Midlands Arts Centre

Modern facilities but soulless. The outside is an ugly mixture of unkempt functional architecture and brash, upbeat marketing decorations. Both the front and back entrance are not welcoming spaces, the latter from the car parks being quite narrow. The meeting rooms & suites, bar area and cafés look and feel up to date with everywhere looking smart and clean. A little too much so as the entire place lacks character or atmosphere leading to a sterile feeling. Display areas, even for the same exhibition, can spread out and one is in the small café making it awkward to see. Small corridors are also used not allowing the viewer to stand back from the display. The gift shop is stupidly expensive easily beating some London museums in pricing. The goods and books seem aimed at serious arty types and, although I'm one, I still wouldn't pay £7 for a fridge magnet. Parking can be a nightmare if there's more than one event on and impossible if there's a match at neighbouring Edgbaston Cricket ground. Be aware that the parking area is split into two so make sure you pay at the right pay station for where you've left your car. RingGo app works works well here though.

I love how this centre has so many varied activities and events. We always visit when heading to the park and like to browse the latest art exhibitions. They also have a cinema, which shows some unusual movies plus a bar area and cafe. The best thing here is all of the classes and courses. You can book in to so many different things, in the past I’ve done jewellery making and clay sculpture amongst others and always found the courses informative and fun. We also have visited for theatre events both indoors and outdoors too, it’s a lovely hub to explore and they also just craft fairs here too.