The Custard Factory is an arts and media centre located in Birmingham. It is in Digbeth, about a half-mile from the city centre.
It is set in 5 acres (20,000 m²) of riverside factories, originally constructed by Sir Alfred Bird, the inventor of instant custard. At one time, a thousand people worked at the factory, making Bird's Custard. After the company's departure, the buildings were redeveloped in 1990.
Phase one is now home to a community of 500 artists and small creative enterprises. There are studio workshops, a café, retro antique shops, meeting rooms, dance studios, holistic therapy rooms, an art gallery in the foyer, an alternative record shop, intricate fountains and sculpture (a huge iron dragon crawls up the exterior of the Medicine Bar) and a central pool area which is sometimes emptied to allow for dance music events.
The Medicine Bar has provided a stage for many musicians, DJ's and rappers., and the 'Air' nightclub.
The second phase, completed in 2002, is focussed on new media & media businesses. It includes a hundred studio/offices, a ring of lakeside shops, galleries and restaurants plus the Green Man, a 40ft-high (12m) sculpture built to continue the history of the Green men of Birmingham.
External links
Custard Factory site
