Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (UK)

In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats is now open at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery! Step back into 1989 in the UK’s biggest immersive VR experience.

This is the closest you can get to a time machine as you relive the anticipation, the trepidation, the excitement, and the euphoria, that was Acid House!

Open until Sunday 1 September. Tickets are booking fast so make sure you don’t miss out.

For more information and to book your tickets: https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/events/in-pursuit-of-repetitive-beats

Beautiful Pitcher (c 1905) designed by Edmund Elton currently on display in the Victorian Radicals exhibition.

Sir Edmund Elton started his ceramics journey by setting up a kiln in his garden at Clevedon Court in Somerset and was taught pottery by a local flower-pot maker. Within 15 months Elton and his gardener, George Masters, were showcasing their work internationally and supplying London showrooms. In 1902, he developed his famous metallic crackle glaze using gold and platinum leaf on a slip-covered body. Edmund Elton died on this day (17 July) in 1920.

Callout! We're looking for people across the city to tell us their experience of food growing up in the city, to capture the changing food habits and behaviours of Birmingham. This work will be added to our archive and used in conjunction with Birmingham City Council Public Health for research purposes.

To find out more or to submit your interest in taking part in an oral history interview please read our short blog: https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/stories/callout-changing-food-habits-in-birmingham

Photo by Karen Hull. © Birmingham Museums Trust.

Join us for an evening of Radical Jazz in the Gas Hall!

Explore the Victorian Radicals exhibition after hours on Friday 19 July, with accompanying performances by Val Wiseman and the Dave Newton Trio as part of the 40th Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival. This is a rare opportunity to experience some of the UK’s finest jazz performers in a unique setting.

Pre-booking is essential.

Find out more and book here: https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/events/radical-jazz

The UK’s biggest immersive VR experience is coming to Birmingham very soon!

In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats is a euphoric, interactive VR adventure that will transport you to 1989 during the days of the Acid House movement. It will be at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery from 19th July - 1st Sept. We promise you that you won’t want to miss this!

For more information and to book your tickets: https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/events/in-pursuit-of-repetitive-beats

Nearly 30,000 visitors have already enjoyed Victorian Radicals, and the good news is there’s plenty of time for you to make sure that you don’t miss out!

Discover the story of the Pre-Raphaelites – Britain’s first modern art movement – and their influence on artists and makers well into the 20th century. The exhibition also highlights the role played by female artists and how Birmingham became the centre of the Arts and Crafts movement. The Guardian called it a "riveting rethink for the trippy, cosplaying pre-Raphaelites".

Don’t miss your chance to see the exhibition everybody is talking about!

Find out more and book here: https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/exhibitions/victorian-radicals

The Lost Child by Arthur Hughes, 1866. The girl looks to be asleep as her dad gently lifts her into his arms. It's dark and she has been lost in the wood for hours. Her dad has been searching with his lantern, so scared he wouldn't find her. We love a happy ending. Happy Father's Day!

Building the Rick by George Clausen, 1907, shown with preparatory studies. There is a sketch of the scene and a study of a boy and horse - spot them in the background of the finished artwork.

We're pleased to announce our collaboration with Ikon Gallery on the ‘Reframing the Reproductive Object’ workshop on the 28th June, as part of Creative Health at Ikon. Join Sally Butcher, artist-in-residence at Ikon, and Sophie Beckett, Public Health Research Officer at Birmingham Museums Trust, to challenge and re-frame narratives around parenthood and feeding practices, using museum objects as stimuli and in creative practice.

Free workshop, booking essential.
https://www.ikon-gallery.org/event/re-framing-the-reproductive-object

Please feel free to bring in old baby bottles, pumps and cups to use in the workshop activities.

This work contributes to the Birmingham City Council Public Health creative health strategy, developed in collaboration with cultural institutions across the city.

The UK’s biggest immersive VR experience is coming to Birmingham!

In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats is a euphoric, interactive VR adventure that will transport you to 1989 during the days of the Acid House movement. It will be at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery from 19th July - 1st Sept.

For more information and to book your tickets:
https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/events/in-pursuit-of-repetitive-beats

Portrait Of A Reflective Lady, 1887 by Arthur Joseph Gaskin who died on this day 4th June 1928. Gaskin was born in Birmingham in 1862, the son of a decorator, and he studied at the Birmingham School of Art and went on to teach there.

Join us for a series of special events in partnership with Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Normally to be found tucked away in their headquarters at the back of Birmingham Hippodrome, or on tour around the UK and beyond, the amazingly talented dancers and musicians of Birmingham Royal Ballet are one of the artistic gems of the City’s cultural scene.

From 26 June to 2 July, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery will be welcoming the Company to the Waterhall for a short residency. There will be an exhibition and demonstrations, chances to watch and chances to join in dance classes, performances, and practical workshops offering an introduction to making an iconic ballet tutu.

Pre-booking is essential for these events. These events are part of

For out more and book here: https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/birmingham-museum-and-art-gallery/birmingham-royal-ballet-at-the-museum

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (UK) The Gas Hall is open for the Victorian Radicals exhibition from Wednesday to Sunday, 10am-5pm.

The main museum and art gallery building is closed following maintenance work.

This month marks the 150th birthday of Harold Harvey, born in Penzance on 20th May 1874. Here is The Critics, 1922 from Birmingham's collection. It is a little scary to wonder just what these critics are saying! If you're luck enough to be near Penzance this summer go to see The Exceptional Harold Harvey exhibition at Penlee House Gallery & Museum - it is on until 29th September.

The Descent of the Holy Ghost by Sandro Botticelli, 1495-1505. It is also known as Pentecost. If you've seen this in real life you'll know that it is an impressively sized artwork, but despite the large dimensions (over 2m high and almost 2.3m wide), it is actually a fragment of what was once a much larger altarpiece, originally around 4.6m x 2.9m. We're very lucky to have it, it came into Birmingham's collection thanks to the Art Fund in 1959.

Happy birthday Dante Gabriel Rossetti, born on this day 12 May 1828.

Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1881. This is believed to be Rossetti's eighth and final version of Proserpine.

The Ascension by Edward Burne-Jones, 1884. Stained glass design for St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham.

Frederick Sandys was born on this day May 1st 1829, so we're adding to the magic of May Day with his Morgan-le-Fay, 1864.

See it in the Victorian Radicals exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

The May Queen by Birmingham artist William John Wainwright, 1890.

Happy birthday to David Cox. He was born in Birmingham on 29th April in 1793. He is considered one of the greatest English landscape painters.

The Taming of the Shrew by John Gilbert, 1861. The play by William Shakespeare is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592.

Shakespeare was baptised on this day 26th April 1564 at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. We don't actually know his day of birth, but the 23rd April date that is often given as his birthday is probably a good guess.

St Mark the Evangelist by Edward Burne-Jones. The drawing dates to 1874 and the stained glass was made in 1883.

You can see the stained glass in the Victorian Radicals exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

These three artworks show Aston Park in 1804. The artist Charles Barber (1784-1854) was the son of Joseph Barber, Birmingham's first drawing master. He studied at his father's art school and went on to be a drawing master himself. He studied with Birmingham artist David Cox and they became lifelong friends.

St. George's Day! Saint George of Merry England, attributed to Birmingham artist Fred Mason. It comes from a bound presentation book of drawings by members of the Birmingham School of Art presented to the headmaster and artist E R Taylor in 1903, the year of his retirement.

Emerging Brum artists 🎨

Enter the city's inaugural art competition Birmingham Creates: The Open with the chance to exhibit in the city centre, plus cash prizes (£2000 for first place) and portfolio reviews for winners

Please submit work by 5th May: https://colmorebusinessdistrict.com/projects/birmingham-creates-the-open/