What are the opening hours?

Wednesday 2pm - 5pm Thursday 12pm - 5pm Friday 12pm - 5pm Saturday 12pm - 5pm

Grand Union

Grand Union is an arts organisation based in Digbeth, Birmingham. Grand Union is an arts organisation located in Digbeth, Birmingham.

It is a place and an art practice that holds space for developing artistic, cultural, social and environmental relations for building equitable living.

15/08/2026

🎉 ‘Open for Business’ by Infinite Opera 🎉

🗓 Sunday, 30 August 2026
⏰ 2-4pm / 6-8pm
🎟 Free, ticketed

With just a few weeks to go until the launch of Infinite Opera’s ambitious public performance ‘Open for Business’ on Sunday 30 August, we’re thrilled to be showcasing some of the venues we’ll be working with here in the heart of Digbeth, Birmingham. 🪩

✏️ The Old Crown
The Old Crown is Birmingham’s oldest secular building and has existed since 1368. Having stood the test of time during the English civil war the pub & events garden now stands proud in the heart of Digbeth, Birmingham’s thriving creative quarter.

✏️ Nortons
Nortons Digbeth is an independent bar and music venue in the Irish Quarter, Digbeth. Our bar is operated with the typical hospitality, attention to detail and charm you'd expect from an Irish pub, and our huge 500 capacity live music venue has played home to international acts and live music festivals.

✏️ Stoford
We are award winning property specialists. Privately owned, with all the shareholders fully employed by the business.

🔗 To learn more about ‘Open for Business’ and book your free ticket, click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/live-performance-open-for-business-by-infinite-opera-tickets-1994582168960

📸: The Old Crown. Image courtesy of The Old Crown. Nortons. Image courtesy of Nortons. The Tea Factory, Typhoo Wharf. Image courtesy of Stoford Ltd.

Stoford Ltd. and Grand Union have commissioned ‘Open for Business’ to mark the redevelopment of the Tea Factory, Typhoo Wharf. With support from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), VWF Foundation, and Hinrichsen Foundation.

14/08/2026

⭐️ ‘Open for Business’ by Infinite Opera ⭐️

🗓 Sunday, 30 August 2026
⏰ 2-4pm / 6-8pm
🎟 Free, ticketed

With just a few weeks to go until the launch of Infinite Opera’s ambitious performance ‘Open for Business’ on Sunday 30 August, we’re thrilled to be showcasing some of the venues we’ll be working with here in the heart of Digbeth, to deliver this landmark opera. 🎭

🎯 Birmingham Coach Station
National Express is the UK’s largest coach operator, running high-frequency, scheduled services linking hundreds of destinations nationwide. We also provide dedicated coach travel to major airports, festivals, and events, and are proud to be the official transport provider for Wembley Stadium. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we deliver around 10,000 journeys every week.

🎯 Pan-Pan
The illegitimate child of an underground bar and a mid-century airport waiting lounge. Pan-Pan is a cultural space and experimental shop for the mad and the curious.

🎯 Zellig, Custard Factory
One hundred and one spectacular spaces in one of the most beautiful buildings in Birmingham, Zellig is home to a neighbourly and vibrant working community of independent enterprises from the worlds of art, music and creative commerce.

🔗 To learn more about ‘Open for Business’ and book your free ticket, click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/live-performance-open-for-business-by-infinite-opera-tickets-1994582168960

📸: Birmingham Coach Station. Pan Pan. Images courtesy of Visit Birmingham. Zellig. Image courtesy of Zellig.

Stoford Ltd. and Grand Union have commissioned ‘Open for Business’ to mark the redevelopment of the Tea Factory, Typhoo Wharf. With support from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), VWF Foundation, and Hinrichsen Foundation.

12/08/2026

🎭 ‘Open for Business’ by Infinite Opera 🎭

🗓 Sunday, 30 August 2026
⏰ 2-4pm / 6-8pm
🎟 Free, ticketed

As we prepare to launch ‘Open for Business’, a multi-site operatic takeover by Infinite Opera on Sunday 30 August, we’re delighted to share with you some of the Digbeth venues we’ll be working with for this ambitious performance. 🎉

📌 EH Smith Design Centre
Conceived as a hands-on library of bricks for the architecture and construction community, the EH Smith Design Centre is home to the world’s largest accessible commercial brick display and the most extensive showcase of its kind in Europe. The Design Centre is housed within a sensitively restored 150-year-old industrial building in Digbeth.

📌 MJM Bespoke
MJM Bespoke is a design and fabrication studio based in Digbeth, Birmingham. We work directly with clients in both commercial and domestic settings to create things to be loved. With over 50 years’ combined experience in custom fabrication and joinery, MJM Bespoke employs an adaptive, specialist workforce to manage and deliver exciting furniture projects throughout the UK and beyond.

📌 Suki10c
We’re a truly unique and quirky independent grassroots music venue, striving to offer something altogether different to the mainstream. Formerly a pub, the space was converted and reopened as Suki10c in 2012 and has been hosting a wide variety of events ever since. Genres hosted here regularly include (but are not limited to) drum and bass, jungle, garage, dubstep, techno, trance, hardcore, reggae, live music, and so much more.

🔗 To learn more about ‘Open for Business’ and book your free ticket, click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/live-performance-open-for-business-by-infinite-opera-tickets-1994582168960

📸: EH Smith Design Centre. Image courtesy of Howells. MJM Bespoke. Image courtesy of Lewis Membery. Suki10c. Image courtesy of Suki10c.

Stoford Ltd. and Grand Union have commissioned ‘Open for Business’ to mark the redevelopment of the Tea Factory, Typhoo Wharf. With support from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), VWF Foundation, and Hinrichsen Foundation.

11/08/2026

⭐️ Live Performance: ‘Open for Business’ by Infinite Opera ⭐️

🗓 Sunday, 30 August 2026
⏰ 2-4pm / 6-8pm
🎟 Free, ticketed

Grand Union is thrilled to announce the launch of ‘Open for Business’, a landmark multi-site operatic performance by Birmingham-based opera company Infinite Opera, launching on Sunday 30 August. 🎉

📌 Taking place across Digbeth, Birmingham, ‘Open for Business’ follows the lives of four main characters: Dawn (nightclub owner, entrepreneur), Jenny (graffiti artist, charity worker), Jerry (hospitality worker) and Martin (ex-metalworker turned developer).

Inspired by the imagined histories and speculative futures of the area’s artists, workers and residents, ’Open for Business' boasts…

🎭 Live song and theatrical performance by Infinite Opera.
🎭 Orchestral music performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).

🔗 To learn more about ‘Open for Business’ and book your free ticket, click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/live-performance-open-for-business-by-infinite-opera-tickets-1994582168960

📸: ‘Besse’, an original production by Infinite Opera in collaboration with Grand Union, performed at Digbrew, Birmingham, 2019.

Stoford Ltd. and Grand Union have commissioned ‘Open for Business’ to mark the redevelopment of the Tea Factory, Typhoo Wharf. With support from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), VWF Foundation, and Hinrichsen Foundation.

03/08/2026

Access Information: ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ by Laisul Hoque, August Digbeth First Friday ⭐️

🗓 Friday, 7 August
⏰ 5-8pm
📍 Grand Union, Minerva Works, B5 5RS

Ahead of our late-night opening as part of this month’s Digbeth First Friday, we’re providing some essential access information to help you decide if this event is right for you.

🎥 ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ (2026) is captioned (approx. 30 mins).

📌 5-6pm:
There will be a quiet opening with no bar and less crowds. We kindly ask people to wear a mask, and not wear perfume for this time.

📌 6-8pm:
There will be a pay bar serving alcoholic and soft drinks.

Grand Union is located up two flights of stairs (40 steps), and we do not have a working lift.

There are masks and hand sanitiser at the entrance to Grand Union available for your use. There is a spacious gender neutral bathroom on site with no mobility aids.

Photography will be taking place on site for documentation purposes. These images may be used on our social media, website, in reporting, and other places.

💌 Please get in touch via DM, email at [email protected] or phone us on 0121 643 9079 to discuss access further.

🔗 To learn more about Digbeth First Friday, click here: https://www.grand-union.org.uk/whats-on/august-digbeth-first-friday-learning-to-drive-in-birmingham-by-laisul-hoque

📸: ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ (2026), archive footage courtesy of the Media Archive for Central England (MACE).

[ID: A close-up scan of a Bangladeshi passport featuring a faded sepia-toned photograph of a young man.]

29/07/2026

August Digbeth First Friday: ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ by Laisul Hoque ⭐️

🗓 Friday, 7 August 2026
⏰ 5-8pm
📍 Grand Union, Minerva Works, B5 5RS

Join us next week at Grand Union for another late night opening of ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’, as part of monthly arts social Digbeth First Friday. 🎉

📌 Leading on from Laisul’s recent exhibition ‘The Ground Beneath Me’ (2026) at the Nunnery Gallery, London, ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ reflects on mobility, belonging, and displacement, revealing Birmingham’s deep connections to Bangladesh and its diaspora.

Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ is supported by Arts Council England, Bow Arts East London Art Prize and Grand Union. 🚗

🔗 To learn more about Digbeth First Friday, click here: https://www.grand-union.org.uk/whats-on/august-digbeth-first-friday-learning-to-drive-in-birmingham-by-laisul-hoque

📸: (1) ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ (2026), archive footage courtesy of the Media Archive for Central England (MACE). (2) and (3) ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ (2026), courtesy of Laisul Hoque.

[ID 1: Archival footage from 1971 showing people protesting in the streets of Birmingham, calling for the immediate release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison in Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.]

[ID 2: Driving instructor Harun lowers the sun visor as Laisul drives, with bright sunlight streaming through the windscreen.]

[ID 3: A close-up scan of a Bangladeshi passport featuring a faded sepia-toned photograph of a young man.]

27/07/2026

Interview: Laisul Hoque for The Dispatch, Birmingham 📝

📌 Writer and editor Rachel Segal Hamilton recently interviewed Laisul Hoque for Birmingham Dispatch on ‘Learning to Drive in Birmingham’, our current exhibition by Laisul here at Grand Union.

The project, in partnership with Bow Arts, navigates Birmingham’s deep connections to Bangladesh and its diaspora through driving lessons, conversations in cars, and phone calls from home. 📞

✏️ ‘The 30-minute film doesn’t waste a moment. It interweaves scenes from Bangladeshi-Brummie history (protests and political visits), gorgeously-shot public transport frustration, a thank you note from Margaret Thatcher and observations on this place, both from those based here and those who have never been…’

📍’ Learning to Drive in Birmingham’ continues at Grand Union, Digbeth, until Saturday 3 October 2026.

🔗 To read the interview in full, click here: https://www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk/the-art-of-the-wheel/

📸: Laisul Hoque, 2026. Image courtesy of the artist.

[ID 1: Laisul is sat on a chair against a dark wood bench littered with books. He has long hair and is wearing brown reading glasses. He is dressed in a long, navy blue tunic with light blue pinstripes, and dark brown trousers. He is holding a stack of photographs or postcards.]

[ID 2: A screenshot of The Dispatch’s web article, including author, publishing date, and a title which reads ’The art of the wheel’. Below the title is a still from Laisul’s film, showing the artist sat with a driving instructor inside a vehicle.]

23/07/2026

Recently, we announced our ’Students of Nature’ cohort for 2026-27, with multidisciplinary artist and educator Exodus Crooks. 🌱

📌 Earlier this month, our successful students - Susie, Gugan, Rumbidzai and Mads - met Exodus and the wider Grand Union team, to chat about the nature of the project.

Over the next 12 months, the group will be shaping a new curriculum which responds to the idea of ‘The City as a Classroom’, exploring different sites across Digbeth and wider Birmingham. 🌈

📚 Through several ‘learning days’ alongside Exodus, the programme will culminate in a series of lesson plans for public sharing, and a final gathering day in Summer 2027.

🔗 To learn more about our ’Students of Nature’, click here: https://www.grand-union.org.uk/what-were-doing/education/students-of-nature-the-city-as-a-classroom

📸: Top-left to bottom-right: Exodus Crooks, Hannah Wallis, Jo Capper, Susie Olczak, Gugan Gill, Rumbidzai Savanhu and Mads Washbrook. Image courtesy of Grand Union, 2026.

[ID: A desktop screenshot of a group video call, showing people connecting from different locations. Sat in offices, bedrooms and workplaces, each person is smiling, with two people raising their hands.]

21/07/2026

Do you enjoy our work at Grand Union? Want to stay updated on events, exhibitions and opportunities? 🤩

Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter. 💌

Including content from our friends, neighbours and studio holders, we often publish…

🎉 Programme updates including artist announcements, exhibition launches and special, one-off events.
🌱 Progress on inclusive regeneration projects such as the Flower Farm, and our new home at Junction Works.
📝 News from our Grand Union studio holders, neighbours and partners, from artist-led workshops to international exhibitions.

🔗 To subscribe, click here: http://eepurl.com/jlTJH

📸: Illustration by Mengxia Liu, 2024.

[ID: A felt-tip illustration in shades of red, pink and purple of two people hugging, surrounded by leaves. Below the drawing reads ‘Subscribe to our monthly newsletter’ in black text, against a pink background.]

Address

19 Minerva Works, Fazeley Street
Birmingham
B55RS

Opening Hours

Wednesday	2pm - 5pm
Thursday	12pm - 5pm
Friday	12pm - 5pm
Saturday	12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+441216439079

Website

http://www.grand-union.org.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Grand Union posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Grand Union:

Want your business to be the top-listed Recruitment Company in Birmingham?