City museum announce next phase of reopening

Birmingham Museums Trust has announced the next stage in its phased reopening of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery as it shares more of the city’s collections and tells stories about Birmingham as a complex, vibrant, multicultural city. The Trust is boosting Birmingham’s part in the national story.

Several gallery spaces will re-open to the public on Thursday, 24 October 2024 at 10am, after essential maintenance work to the heating, electrics, lifts and roofing was completed on schedule across the whole Council House complex.

The Round Room Gallery, Industrial Gallery, Bridge Gallery and Edwardian Tearooms are among the gallery and visitor spaces to reopen in time for October half-term week.

The museum’s Round Room will be at the heart of the reopening with new and familiar artworks back on display surrounding Jacob Epstein’s bronze sculpture, Lucifer.

The Industrial Gallery will reopen with a new ‘Made in Birmingham’ display, which celebrates the city of a thousand trades, its self-deprecating humour, creative people and their worldwide impact.

The popular Tearooms and Shop will also reopen in October for hot drinks, a new food and drink menu and unique gift collections and collaborations with local artists and makers in the museum shop.

Due to visitor demand, the Victorian Radicals exhibition of world-famous Pre-Raphaelite art will continue in The Gas Hall until at least Christmas 2024.

The gallery spaces due to reopen in October have had extensive and sensitive flooring and roof restoration work meaning visitors will see their favourite artworks in a whole new light.

Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah, Co-CEOs at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “We know this is news that a lot of people have been waiting for and we are so happy to be able to open more of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. We can’t wait to welcome visitors again in time for October half term. It’s such an important institution for the people of Birmingham and we’ve made those people central to the new displays that you will all be able to see.

“When we re-opened the museum with ‘pop-up’ displays during the Commonwealth Games in 2022, visitors told us they loved the refresh and seeing and feeling the stories of all Birmingham people front and centre. We heard that, as well as the message that people wanted to see more of the collection, understand more about our history and needed more for families and children.”

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery will open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am until 5pm. Visitors won’t need to book a ticket and more information can be found on the website.

Photo credit: Birmingham Museums