Mrs. Ruby Colson, born 26th November attended the School 1931 and lived in the same house in Yardley Wood nearly all her life. We hear what school life consisted of for pupils who were at school before the war

Ruby Coulson

Dave lived just around the corner from the school, and first went there in 1968 at the age of eleven, and attended up until the age of eighteen. We hear in his interview how the teachers, especially Mr. Swift and Mr. Barnes left their mark on Dave’s life, and influenced what he did after school. After visiting a crumbling Snow Hill Station with his friend Richard Thistlethwaite and having what he describes as ‘the most aesthetic experience a person can have’ he was hooked. They took photographs, and taught themselves to develop prints. Photography may not have been the plan at the beginning of his time at school, but has certainly become important to Dave, and he says most of his work involves photography. His projects include the Grid project, which involved seventy-one participants, and over eight hundred photographs.

Dave Allen

As a young boy, Tahir came to England with his father, a founder member in May 1970 at the age of fourteen. Moving in with an Uncle on Balsall Heath Road for three months was the beginning of his family’s new life in Birmingham, where he still lives. He remembers sharing a place of worship with night-clubbers in Dale End. His father and family responded to the need to create a new community, and understood the need for integration, and would like to see the centre reach out to the community again, but in ways that match what people need today. The absence of government-supported spaces for young people means there is the need to provide facilities, which will give opportunities to young people, whilst keeping them safe and comfortable. Tahir tells us how important the Community Centre was for his father, who was one of the founder members of the East African Muslim Association, who came from Uganda after being recruited as a teacher.

Tahir Chaudhry

Teimour arrived in England in 1976 from Iran, and has lived in various places since moving, including Kenilworth. One of the differences that Teimour found was the lack of Halal food. Coming from a country, which was Muslim, and therefore already providing food that was suitable to eat, he was surprised that this religious practice did not happen in the UK. He found others with similar views to him, and formed key relationships with pro-active people, who would make the difference and were part of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain. This happened after he became friends with Dr Kalim Siddiqui, and he served with the Muslim Parliament for six years. Another important time for Teimour, was discovering there were Muslims who had the same values as he did, after spending time learning about different cultures within Islam.

Teimour Azrapy

Marguerite is the daughter of Ruby Colson. Wanting to follow on in her mother’s footsteps, she took the exam to go to the art school, but didn’t pass. So she took it again, and still didn’t pass! This hasn’t stopped Marguerite from having a creative life, where she has lived abroad, and had a successful creative career.

Marguerite Llewellyn

Shaheen’s family has been part of the community centre and its activities, and chose to celebrate an important family function, a wedding in the building. Shaheen shares her memories of her niece, Amreen’s Mendhi at the Community Centre in 2014. This pre-wedding ceremony was a traditional event, and we hear about the activities at a family event, which traditionally included food, music, and Henna. This celebration was traditional as well because it was a ladies event, but being a family celebration, the men were looking after the ladies by bringing in and serving the food!

Shaheen Chaudhry

Libby Watts is an architectural assistant at Donald Insall Associates. Working as a conservation consultant alongside Chris Thomas, the firm have ensured that the building works have been undertaken using the correct methods and materials.  We learn about the processes used to repair the gutters, and how the iconic green paint came to be in place. As with all conservation projects, all work has to be reversible. Libby has always had an interest in buildings, and her time studying and working in architecture has led to her work with historic buildings, and the challenges and controversies they present.

Libby Watts

As the site manager for Croft Building and Conservation, Liam has been in charge of the day-to-day works of the listed building repairs and improvements throughout the renovation project. Liam shares with us some of the challenges that arose during the project. The cast iron gutters needed bringing down and the size of it raised the question of how the gutter was placed up there in the first place. He makes us wonder how such work was undertaken without the technology and machinery that is used in building works today.

Liam Whyte

Brian was a pupil in one of the few last years that attended the school before its closure in the mid 1970s.  Brian enjoyed his time at Moseley Art School, and tells us how the political climate during his time there, helped to shape the future he would have musically and artistically.  Even without music lessons, he and his friends knew they wanted to make music. Brian credits being on the dole after school in a political climate where jobs were few, for being the reason UB40 had the time to learn music, play instruments and write songs. We hear how time at the school has stayed with Brian, and the hindsight with which he looks back at his time as a student as being a valuable experience, which he is grateful to have had. He describes the building, and shares a tale or two about what happened in those four walls.

Brian Travers

Little Stories From The Moseley Muslim Community Association

Little Stories from the Moseley School of Art

The Moseley School of Art in Balsall Heath has undergone a huge transformation. Restored and updated, the building has seen more than one transformation in the course of its existence. In the 1970s, it was closed by Birmingham City Council, and left to fall into serious disrepair. The migration of Muslim Communities from many parts of the world to the city brought a new group of people who sought a place where they could spend time as a community and support each other during times of change. They acquired the building and it became a place for people of the local area to live and celebrate together.
This collection of stories is from pupils of the School, including Ruby Colson, born 26th of November 1919, who attended aged  eleven. Founder members of the MMCA and those who have been instrumental in the delivery of the transformation, and their children who are grown up also talk to us about the past and the future hopes. We hear from people who wanted to be part of the Art School and how the legacy has stayed with them, as well as those that had chosen to make Balsall Heath their home and have stayed connected since.

Stories from The MMCA & The Moseley School of Art

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