The West Midlands leading independent grant-giving charity, Heart of England Community Foundation, has partnered with renowned local artist, Foka Wolf, this month. The anonymous Birmingham-based artist has installed three art attractions across the region, in celebration of the Foundation’s biggest capital grants fund, Building Better Lives.
To kick off Heart of England’s campaign, #iHeartWestMids, Foka Wolf has created three pieces of art to celebrate the charities that received £3.1 million from the BBL project; St Basils, YMCA Birmingham and Black County Women’s Aid. The bespoke art pieces commemorate the support and community spirit within the West Midlands, whilst also highlighting the amazing work carried out by the three charities supported by the Foundation.
The artworks will be available to view throughout the month of July and can be found in Great Western Arcade (Birmingham), West Orchards Shopping Centre (Coventry) and Queens Square Shopping Centre (West Bromwich), honouring the three locations of the charities helping to build brighter futures for people across the region. The Foundation looks forward to seeing the local communities engage with the art, and share their photos in the mirror across social media using the hashtag #iHeartWestMids.
The #iHeartWestMids campaign is also set to include a Heart of England takeover of the West Midlands Metro, in which passengers will see information about the funding, and how it’s helping beneficiaries of the three charities throughout their journey.
At the end of 2020, the Foundation announced that the St Basils Coventry-based accommodation – funded by the BBL scheme – had opened its doors. The brand-new space at Black Country Women’s Aid is set to open later this summer, whilst the 27 self-contained flats at YMCA are set to open in early 2022.