24-5th July

GULP will launch Taste the Jewellery Quarter – a new multi-sensory dining experience that asks a curious question: What does the Jewellery Quarter taste, smell, sound, feel and look like?

Could it taste of custard, inspired by the story of Alfie Bird buried in nearby Key Hill Cemetery? Might it smell of lavender drifting through St Paul's Square on a summer afternoon? Could its soundtrack be the rhythmic tinkering of jewellers at their benches, punctuated by the occasional cry of seagulls overhead?

These are the kinds of questions that have shaped this project.

Over the recent months I've been exploring the Jewellery Quarter through sensory walks, conversations, research and public contributions, gathering together the smells, sounds, textures, memories and stories that make this neighbourhood so distinctive. Along the way I've collaborated with specialists in local history, scent and sound to help translate these experiences into something edible, immersive and unexpected.

The result is Taste the Jewellery Quarter – an evening of storytelling through food, design and sensory exploration that invites guests to experience Birmingham's most iconic neighbourhood through all five senses.

There are two ways to experience it:

Friday 24 July, 7.00 - 9.00pm
Taste the Jewellery Quarter – Dining Experience
An immersive evening at GULP exploring the sensory identity of the JQ through a specially designed dining experience.

Saturday 25 July, 5.30pm - 8.30pm
Taste the Jewellery Quarter – Sensory Walk & Dining Experience
A guided sensory walk through the Jewellery Quarter before returning to GULP for dinner inspired by everything we've discovered along the way.

Whether you're a local resident, food lover, visitor, creative, or simply curious about seeing Birmingham from a different perspective, I'd love for you to join us.

https://www.kayewinwood.com/events-gulp

Sunday 7 June, 10.30am - 12.30pm

This public event was part of Sensing the JQ.

Beginning with a guided silent sound walk through the Jewellery Quarter with musician Paul Leam Walker, participants moved quietly through the streets, tuning into the rhythms and overlooked sounds of the area. By removing the pressure to talk, the walk creates space to really notice the layering of sound and atmospheres that often pass us by in everyday life.

After the walk, we headed back to GULP for refreshments and share what we heard.

Sensing the JQ is supported by a JQ Common Room Microgrant and BCC Enterprise Zone.

A sensory walk with artist Kaye Winwood, using air drying clay to capture textures, markings and place names around the JQ.
Forming shapes for printing and casting.

Open Studio: Sensing the JQ

An informal open studio to can showcase more about Sensing the JQ, a new sensory research project exploring the unique character of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter — supported by a JQ Commons Microgrant.

An opportunity to tell us what you think the JQ smells, tastes, sounds, feels, and looks like!

Sensing the JQ is led by Kaye Winwood (artist and founder of GULP), with support and insight from Shivaun Caffrey (Lecturer, UCB), students from UCB, and Dr. Jieling Xiao (leading expert on sensory experiences, smellscapes and soundscapes, BCU).

The team were on hand to share ideas — along with tastes and smells — that reveal how you can experience the Jewellery Quarter in new and unexpected ways.

The first event in Sensing the JQ, this participatory workshop invited participants to experience the JQ in a new way – not just through sight and sound, but by noticing its smells, both past and present. Together we walked, sniffed, recorded, and discussed how scent shapes our connection to place.

The walk was co-led by Dr Jieling Xiao (Birmingham City University), a leading expert in sensory experiences, who will share insights into the science and artistry of smell in urban environments. Her research on smellscapes and soundscapes explores from a spatial design perspective with a focus on human experiences and wellbeing in everyday living. She is the creator of the “sensing beyond the Roundhouse” sensory trail and the “sensing around the Anglesey Column” trail.  

The findings from this and other sensory workshops will help shape a bespoke sensory dining experience at GULP in 2026

Dr Jieling Xiao is an Associate Professor in Architecture and Sensory Environments at Birmingham City University. Her works focuses around smellscapes and soundscapes, how these more-than-vision dimensions influence the quality of space, experience and wellbeing.

She is the author of the book "Scented Spaces: Creating smellscpaes in architecture and artistic practices" (Routledge, 2026), editor of the research topic on "Smells, wellbeing and the built environment" (Frontiers, 2022) and creator of the sensory trails "Sensing beyond the roundhouse" and "Sensing the Anglesey Column". She is also the founder of the Smellscape Catalogue: www.smellscapecatalogue.com

Jeiling’s recent work is focusing on the concept of smellscape ecology and access to fresh air.

Paul Liam Walker is a composer based in the UK.

His instrumental music features a range of genres combining music and field recordings creating atmospheric soundscapes. His music has received airplay on BBC Upload and BBC Sounds. 

Walker uses a portable recorder to capture sounds and create atmospheric soundscapes combining the field recordings with synthesisers, pads, guitar and piano. The field recordings are both natural sound and human-generated sound featuring ocean waves, rain, cicadas, birdsong, traffic, human footsteps, background noise and airplane cabin noise. 

'There is plenty to admire in Walker's play with the border between found, recorded sound and music' - A Closer Listen

Dr Josie Wall is an archaeologist and has worked in the Jewellery Quarter for 10 years including at the Coffin Works Museum and Jewellery Quarter Cemeteries Project and loves giving guided tours.

Her heritage expertise includes the industrial and building history of the area, as well as stories of people who lived, worked, died or were buried in the Jewellery Quarter.