The hottest ticket in town was the reopening of the revamped Birmingham Museum and Art gallery. When I saw the pictures on Instagram of the great and the good of Birmingham at the Museum’s re-opening celebration then I knew I must visit and see the changes myself. The celebrations were followed by the official opening which showed the excitement in the City about this much loved institution. People were worried that any opening may face significant delays, after the recent publicity about the problems with the Birmingham City Council. Fortunately the refurbishment of BMAG as it is affectionately known went ahead and the museum opened again on the 25th October 2024 having closed in 2019, although there was a brief reopening for the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
A great deal of work has taken place behind the scenes in renovating the museum. Slowly the reopening happened in stages. First there was an art display on Victorian Radicals at the Gas street gallery. This celebrates the artwork from the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. I had visited the virtual reality installation In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats in the summer of 2024. This took place in the Waterhall in August. However my last visit to see the City centre musuem was in 2019.
The entrance to BMAG is from Chamberlain square and here I bumped into a friend, Stephen Lowe, on the entrance steps. As someone who works at BMAG, Stephen gave me a quick recap of what was happening and how the next phases of reopening will happen. We climbed the steps and entered the round room of BMAG. There I was greeted by Sir Jacob Epstein’s Lucifer. This imposing statue has a menacing stance but still looks magnificent with the outstretched wings and the hands reaching out towards you. You cannot do anything but meet the eyes and then quickly look away! The walls around the room have many new pictures from before. I have a picture from 2012 which shows the difference in approach over a decade with the changing styles of artwork being displayed. Steve pulled me over to view Joe Lycett’s The Mona Lisa Scott-Lee painting which is a mimic of the famous de Vinci picture. I love the round room so spent some time there before entering the Made in Birmingham display room.
The upper veranda featured the Deviance & Difference display that was curated by a good friend Osman Yousefzada. Osman had organised for artwork by graduates from Birmingham City University’s (BCU) School of Art, to be arranged alongside items from Birmingham’s art collection. There were displays from the following artists, Francis Bacon, Donald Rodney and Barbara Hepworth. I was pleased to see the Queen Victoria statues that were once part of a re-imagining of the Queen Victoria Statue by Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke. Originally, the five statues of Queen Victoria were placed in a boat. This was then joined with the oringial Queen Victoria statue in Victoria square. This public art was on display during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Festival. Hew Lock donated the 5 mini statues to Birmingham Museum and I had a chance to see them up close when I visited the BMAG collections facility last year.
There was so much to see in the Made in Birmingham section, and highlights included the HP factory sign, contributions from local school children and models of what Birmingham may have looked like if various civic projects had gone ahead. ‘Made in Birmingham’ is a snapshot of how the city rose to prominence and highlights people and places using different iconic objects which are distinctly Birmingham made. Overlooking the hall is a large impressive neon sign of Made in Birmingham. I was thinking of a bite to eat in the Edwardian Tea rooms but as my picture shows, this is as popular as it was before closure. Arriving just before opening is required to beat the crowds.
The first floor of the museum is open and there are several themed rooms to visit. The first encounter was the Modern Muse by Arpita Shah. This is a corridor of compelling pictures of young South Asian women from Birmingham and the West Midlands. The aim is to celebrate their identities and experiences of living in the West Midlands. My background is dentistry and whilst I appreciate the approach and the pictures, I would wish to have seen more young professional young women displayed in this corridor from the demographic being portrayed. Maybe there will be a continuation of the project that was commissioned by Grain projects.
I missed the Pixel Studio which is the new digital gallery and activity space as I was captivated by the display that celebrated the life and work of Birmingham-born poet, Benjamin Zephaniah (958 – 2023). The picture by Pogus Caesar captures Benjamin so well and I stood around taking pictures of people who were passing through with the reflections on the wall.
There are two new galleries named the Wild City which highlights nature in the City of Birmingham. These are designed primarily for interaction with children and families but the stories of nature are for everyone to enjoy.
Then that was the end of the tour. The Victorian Radicals exhibition that highlights the paintings and art work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood has to be pre-booked. I will be returning to view the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition later this month. So what did I think? I was so pleased to be able to visit the museum again and even though it was only one floor, seeing old familiar rooms and new artwork was very rewarding. I look forward to more rooms being opened in the future.
You may wish to see my previous adventures when visiting BMAG
