Running until summer 2026, the project brings together archive exploration, skills development, and public engagement, delivered in partnership with Birmingham Museums Trust, at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

We are delighted to welcome our professional development group, who are working with us on the project to navigate, contextualise and critique archive materials, bridging generations and cultural experiences. The group was selected through an open call for West Midlands based creatives keen to develop screen heritage skills. 

Meet the BMAP cohort: 

Charlotte Bailey

Charlotte Bailey is a visual storyteller and producer hosting Film Pardnas in Birmingham, a film-making space inspired by afro-diasporic ways of organising.

I’m curious about how we can use archival footage to create intergenerational spaces for keeping our stories safe and our cultural institutions alive, to secure more rooted futures.

Erinn Dhesi

Erinn is a British Asian West Midlands–based writer-director working across film, theatre and extended reality (XR).

It’s a privilege to be a part of the BMAP project, working with Vivid Projects and other artists, to delve into the film archives of Birmingham’s history. I’m really interested in uncovering the potential British Asian stories and the lives of people with learning disabilities and their life in Birmingham.

Jayne Murray

Jayne Murray is a socially engaged, place-based artist with a participatory practice, interested in democratic processes and working with archive material.

I hope to gain insight into what TURC video and Wide Angle achieved, and to make a creative response to specific pieces that resonate with our social situation today.

Marley Starskey Butler

Marley Starskey Butler is an interdisciplinary artist and qualified social worker whose practice interweaves storytelling, memory, and emotional landscapes to explore how people make meaning of personal and collective narratives within systems of care.

I hope to gain professional experience in archiving and media preservation, learning to contextualise screen archives at the intersection of institutional and personal histories for public access to culturally significant material.

Nafeesa Hamid

Nafeesa Hamid is a multidisciplinary poet interested in sharing stories of working-class lives, migration, faith, and complexities of the human spirit.

I hope to learn about the history of Birmingham through archives, integrating poetry and film to create work showcasing and recording North Birmingham’s history as it’s happening.

Vignesh Venkataramaiah

Vig is a multidisciplinary creative freelancer focusing on telling stories and community building. He does this through poetry, spoken word, film, theatre, workshop facilitation, hosting and event production.

I hope to use the skills and knowledge gained to further my artistic vision – documenting underrepresented narratives of working class communities in a medium I hope to become much more familiar with.

Lorenzo Prati

BMAP Project Coordinator Lorenzo is a Birmingham-based artist and musician with experience of working in archives across a variety of fields.

I am really looking forward to supporting the group in discovering the archive, developing new skills, and engaging the wider public with this rich collection.

With a focus on material from a critical decade (1982–1992), the group will uncover the sociopolitical and cultural contexts that shaped community media in Birmingham, particularly through organisations such as TURC Video, CentreFocus, Midlands Video Consortium, Wide Angle and the formation of the Birmingham Centre for Media Arts. 

The project culminates in a curated exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery with lead artist Gary Stewart opening in Spring 2026; and an online archive showcase showcasing underrepresented narratives and creative responses developed through the training programme.

The Birmingham Media Archive Project: The First Decade is supported by the British Film Institute Screen Heritage Fund, awarding funds from the National Lottery. 

Keep an eye on our socials as the cohort share their progress, and for opportunities to take part in the project from March-May.

Image credit: Keith Dodds