Where Birmingham creatives come
to work, learn, connect & be seen.
Every Wednesday, AQ Foodhall becomes a meeting point for Birmingham's creative and cultural community: artists, filmmakers, photographers, musicians, designers, writers, actors, dancers, podcasters, content creators, producers, freelancers, arts organisations and creative businesses.
Start the day working alongside other creatives. Build practical skills in the afternoon. Join a focused industry conversation after work. Then stay for Culture Live, where ideas move from conversation into performance, film, music, poetry and live culture.
Register Your Place
Coworking, skills, panel, networking or Culture Live. You decide.
🔒 Your details are only used for this registration/application.
Work, learn, connect, perform. All under one roof.
Wednesday is designed to solve a simple problem: Birmingham has extraordinary creative talent, but people often work, learn, network and perform in separate spaces. AQ brings those experiences together under one roof.
Come alone and meet people. Bring your team and work together. Learn something commercially useful. Find collaborators. Pitch an idea. Watch a premiere. Hear new work. Perform. Build an audience.
AQ Foodhall is an alcohol-free, community-friendly venue, creating an inclusive setting for creatives and organisations who want culture, conversation, food and entertainment without the experience needing to revolve around alcohol.
Come for one block, or stay all day.
Creative Coworking
Bring your laptop, project, notebook or next idea and work alongside Birmingham creatives in a relaxed foodhall setting. This is a recurring morning for meeting people naturally, getting work done and finding collaborators outside your usual circle.
Creative Business & Skills
Talent matters. Knowing how to turn it into sustainable work matters too. Wednesday afternoons focus on practical creative skills and the business behind the work.
Creative & Cultural Link Up
One strong subject. One useful conversation. Real questions from the room. Every Wednesday, the Creative & Cultural Link Up brings people together around an issue that matters to Birmingham creatives and cultural organisations. Expect panels, conversations, audience questions, networking and food, designed to create connections that continue after the event.
Culture Live
The conversation flows naturally into the night. Culture Live gives Birmingham talent and cultural organisations a stage for live podcasts, spoken word, poetry, theatre, short films, premieres, interviews, artist showcases, album listening events, music performances and cultural conversations.
Choose the part of Wednesday that helps you most.
- ✦Creative coworking
- ✦Skills workshop
- ✦Industry panel / Creative & Cultural Link Up
- ✦Networking
- ✦Culture Live performance or showcase
Something Birmingham should see?
AQ is inviting suitable creative and cultural organisations to become active Wednesday partners. The programme is designed to involve at least five creative or cultural organisations each Wednesday, so collaboration and audience-sharing are central to the model.
Good-Fit Wednesday Partners
What organisers commit to
Title, description, Wednesday/date, time block, audience, capacity, ticket/registration model and organiser contact details.
Strong assets representing the event, organisation, speakers, performers or previous work.
A minimum of two creatives published for every confirmed event.
Event name, Wednesday date/time and a clear Book / Register CTA.
Showcases AQ Foodhall as the host venue, helping audiences understand both the event and the place it's happening.
The agreed AQ registration/ticket link or QR code, so registrations and campaign performance can be tracked.
Mailing list, WhatsApp/community groups, social channels and partner network where available.
Use approved event naming, information and campaign assets.
A bigger audience journey than a single event
AQ gives creative organisers a Birmingham venue where the audience journey can be bigger than a single event. A workshop can lead into a panel. A panel can become networking. Networking can flow into a live showcase, screening or performance, with food available throughout the venue. For strong partners, Wednesday offers the opportunity to become part of a recurring creative ecosystem rather than simply hiring a room for one night.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Wednesday is AQ's recurring creative and cultural day. The exact workshops, panel topic, organisations and Culture Live programme change by week.
Artists, filmmakers, photographers, musicians, designers, writers, actors, dancers, podcasters, content creators, producers, freelancers, arts organisations, creative businesses and anyone interested in Birmingham culture.
Yes. The 10am–1pm block is designed for creative coworking and informal connection.
Yes. Suitable creative and cultural organisations can apply for workshop, panel, screening, showcase, podcast, performance and other programme opportunities.
The 4pm–7pm block focuses on one strong subject each week through a panel or conversation, audience questions, networking and food.
The 7pm–11pm programme can include live podcasts, spoken word, poetry, theatre, short films, premieres, interviews, artist showcases, album listening events, music and cultural conversations.
Accepted organisers must provide complete information, actively promote their event, produce at least two promotional creatives including one showcasing AQ Foodhall, use the official registration route and meet approved operating requirements.
Whether you're building your next project or bringing Birmingham's next great creative experience to life, Wednesday at AQ is your place to plug into the city's creative community.
See this Wednesday's programme and register your place.
Host, showcase or partner with AQ on a Wednesday.