Centrala

Centrala is an arts space run by the Polish Expats Association, a community interest company set up in 2009 that launched the venue in 2012 inside a former industrial unit at Minerva Works in Digbeth. The space combines a gallery showing contemporary art from Central and Eastern Europe alongside British artists, a café, three artist studios and a seminar room used for talks, workshops and language classes. Exhibitions rotate regularly and the venue also hosts film screenings, record launches and discussions connected to the Eastern and Central European communities living in Birmingham, alongside a wider events programme open to all visitors. Centrala runs Central Bloc, a membership network offering mentoring and residencies to Central and Eastern European artists and curators working in the UK. The building sits a short walk from Birmingham New Street and Snow Hill stations, within the Digbeth creative quarter, and combines its not-for-profit community remit with a public-facing café and shop selling books and homeware.