I recently received an email from Matt, who first visited Digbeth a year ago, falling in love with the place instantly (it’s hard not to – I’m sure our readers would agree!). One year on, he has moved into a flat in Digbeth and will be opening a shop soon:
PROVIDE is a new shop opening at the Custard Factory in September 2012. We are committed to showcasing independent clothing and magazines as well as books and artwork that will inform and inspire. I’ve done a small run of Digbeth tees to nail my colours to the mast from the off (see image)!
To coincide with our opening party on September 29 we are producing a free newspaper filled with art, design and writing to celebrate and promote what is happening in our neighbourhood. The aim is to provide a platform for local people to share whatever they want, and as such we are currently looking for Digbeth-related contributions of:
• fine art • illustrations • interviews • opinons • photography (individual images and series) • poetry • prose • poster design • street art
We are keen to have a wide range of local contributors and viewpoints, especially from long-term residents who were here before it was cool!
We will be printing around 500 copies of the newspaper and they will be given away for free. Submissions should be sent no later than Wednesday, 1 August 2012. Any work received after this deadline will be considered for issue two of the PROVIDE paper.
For more information, including how to get in touch with Matt and the team at PROVIDE, please see the flyer below. You can also visit the Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, or visit the website (which will be launching in August).
Well done for Matt! Glad to see that googling “Provide Digbeth” you come out 1st. Keep up the good work.
Hey, it’s good to see the empty shops in Digbeth being filled with new and interesting looking shops
. I will have to get some Digbeth related art on the go! 
Look forward to checking it out next time I’m down.