The Minerva Apothecary Garden is a space for the wider community to come together, set alongside the Grand Union Canal, we transformed this formerly unused space in 2021 into a garden full of herbs and flowers. In 2022 in collaboration with Artist Alberta Whittle we worked with MJM Bespoke, to create The Bothy.
Developed in collaboration with women’s support organisations in the West Midlands, this garden was designed to develop knowledge around growing and healing practices and fostering connections between plants and people.
The Bothy and Minerva Garden, made in collaboration with Alberta Whittle, Digbeth, Birmingham, June 2022. Image by Patrick Dandy.
We host our weekly Minerva Garden Group for people who are in a time of crisis, in need of community support, or experience gender oppression. This group is for all women, non-binary, trans, intersex, a-gender and people who do not identify solely or primarily as men. Each week the group partake in engagement sessions that are linked to growing, cooking, and making.
These sessions always begin with us all reading the ‘Being Together at Grand Union’ document aloud, which helps us create a safe and inclusive space. This document was written collaboratively with the group, and is continually updated to reflect discussions and developments within the group, responding to needs, as and when they arise.
Over the past few years, the Minerva Garden Group has worked with a variety of artists and facilitators (Modern Clay – Mark, Joanne & Sarah), Chloe Qureshi, Kate Thompson, Rebecca Noble, Sarah Hamilton-Baker, Chloë Lund, Carolyn Morton, Kirstie Clarke, Laura Onions to develop recipes for tea, to cook (and eat) together, make artworks, and to maintain the garden space and expand it and to pilot and test a variety of products for sale online to develop their own economic sustainability.
During 2026 as the group gains confidence we will be exploring how they can share their experiences and support others through peer support work as well as they are working on a series of collaborative made artworks that explores what it means to overcome difficulty through group support and practice.
‘Handling Together’, 2023. Image courtesy of Mark Essen.
Grand Union Open Studios, Minerva Apothecary Garden, Digbeth, June 2023. Image courtesy of Grand Union.
Growing Project Harvest Celebration, Minerva Apothecary Garden, Digbeth, September 2023. Image Courtesy of Grand Union.
With referrals for participants from Anawim, SIFA, and CRISIS Skylight, we host our weekly Minerva Garden Group for people who are in a time of crisis, in need of community support, or experience gender oppression. This group is for all women, non-binary, trans, intersex, a-gender and people who do not identify solely or primarily as men. Each week the group partake in engagement sessions that are linked to growing, cooking, and making.
These sessions always begin with us all reading the ‘Being Together at Grand Union’ document aloud, which helps us create a safe and inclusive space. This document was written collaboratively the group, and is continually updated to reflect discussions and developments within the group, responding to needs, as and when they arise.
Below is a video made with the Minerva Garden Group, talking about what the Growing Project means to them and how our work in the Minerva Garden makes them feel:
Grand Union Open Studios, Minerva Apothecary Garden, Digbeth, June 2023. Image courtesy of Grand Union.
Grand Union Open Studios, Modern Clay, Digbeth, June 2023. Image courtesy of Grand Union.