Moseley Community Hub

Moseley Community Hub sits within a magnificent and iconic Grade II listed building – the former Moseley School of Art. The building has undergone extensive refurbishment and now offers a variety of workspaces, event spaces and a gallery space designed to encourage community engagement and a collaborative working environment.

The Moseley Road Branch School of Art is architecturally and historically significant as the first purpose built school of art in the country. Built in 1899, it was designed by William Bidlake and is a fine example of his architectural style, influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. As a school, it greatly influenced the culture of Birmingham itself, training young designers and artists to work in local industries as well as further afield.

The building is an important testament to the commitment of the city of Birmingham, to education, particularly to the training of artisan craftsmen who were essential to the economy of the region and who produced products that were sought throughout the world. In acknowledgement of this historic interest, The Moseley School of Art building was listed on 8 July 1982 as Grade II* by English Heritage.

The building continued to function as a very successful school for the arts until the late 1970s. Some of its alumni became internationally famous including: Norman Pett, Daily Mirror cartoonist and creator of the WWII comic strip heroine Jane who Winston Churchill called “Britain’s secret weapon”; Peter Phillips, who studied at the school from 1953-55 and became one of the founders of the international ‘Pop Art’ movement and others who became notable popular musicians including Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac) and Ali Campbell, Earl Falconer, Brian Travers and James Brown (UB40).

In 1984 the Moseley Muslim Community Association (MMCA), a voluntary charity, raised the funds to buy the Grade 2* listed former Moseley School of Art building. Conscious of the need to provide a welcoming space for community activities, MMCA has worked hard since that time to make this important historic building a centre for the local community. In September 2017, the Association was successful in obtaining funding for a major restoration project from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England, supported further by funding from the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Pilgrim Trust and Veolia.

Built by the community for the community and now re-branded Moseley Community Hub at the School of Art, the fully restored and refurbished building, presently, offers a mixed use of spaces, including maker spaces, a co-working studio, hot desking, a gallery and hall hire facilities to hold exhibitions, antiques fairs & record fairs, cinema, group exercises, theatre, farmers markets, live music performances. we are open to all your ideas, for further information, or to book a viewing of facilities, please email: Mumtaz Shah on: mhsmch496@gmail.com

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