44 C O N T E X T 1 7 3 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 MICK McGRATH New life for Moseley School of Art After creating a space for people to gather and get support, the Moseley Muslim Community Association owns a fully restored facility in what was a building at risk. This is a story about how a new community, having migrated to the UK from east Africa and south-east Asia in the 1970s, found their feet and created a space for people to gather and get support. It finally resulted in them owning a fully restored heritage community facility. Birmingham has one of the most ethnically diverse communities in Europe. Balsall Heath is also one of the most deprived areas in the country. Despite the influx of many migrants into the city, nothing had been prepared to give a home to a strong nucleus of Muslims forming communities in the district. In 1978, four dedicated individuals established the Birmingham-based Muslim Association, which operated from several temporary spaces, including the Moseley School of Art. Javed Arain and Illyas Shaikh are still trustees of the organisation. By the 1980s there was a need for a larger meeting place, a venue that could encompass social and cultural activities and be attractive to younger people. In 1984 the Moseley Muslim Community Association (MMCA) raised the funds to buy the Grade II* listed former art school from Birmingham City Council. The building had finally closed in 1981. Over the next three years it fell into disrepair, with the basement being flooded with a metre of water. ‘Lots of people were against the purchase as the building was in a derelict state,’ says trustee Illyas Shaikh. ‘Sections of the roof had already come down, significant sections of the woodwork had wet rot and later dry rot set in.We had an annexe at the back, where we were teaching our kids, and we didn’t have enough money to renovate, so we started fundraising.’ Relying solely on fundraising, charity and free labour, the MMCA started a slow and expensive repair programme. Fundraising became a nationwide activity, some individuals sacrificing their regular employment to work for the community based at the art school. For over 30 years MMCA worked hard to establish the building as a community centre. At its peak, the association welcomed over 8,000 visitors annually, including the master of Qawwali (a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing), Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who performed at a classical concert.The range of activities included education, sports, concerts and summer fetes. Mothers taught cookery and home-based handicrafts, and youngsters were encouraged in sport and language skills. Foreign ministers held meetings in the building. In the 1990s it served as a refugee integration centre for Afghans, Iranians, Iraqis and Bosnians, providing a welcoming The association’s summer school in the 1980s (Photo: Moseley Muslim Community Association)
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