Museums and galleries
What’s On Walsall – May 2025
Published on
This May, Walsall Council venues are buzzing with creative workshops, family activities, inspiring exhibitions and top entertainment. The New Art Gallery Walsall hosts artist talks, eco-art discussions, printmaking sessions, and fun drop-ins for kids. Walsall Arena & Arts Centre presents a packed line-up of live music, comedy, and tributes to icons such as Genesis, Michael Jackson, and George Michael. At the Leather Museum, learn to paint like Van Gogh, enjoy hands-on craft sessions, and see a new play about Wednesbury author Frederick Hackwood.
HIGHLIGHT
Steeleye Span
Thursday 8 May, 7.30pm. £31
Walsall Arena & Arts Centre
Together for fifty-five years, Steeleye Span changed the face of folk music forever by taking it into the world of gold discs and international tours.
The new album, The Green Man Collection, brings together tracks from their recent releases with new versions of three classics (including a reworking of Hard Time featuring Status Quo’s Francis Rossi), a cover of Elvis Costello’s Shipbuilding, and the title track, a previously lost Bob Johnson song from the 1980s.
As ever -and with such a rich history to choose from - the night will offer a selection of songs from across the years and firm fan favourites.
May events at The New Art Gallery Walsall
Gallery Square, Walsall, WS2 8LG. Free admission.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, Sundays 12 noon to 4pm. Closed on Mondays and Bank Holidays. www.thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk
In Conversation with Charmaine Watkiss
Saturday 3 May, 3pm. Free. Booking essential
Join us for an In Conversation event with artist Charmaine Watkiss, whose Plant Warrior series can currently be seen in the Gallery’s exhibition Earthbound.
Sunday Art Club
Sundays, 12-3pm. Age 4+. Free, drop-in.
The Gallery’s weekly art club for children and young people. Meet artists and creatives and learn to paint, print, sculpt, craft and more!
- Sunday 4 May – Clay Elephants. Sculpt an elephant with pipe cleaner ears & tusks.
- Sunday 11 May – Monoprint Party Hats. Continue our 25th birthday celebrations!
- Sunday 18 May – Cake Boxes. Make delicious slices of cake using card, paper & pens.
- Sunday 25 May – Marvellous Mycelium. Plasticine & tissue paper sculptures inspired by artist Laura White.
Printmaking with Suzanne Holtom: Monoprint, Drypoint and Tetrapak printing
Saturday 10 May 2025, 10am-4pm. £40 (£36 concs.)
Join artist Suzanne Holtom for a tour of her Floor 4 exhibition And Hills Bore Scars, and an exploration of etchings by Samuel Palmer in the Garman Ryan Collection. Watch demonstrations of a variety of printmaking process and then have a go at creating your own prints with guidance and support from Suzanne. Create your own monoprints using black ink on coloured papers, drypoint prints using perspex, and intaglio prints using Tetrapak.
Walsall Arboretum: Walk and Sketch with Suzanne Holtom
Sunday 11 May 2025, 11am-3pm. £35 (£31.50 concs.) Booking essential.
Join artist Suzanne Holtom for a day of looking, walking, sketching and learning at Walsall Arboretum. Record the sights, sounds and smells around you in sketches and words. After lunch, work on a large charcoal study, taking inspiration from photographs of the Arboretum and our morning sketches.
Baby & Me
Wednesday 14 May, 10.30am-12noon and 12.30-2pm. Every second Wednesday of the month. Suitable for 0-24 months. £3 per child, places are limited, booking essential. Book at Reception or call 01922 654400.
Multi-sensory sessions for parents, carers and their babies. Explore colours and light projections, discover new smells, feel new textures in our touchy-feely books and relax in our comfy cushions whilst you listen to a short story and meet other new parents.
Greening Your Art Practice
Saturday 17 May 2025, 11.30-3pm. Free.
Greening Your Art Practice focuses on opening up knowledge and networks for artists practising or interested in the growing area of ecologically conscious contemporary art. During the event we will hear from three speakers whose varied practices focus on ecological themes and/or sustainable approaches to art making: Alice Burnhope, Chris Poolman (General Public) and Marie Smith. This will be followed by a wider discussion moderated by Zoë Lippett, Exhibitions and Artists’ Projects Curator intended to support collective artist engagement in this area.
Mini Makers: Tots ‘n’ Teds
Tuesday 27 May, 11am-1pm. Ages 2-4. Drop-in. £3.50
Get creative, explore art materials and build fine motor skills. Paper bag bears and picnic play in the sensory tray.
Wednesdays For All: Building Aeroplanes
Wednesday 28 May 2025, 11am-3pm. Ages 4+. Free, drop-in
Construct with recycled materials.
Thursday Skills: Painting Cake
Thursday 29 May 2025. 11am-12.30pm & 1.30-3pm. £4.50 per child
Artist Rob Conway will teach you to paint a cake that looks real enough to eat!
Exhibitions at The New Art Gallery Walsall (Free admission)
- Earthbound. Until 8 June 2025
- Suzanne Holtom: And Hills Bore Scars. 29 March – 29 June 2025.
- Equal + Able = Not a Label. Until 18 May 2025.
- The Joy Project. 21 February – 6 July 2025
May events at Walsall Arena & Arts Centre
Hawbush Road, Bloxwich, Walsall, WS3 1AG.
Box Office: 0300 555 2898. Box Office opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm.
Online booking available 24 hours at www.walsallarena.com
Genesis Connected
Saturday 3 May, 7.30pm. £28.50
Celebrating the music of Genesis and the biggest selling acts connected: Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and Mike & the Mechanics, this show has an incredible mix of material, from atmospheric anthems to chart toppers.
Spring Senior Wind Band Concert
Tuesday 6 May, 8pm. £5.
King of Pop
Friday 9 May, 7.30pm. £26.50
This incredible production stars the world’s leading MJ tribute artist Navi who is joined on stage by Michael Jackson’s iconic guitarist - Jennifer Batten.
A Night To Remember
Saturday 17 May, 7.30pm. £28.50
A Night To Remember: Motown Show takes you back in time to 1960s Detroit. Be prepared for a high-energy show, packed with the greatest Motown hits of all time. Starring The Voice UK finalist Bizzi Dixon and backed by the soulful vocal dynamics of The Motown Divas, this musical celebration is sure to have you singing along and dancing in the aisles and the streets.
The ELO Show
Friday 23 May, 7.30pm. £28.50
The world’s greatest tribute celebrating the music of Jeff Lynne and E.L.O bring their stunning show, with a band of amazing musicians including a female string section. This will be a fabulous night of hit after hit from such a vast back catalogue.
Danny Baker: Aye Aye! Ahoy Hoy!
Saturday 24 May, 7.30pm. £29
Broadcaster, journalist and podcaster Danny Baker returns to the stage with his exciting new tour, Aye Aye! Ahoy Hoy! as he celebrates 50 years afloat the showbiz seas.
Walsall XL Comedy Club with Seann Walsh, Brennan Reece, Jonny Awsum & Jay Neale
Thursday 29 May, 7.30pm. £26.50
Get ready for the very best in comedy. All of the acts at Walsall XL Comedy Club (including the ‘support acts’) are the very best in the business. Many of which have TV credits, including Live at the Apollo, so you can be rest assured that you’ll have the very best comedy club experience.
Celebrating George Michael
Saturday 31 May 7.30pm, £28
Featuring the acclaimed Steve Mitchell, this production focuses on the more mature and seasoned style that George brought us with performances such as the 1996 MTV UNPLUGGED from the Three Mills Studio in London. In addition to all of George’s best and well-known hits, Steve and his hand-picked band also perform some of Wham's classics, making it a very special show for all George Michael fans. We’re also pleased to announce that Dave West, who played bass with George and Andrew on the very first recordings of Wham Rap and Careless Whisper, will also be joining Steve and the band on the dates.
May events at Walsall Leather Museum
Littleton Street West, Walsall, WS2 8EW
Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Free admission.
01922 652288 / www.walsall.gov.uk/leathermuseum
Stitchers and Skivers: Brooch and bag charms
Wednesday 7 May, 10am-1pm & 1.30-4.30pm. £6.50 (includes materials, tea and biscuits). Booking essential.
A warm welcome awaits you at the Museum’s regular craft sessions. Each month they take on a different craft or theme and participants are encouraged to experiment with the materials. Support and ideas are plentiful. All welcome.
Paint Like a Master with Rob Conway - Van Gogh's Wheatfield with Cypresses
Saturday 24 May, 1-4pm. £28.00 (includes materials and refreshments). Booking essential.
Ever wanted to paint like a master? Well, here's your chance to learn! Artist, Rob Conway, will take you through the process step-by-step to create your own canvas version of Van Gogh's Wheatfield with Cypresses. These remain one of the Museum’s most popular workshops so early booking is advised.
Matchbox Monsters Family Drop-In
Thursday 29 May, 10.30am-11.30am & 12.30-1.30pm. £1.50 - No need to book
Drop-in to the Leather Museum and make a matchbox monster with your own little monsters!
The Amazing Mr. Hackwood - Grusha's Theatre Company
Saturday 31 May, 2-3pm. £5. Booking essential
Following the success of their short play, Babsolutely Fabulous, Grusha Theatre Company return to the Museum to perform their new play, The Amazing Mr. Hackwood.
It's nearly Christmas 1918 and Wednesbury's greatest writer and teacher, Frederick Hackwood, is confined to bed while his mother, wife and daughter come together and recall with laughter, Frederick's amazing life and times. Change, suffragettes, songs, celebrations and thoughts about leaving home are considered, but will Frederick ever agree?
ENDS.
