stop art galleries, and a collection of digitally pinned audio pieces.

Here is a rundown of what happened on the day of the Bus Boycott Block Party: