Urban Rooms Dudley
Urban Rooms are spaces where people can go to understand, debate and get involved in the past, present and future of where they live, work and play.
Urban Rooms have popped up in 27 places across the UK, with 12 more in the pipeline. They are an idea that was recommended in a national review of architecture and the built environment undertaken in 2013, led by Sir Terry Farrell. CoLab Dudley, the social lab which convenes the network behind Dudley Creates, uses many of the same tools as Urban Rooms. Between October 2024 and March 2025 CoLab Dudley is hosting an open collective enquiry asking: how might Urban Rooms in Dudley support wider and deeper participation in the shaping of possible futures for our town and neighbourhoods?
Over 15 local creatives will lead and support open, free Urban Room activities designed to nurture our relationship with place. Activities will take place in Dudley Town Centre, on the High Street, and in two Urban Rooms.
Urban Room Dudley will be located in Provision House on Dudley High Street, stewarded by the staff and volunteers there. It will be open Monday - Friday, 9am- 5pm from mid December 2024 to the end of March 2025.
Urban Room Unbound will pop-up in the CoLab Dudley space on Dudley High Street, stewarded by CoLab Dudley team members. It will host Urban Room activities which take place on evenings and at weekends, and will be open on occasional weekdays.
An Urban Rooms Dudley stewardship group is being convened by Time Rebel Lorna Prescott, who is also a member of the CoLab Dudley team. This work is funded in part by the West Midlands Combined Authority, and by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Emerging Futures programme. Image credit: students involved in an Extinction Rebellion Architecture Studio at Birmingham City University in collaboration with CoLab Dudley in 2022.
How you can join in
Visit an Urban Room
Pop in to one of the Urban Rooms in Dudley to explore exhibitions and ideas in your own time. There will be Urban Room hosts around who you can talk to. Opening times will be added below.
Create or discover
Take part in a creative activity, come to a film screening and discussion, join an Urban Rooms enquiry session. Upcoming dates below.
Coming up in 2025, dates tbc:
Time To Make: drop in, weekend art making sessions led by four local creatives, inviting local people to consider Dudley’s past, present and possible futures using a combination of urban sketching, collage and photography.
Collective Photography of Hope: exploring and observing of parts of Dudley Town Centre and assembling three photographs which represent hope from each participant into a collective film, led by local film makers Soheila and Razi.
Boiler Babs on Dudley High Street: an extension of a Roving Residency in which four local creatives will investigate collaborative making by exploring and generating playful, creative responses to a section of the High Street using sustainable materials.
Playtime in Dudley: sharing stories and memories of time outdoors playing, led by Sarah of the Bicycle Adventure Club. They encourage people to connect with the geography and history of our local landscapes, through art, community and, of course, the bicycle.
Memories of Dudley: An intergenerational activity creating a collaged family tree using leaves and dried flowers, linking each person with a memory of them in nature. And a series of textile exploration sessions using photographs and maps of Dudley town centre to produce a tactile art piece. Led by Hannah of Wild Earth Movement.
We Are Makers: our crafty makers Ruth and Odette will pop up on Dudley High Street with yarn bombed trolleys, an arm chair and stools, and a large scale loom to invite collaborative weaving over conversation and cuppa.
Mapping Relief: artist Laura will use a walk to trace gestures, sounds, feelings and everyday stories of conservation, recovery and activism to generate an alternative mapping of the ways in which we care for green spaces and how this weaves into Dudley’s future.
Capturing Heritage Through Plants: educator Dalbero will invite local people to share and discuss photographs and stories of plants that hold cultural significance to their heritage. A collaged ‘heritage garden’ will be created and exhibited.
