Today is a special day for the Birmingham Post.

It is exactly a year ago since this great newspaper entered a new era as a weekly title and we think that’s something worth celebrating.

It certainly hasn’t been easy – but then after more than 150 years as the foremost daily newspaper in the region, that was always to be expected.

Moving from publishing five editions a week to just one – with a renewed focus on our digital offer – cannot happen without major changes – changes to how we think as well as changes to how our readers think about us.

That is why for this week’s anniversary edition we decided to take a major break from tradition and hand our front page over to one of the most exciting artists in the region.

Some of you will be aware of Temper and his work while many of you will not. After spending his youth adorning the subways of the Black Country with his unique brand of graffiti art, the Wolverhampton-born artist has spent the last decade transferring his talents to canvas and he is now the most collected artist of his genre.

As well as hugely successful shows at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and London’s Banqueting House, Temper has worked for Coca Cola, Saatchi and Saatchi and has recently completed commissions for Roman Abramovich and Birmingham’s own Ozzy Osbourne.

In short, he is an artist going places and who in many ways represents the same values as the Birmingham Post – he’s innovative, modern and aspirational, he has the West Midlands running through his veins and he thrives on challenging the status quo. This week’s special front page also coincides with the unveiling of Temper’s latest creation – a £250,000 installation of seven life-size bronze figures at The Cube, the building that can be seen on the front page.

Controversial from its inception, The Cube has polarised opinion like no other building in the city’s history but like it or loathe it, the building will undoubtedly join other great Brummie icons like Spaghetti Junction, the Rotunda and the Selfridges which all enjoy their fair share of detractors but they have all played their part in putting Birmingham on the map. It is this kind of courage that has always been at the forefront of Birmingham’s success – luminaries such as Baskerville, Boulton and Watt did not transform Birmingham into the cradle of the first industrial revolution by playing it safe – and it is a quality that resonates with us at the Birmingham Post.

The newspaper is only here today because it reacted decisively to the huge changes that have swept our industry and society as a whole in recent years and we will only continue to thrive and prosper if we continue to innovate.

Over the last 12 months we have already undergone huge changes as we have adapted to publishing just one edition a week. New focus has been given to our website and daily email alerts which continue to provide the latest up to date business, news, culture and sport for thousands of readers every day while our printed edition provides the in-depth analysis and comment on the biggest stories in the region that have always been the bedrock of the Birmingham Post.

This year almost 500 people attended our first ever business awards at the ICC which will be back next year even bigger and better as an established fixture in the city’s social calendar.

And later this month, as part of our commitment to continually improving the Birmingham Post, we will be unveiling a new look magazine that will bring together the best cultural and lifestyle content from across the West Midlands.

Birmingham and the wider region face some huge challenges in the coming years but there is also much to be excited about and we hope to be at the very heart of that journey and we very much hope you will join us.