Sporting Tower

A film & podcast project funded by the Festival 2022 as part of the Commonwealth Games

in Birmingham.


We worked with a group of emerging artists & practitioners on exploring the sporting history of the Tower ballroom, Birmingham. We dived into the history of this building that has graced Birmingham for almost two hundred years, hosted events by lots of different people, cultures & age groups. Soon to be demolished to make space for private housing.


In a number of creatively facilitated sessions led by Janeel Brown at St Peter & St. John Church in Ladywood , we interviewed people who went to the Tower, researched the history

and dreamt the future.


We asked ourselves, what did a space like this mean, and where can we connect and interact now across generations, different cultures, interests & age groups. We created two short films directed by Yonatan Tiruneh and a series of Podcasts called “Amplifying Voices” where we interviewed people linked to the Tower ballroom and the Edgbaston Reservoir and asked about their dreams.


This project was a real group effort, with creatives, volunteers & many organisations

involved.


Our thanks go to :

St.John & St Peter Church, Ladywood

Yard, Ladywood

Civic Square, Ladywood

Sandwell Gym

West Brom Roller Disco