Creative Upstarts

1 August – 16 November 2025

Mia Banks, Daya Bhatti, Nick Chamberlain (SoundMuse), Nicola Gorman, LPF Clubs CIC, Maral Mamaghanizadeh, Millissa Morris (Black Diamonds Creative FX), Sauda Motara (Papa and Saud), Darren Neville (Ideaphonic), Tirlok Singh (Hydrolux UK, Gearr Technologies), George Tomkinson, Rippon Wasan.

As part of this year’s MakerFest Fringe Festival, The New Art Gallery Walsall is delighted to present Creative Upstarts – a bold and dynamic showcase of emerging local creatives from the Creative Upstart (CUSP) programme.

Developed by Urban Hax and supported by Arts Council England through the Creative Development Fund 3, CUSP is designed to develop creativity, nurture talent and support the next generation of creatives, thinkers and cultural change makers. It provides a launchpad for potential, a catalyst for ambition and a space where new ideas can take root and grow.

The exhibition brings together an eclectic mix of work that reflects the personal journeys, bold thinking and cultural imagination of a new generation of diverse creative makers and thinkers in Walsall. The participants reflect a broad range of disciplines including art, jewellery, floristry, engineering, stage design and special effects make-up and prosthetics.

Each piece tells a story – challenging conventions, defying expectations and speaking to the spirit of innovation at the heart of both CUSP and MakerFest.

This exhibition is a celebration of experimentation, curiosity and creative risk-taking.

Working together, we are reimagining Walsall as a place where creativity thrives and new voices are heard.

Preview

Thursday 31 July, 6-8pm. Free, all welcome.