VOICES FROM THE FACTORY FLOOR: Birmingham Heritage Week
We are pleased to present a series of free film screenings for Birmingham Heritage Week, spotlighting stories of Birmingham’s working-class communities, trade union struggles, and lost industrial spaces of the 1980s. The programme includes two recent artist films by Gary Stewart and Sophie Huckfield, which reflect on elements from the accompanying campaign films drawn from the TURC/VIVID archive.
The programme is approximately 45 minutes duration and the Thursday-Friday screenings take place on a rolling basis from 2-5pm in our project space, seating 6 people at a time. No booking required.
The Saturday screening takes place from 5pm at BRIG Cafe, seating up to 50. Book your free ticket for the Saturday screening here to guarantee your seat. Doors open at 5pm and the screening will begin at approximately 5.15pm. The cafe will be open until 7pm for chat and archive information sharing with Vivid Projects Director.
The Unheard of Problem (1991) 13:19 minutes
Created by University of Central England students in collaboration with the locksmiths’ trade union, this rarely seen video exposes the hidden issue of industrial deafness and highlights the importance of workplace safety from a worker-led perspective.
Our Jobs Are Not For Sale (1984) 22:00 minutes
This emotive 22-minute campaigning film brings together powerful voices from across the West Midlands—shop stewards, welders, welfare rights workers—speaking candidly about redundancy, financial hardship, and the community impact of mass unemployment. Commissioned by the West Midlands County Council and produced by Unlimited Vision, it remains a vital record of a turbulent economic era.
Factories Leaving the Worker (2022) 7:21 minutes
Artist Sophie Huckfield blends archival footage and demolition clips to explore the legacies of privatisation, trade unionism, and migrant labour in the Midlands. Rooted in the concept of “ruins in reverse”, this seven-minute work reflects on how the past continues to shape our collective future.
Identity in Flux (2025) 1:10 minutes
In a new moving image work, Birmingham-born artist Gary Stewart weaves together voices and archival fragments from his ongoing project We Did It Together, drawing on community conversations to reflect on shifting identities, shared histories, and creative resistance.
Programme duration: approximately 45 minutes
The Venue
Vivid ProjectsThe Warehouse, 54-57 Allison StBirminghamB5 5TH
Accessibility information for this event
Vivid Projects is based at The Warehouse, 54-57 Allison St, B5 5TH in Digbeth – at Birmingham Friends of the Earth’s environmental community building. The building is close to Birmingham City Centre and can easily be reached by public transport. From New St Station, follow signs to Moor St station. When you get to Moor St, go down the hill to the side of the station towards the multi-storey car park. At the car park, go left under the railway bridge. Immediately after the railway bridge turn right onto Shaw’s Passage, which is quite short. We’re on the corner at the end of Shaws Passage – walk round the corner onto Allison Street . The Warehouse does not have a car park, but there are pay & display car parks and street parking close by. The Warehouse has level access to the BRIG cafe (Saturday screenings) and single step access to the project space (Thursday-Friday) via the Shaw’s Passage entrance, to the left of the green heart mural on the side of the building. There are ground floor gender neutral toilet and baby changing facilities.