People and communities
Art exhibition to celebrate Walsall’s inspiring women
Published on
A three-day pop-up exhibition celebrating the borough’s inspiring women through art will take place this July. ‘My Queen’ will run from 15 to 17 July 2025 at The New Art Gallery Walsall, with a special open day on Tuesday 15 July at 12.30pm.
Organised by LGK in The Community, the exhibition marks the launch of Queens of the City, a flagship project funded by the Heritage Lottery and part-funded by Walsall Council. This pioneering initiative celebrates Walsall’s rich and diverse heritage by uplifting the stories of women from both migrant and established communities through food, art, and storytelling.
As part of the project, sixteen inspirational women from Walsall are being interviewed, culminating in the creation of a groundbreaking augmented reality interview mural, a global first, that brings their voices and experiences to life and fosters unity across the borough.
The project also features heritage workshops led by local artists and community leaders, taking place in schools, community hubs, and Walsall College. Designed as both a practical toolkit and a flagship model, the initiative aims to inspire similar projects in other towns and cities across the UK.
The three-day exhibition will also feature selected artwork from a Walsall wide art competition that launched on International Women’s Day by LGK, which invited young artists to create artwork relating to queens in their life. Prizes will be awarded to the winner and runner up.
“ This initiative represents a significant step forward in recognising and preserving the diverse cultural heritage of Walsall. Through the powerful mediums of food, art and storytelling, we are honouring the experiences of women from both long-established and newly arrived communities. As someone who is committed to the borough, I am proud to support a project that not only documents these remarkable journeys but also fosters greater understanding and unity across our communities. “
The exhibition is open between 11am and 4pm each day from 15 to 17 July 2025 on the first floor of The New Art Gallery Walsall. Admission is free.
To find out more about Queens of the City visit https://queensofthecity.lgk.org.uk/
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
For more information, visit heritagefund.org.uk
