Birmingham Museums Trust

💭 What does Birmingham need and want from its museums now and in the future? This was the bold question Birmingham Museums Trust set out to answer by launching the UK’s first-ever Citizens’ Jury in a museum setting — a ground-breaking step towards reshaping how museums connect with and represent their communities as part of the wider transformation of Birmingham Museums Trust. In August 2024, thousands of Birmingham residents received an invitation to be part of this historic initiative. The result? Powerful recommendations from the Jury that highlight the need for museums to be proud of their people, celebrate what makes Birmingham unique, and represent the voices of local communities loud and clear. Last night, Birmingham Museums Trust were presented with the Citizens’ Jury recommendations at a special event at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum. Next steps? A deeper dialogue with Jurors in February and more details including a full response in March. Watch the video to find out more This pioneering initiative has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery Players. 🎉 #BirminghamMuseums #CitizensJury #CommunityVoices #Brum #Birmingham #FutureofMuseums #LayingTheFoundations The National Lottery Heritage Fund Shared Future CIC DemocracyNext  Rob Lewis Sara Wajid Zak Mensah Toby Watley Kingston Myles Rowena Dean Charlotte Holmes

We are excited to announce that from Saturday 14 June, The Space Vault exhibition will be on display at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum!   The Space Vault Exhibition contains rare and historic objects brought back to Earth from the lunar surface, low-Earth orbit and outer space, from NASA’s Apollo missions and the Soviet space era, to the American and Russian space shuttle programmes, International Space Station and SpaceX.    Find out more about The Space Vault Exhibition at Thinktank: https://lnkd.in/eEMKv94a #TheSpaceVault Image credit: The Space Vault Exhibition Limited

Happy 1 Year Zooniversary to our Documentation Detectives! 🎉 The Dynamic Collections programme’s online project, Documentation Detectives, was launched in March 2024. Dynamic Collections aims to increase collections access and uncover new ways to work with the collections in participation with the people of Birmingham, UK and beyond. As we celebrate this programme strand turning one, we’re looking back at some of the successes and highlights of the project so far. https://lnkd.in/ex7QT5CT

We are very pleased to have won the Best Creative Exhibition award with East City Films for In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats! A huge congratulations also to all of the finalists- your exhibitions are inspiring, and we’re proud to be in such good company!

Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black and White - Prints from the Rembrandt House Museum is officially open! 🎉 This exhibition, coorganised by American Federation of Arts and Museum Rembrandthuis, brings together exquisite etchings, highlighting the full range of Rembrandt’s output along with those he influenced across the centuries. On Tuesday, we were pleased to welcome guests to a special private view of the exhibition, including the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and members of our Citizen's Jury. Thank you to all of those who could join us in celebrating the launch of our new exhibition, and we look forward to seeing visitors attend the exhibition over the next 3 months! 📷Anne-Marie Hayes

'Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black and White – Prints from the Rembrandt House Museum' opens at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery tomorrow, Thursday 6 March. It is the first time that the artist’s prints have been brought out of the Netherlands as a collection, and is the only opportunity to see the exhibition in the UK. Co-organised by the American Federation of Arts and the Rembrandt House Museum, the exhibition will be on display until 1 June 2025. Birmingham Museums Trust Full story: https://lnkd.in/gymnuhiF

Have you visited the 'Made in Birmingham' exhibition in our Industrial Gallery at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery? ‘Made in Birmingham’ explores some of the characteristics of Birmingham and what it means to be shaped by this city. Whether you’re a lifelong resident or a passing visitor, everyone has an opinion on Birmingham. This display looks beyond the stereotypes to examine the real Birmingham – sometimes wonderful, sometimes frustrating, and with a tendency to knock everything down and start again. This video is a time-lapse of the exhibition installation process.

As part of the English Civic Museums Network (ECMN), Birmingham Museums Trust welcomes the government’s announcement of £20m Museums Renewal Fund investment to support local museums. Our co-CEOs Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah play an active part in the ECMN Steering Group and on the announcement have said: "This is an incredible moment for local museums and presents a huge opportunity for several organisations to bolster their resilience in a challenging climate." ECMN has said: “On behalf of England’s regional museum sector, the English Civic Museums Network welcomes the Government’s unprecedented announcement of £20m investment through the Museums Renewal Fund to support regional museums. ECMN is delighted that the Government has recognised the compelling case for investment in local museums as part of its growth agenda. This critical funding will help to stabilise the sector which has seen real terms reductions in funding of almost 40% over the last decade. In an economic landscape that remains challenging this vital support will help to prevent closures and enable us to better serve our communities across England. “Civic museums are a fundamental part of England’s cultural, creative and social fabric and are a catalyst for growth on all our high streets, generating £3 of economic output for every £1 in funding they receive. We care for phenomenal internationally significant collections spanning art and archaeology to natural science and industrial heritage. These collections and the work we do ignite the imaginations of millions of children and young people every year, nurture home-grown talent, and help people to make connections with each other and the world around them. In delivering these extraordinary cultural experiences, civic museums attract people, businesses and investment, helping our towns and cities to thrive. “ECMN looks forward to working with Government and Arts Council England to harness the innovation, adaptability and resilience of our sector and to ensure that civic museums have a sustainable role in the regeneration of our towns and cities and in the cultural lives of our communities for generations to come.” You can read more information about this important moment in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport press release: https://lnkd.in/eTUNu4As

How can the cultural sector innovate and pivot in order to thrive in these challenging times? In the latest Skip the Queue podcast, our Co-CEO Zak Mensah, along with Amy Akino-Wittering (Head of Operations & Commercial at Victoria and Albert Museum) and Paul Sapwell (CEO of Hampshire Cultural Trust) discuss museums and culture sector challenges alongside having a commercial mindset and improving the user experience. https://lnkd.in/eTitkAcK

What can heritage teach us about healthy behaviours and food practices over time? Listen to Public Health Research Officer Sophie Beckett discuss the Food and Drink Oral Histories project on BBC Radio 4. https://lnkd.in/eDZ64uYK