Highlights from Blast! Festival of Photography, Talks and Walks 2019. A celebration of people and place produced with, and for, local people. Blast! Festival invited 40 international and local artists, photographers and curators to showcase work, develop projects and collaborate with communities to present stories about everyday life. With exhibitions, film screenings, events, family friendly activities, performances, talks and walks, Blast! was presented on the streets, the Metro line, in shops, libraries and pubs, on historic buildings and in the community spaces of Sandwell. The festival took place over six weeks in each of Sandwell’s six towns: West Bromwich, Tipton, Rowley Regis, Oldbury, Smethwick and Wednesbury; it was free and open to everyone. The festival showcased a range of new commissions by diverse contemporary photographers and artists working at the intersection of social practice and documentary photography, made in collaboration with local communities, that explored questions of accessibility and equal representation in the arts. At the heart of the festival was The Sandwell Pride of Place exhibition: artists Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale of The Caravan Gallery, turned a derelict space that used to house a Poundland shop, into a temporary exhibition space / alternative visitor centre. Co-created with Sandwell Residents, the exhibition invited the community to contribute to the exhibition with their own words and images. The exhibition culminated into an alternative, local perspective on Sandwell, growing daily as visitors added to the artwork and ephemera on display, shared stories and made a mark on The People’s Map of Sandwell. For more on the project: https://multistory.org.uk/project/blast-festival-of-photography-talks-walks/

Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas collaborated with Multistory and women in refuge during 2015 and 2016 to make a book - A Room of Their Own - which explores the lives of women who are survivors of domestic abuse in the Black Country, a post-industrial region in the UK.

Hear about Housing First and the transformation it brings to people's lives, directly from those who have benefited from the services and the staff they are supported by.

The Blast! Festival of Photography, Talks and Walks is like no other festival because it has been produced with, and for, local people. The festival invites 40 outstanding photographers and artists and curators to showcase work, develop projects and collaborate with communities to present stories about everyday life.

In Summer 2018, Multistory and artist Sarah Taylor Silverwood invited people from the six towns of Sandwell to nominate women who deserve to be honoured and celebrated. This film gives an insight into the three winners, Barbara Platts, Leonie Hart and Bally Barquer and the process behind having their portrait drawn by Sarah. The nominated women had many things in common: they went above and beyond; they often worked behind the scenes; they were strong supporters of families and communities; and were volunteers or carers. Ultimately, incredible women, who deserve to be honoured and celebrated. The judging panel included: Julie McKirdy, senior librarian at Thimblemill Library; Councillor Syeda Khatun, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member of Sandwell Council; and Tina Cockbill who works at the much loved Nod’s Café in West Bromwich.

Richmond Park - National Nature Reserve is a new film by the Friends of Richmond Park, produced by Media Trust and presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough. "Richmond Park is not just a local park it's London's own National Nature Reserve with thousands of species of flora and fauna" Sir David explains, "but with 5.5 million visitors each year, the Park is under immense pressure.

At AbilityNet we're acutely aware that many disabled or older people aren't making the most of technology such as smartphones, iPads and computers. We want to help. Our clients are often using technology at home, work or in education for everything from emails and shopping to creating reports and researching for essays.

We are delighted to be able to share with you this film which was filmed, edited and directed by our friend and collaborator the filmmaker Robert Alexander as part of the Voces Festival 2018. The film explores the artistic work and life experiences of Chilean musicians and poets of different generations including a young British musician of Chilean heritage, giving an insight into six creative individuals and questions of identity, cultural roots, heritage and the condition of being an artist outside of your country of birth. More than anything these are simply a set of stories about the resilience of culture and the arts over time and in the face of adversity, something that is exposed in a profound way in this current crisis the world is facing. The film features Alejandro Reyes, Mauricio Venegas-Astorga, Silvia Margarita Salazar, Consuelo Rivera-Fuentes, Laura Venegas-Rojas and Daniel Jiménez. It was filmed by Robert Alexander at Lyric Hammersmith, Chiswick and Red Square N16, directed and edited by Robert Alexander and produced by Robert Alexander Films and Rachel Pantin. The Voces Festival, produced by Tatu Music and Quimantu, provides an artistic platform for the Chilean and wider Latin American community living in the UK; a space to recognise their unique cultural contribution to the UK and the distinctive way in which they have collaborated with and are influenced by musicians and poets in the country that they now call home. The next edition of the Voces Festival will take place in October 2020.

An interview with Corinne Noordenbos about her Multistory commission Black Country Lungs featuring excerpts from the outdoor exhibition at Lightwoods House (Smethwick) alongside images of her work. Black Country Lungs is a new photo book and exhibition, made in collaboration with Dutch photographer Corinne Noordenbos. It tells the stories of people living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the Black Country through photographs and first hand testimonies. For her first ever UK commission, Corinne worked with us between June 2015 and May 2017 to research meet, observe, record and photograph people in hospital and in their homes. Find out more here: https://multistory.org.uk/project/black-country-lungs/

All the highlights of Revenue by Design's Annual Conference 2018 - 'Revenue Management 3.0-Where Next?'

Nigel from Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Clubs explains how Sported has helped to improve the club's governance and make it more attractive to potential funders. If you run a community sport or youth group in the UK that uses sport to transform the lives of young people (11-25), you could benefit from FREE Sported membership!

Britain's Got Talent star magician Jamie Raven gives a special surprise to some young cancer patients with an exclusive magic show. Jamie dropped in at Paul's House, CLIC Sargent's Home from Home, which provides free accommodation for families while a child or young person undergoes treatment.

Fina Estampa

Composer: Chabuca Granda Arrangement: Mauricio Venegas-Astorga