Skip to content

Birmingham stained-glass bus stops celebrate city's diversity

On Our Way BID Services bus stop galleryOn Our Way
Each bus stop celebrates a different community

Bus stops along a street have been transformed into art galleries to celebrate Birmingham's diversity.

Stained glass-style wrapping has been used to cover the stops on Soho Road along the number 74 route between the city and Dudley.

It is part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, showcasing the area's creativity as it prepares to host the Commonwealth Games.

Artist Nilupa Yasmin has been working with local groups to make the displays.

She said they showed how communities had changed along the bus route over the years.

Each wrapping has been designed to tell a different story about the area and its people.

These include collages created with the Soho Road BID celebrating the range of independent businesses in the area and another, from the Black Heritage Walks Network, highlighting the civil rights struggles of Windrush generation bus workers.

On Our Way Handsworth LibraryOn Our Way
Artist Nilupa Yasmin has worked with local communities to design the bus stop artwork
On Our Way Nilupa outside Handsworth Association of Schools bus stopOn Our Way
Ms Yasmin said the works show how although the 74 route has barely changed, the communities that surround it have

Ms Yasmin, curator of the exhibition, titled On Our Way, said: "Soho Road is a road that has been a part of many generations.

"Many elements of art history document the changed landscapes around us."

Bob Balu of Soho Road BID said the project had brought "art, culture and much-needed rejuvenation to our busy and vibrant shopping district".

On Our Way has been supported by Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Birmingham City Council, Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP, the Garfield Weston Foundation, and Transport for West Midlands.

On Our Way South and City College BirminghamOn Our Way
On Our Way Original bus stop galleryOn Our Way
BBC Presentational grey line

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]