A gathering which celebrates our relationships in the places we live, work and play.

Bundles of Belonging

What does it mean to belong to a place? To know nearby trees and local stories. To connect with other creatures and understand what the seasons feel like here. This winter we're opening up our space to share what we've been making together: a celebration of the people, plants and stories of our place.

Come along to our Winter Gathering and you'll find:

Trees, held close. An unbound bundle of handmade artefacts, created by local people as expressions of the trees around us. This kind of bundle is a way of carrying the stories and wisdom of a place so they can be passed on, sparking curiosity about more regenerative futures in the place we call home.

Folklore, fairytales, myths and magic. A second bundle gathering local mythologies of Dudley, made through a series of gatherings where people wrote and imagined stories as community maps for navigating what comes next.

Drawing on Data. Climate maps, charts and diagrams can surprise or overwhelm us. Over three gentle workshops, people transformed them through drawing, painting and collage, imagining solutions and alternatives together. Find out what emerged.

The Bioregional Council of All Beings. An installation of biodegradable masks and reflections from the imagined perspectives of other beings. Created by local people invited to cultivate a relationships with another being, which could be a plant, tree species, animal, fungi, insect or natural feature such as mountain, rock, earth, or river.

Poetry performances and cosy creative activities inspired by theses projects. No experience needed, everyone welcome.

Plenty of time to simply chat, eat and drink.

Come for the cosy creative activities, stay for the conversations, leave with a gift. Whether you come for ten minutes or the whole session, leave with a little more belonging to this place.

Good to know

🎟️ Free admission

🕒 Main gathering 6.00pm-8.00pm (drop-in any time)

🤫 Quiet Time Early Opening of exhibitions 5.00pm-6.00pm

📍 CoLab Dudley, 201a High Street, Dudley DY1 1QQ

☕️ Warming winter drinks and light nibbles (free)

🧑‍🧒‍🧒 All welcome, children must bring a grown up 😊

👩🏽‍🦽‍➡️Step-free access is available to the full exhibition. We’re sorry that due to the constraints of the building we rent, the toilets are sited upstairs so we there are no toilet facilities at street level.

💬 Access support includes in-person guides offering audio descriptions and conversation.

🗓️ Other times you can visit the exhibition and take part in cosy creative activities:

Thurs 14 January 2027, 12pm-7pm

Description supplied by the event organiser.