The Barber Institute of Fine Arts’ Post

Empowering research is at the heart of what we do. 📚 We’ve commissioned three new essays looking deeper into Claudette Johnson’s artwork – read them online now. Dr Gregory Salter considers Johnson’s depictions of young Black men and explores what they say about masculinity. 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7BSMZT5 Dr Rita Gayle suggests that Johnson embodies a Black British aesthetic of the 20th and 21st centuries. 👉https://lnkd.in/e7KzuNNv Dr Deniz Sözen looks at the connections between Johnson’s work and the wider context of the Barber and our collection. 👉https://lnkd.in/egBMCeba 💙 'Claudette Johnson: Darker Than Blue' runs until 15 September 📷 Simon Hadley

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Did you catch us in the press? Our next major exhibition, ‘Scent and the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites’ is the talk of the town, after a full feature in The Guardian / The Observer Magazine, artnet and The Telegraph 🗞️The Observer: https://lnkd.in/gA9NTJUy 🗞️Artnet: https://lnkd.in/epPAVvT2 🗞️The Telegraph: https://lnkd.in/em2S89jF 📅 The exciting new show will open on 11 October and has already captured the press’s imagination - as it will provide the unique opportunity to smell the scents from two key paintings. This multi-sensory approach is based on the research of Dr Christina Bradstreet, the curator and author of Scented Visions: Smell in Art, 1850-1914, who notes that “19th-century depictions of scent have been ‘right under our noses’, despite the absence of attention to smell within art-historical scholarship”. 🌈The (optional) scent experience will bring to life ‘The Blind Girl’ by John Everett Millais and ‘A Saint of the Eastern Church’ by Simeon Solomon, and has been developed in collaboration with storytelling art curators Artphilia and Puig’s AirParfum olfactory technology. [IDs: 1. A clipping of a Guardian article, with the title "Want to smell the pre-Raphaelites? UK gallery to use scent alongside paintings" with an artwork of an alter boy below. 2. A clipping of a Guardian article with the introduction "An exhibition at Birmingham's Barber Institute brings an extra dimension to the art by creating the aromas of the English countryside and a Russian church". 3.A clipping of an artnet article with the title "A show of Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces Invites You to Smell Them, Too" and subheading "Like the Pre-Raphaelites, the show hopes to evoke a sensual experience" with an artwork below.] #PreRaphaelite #Millais #Exhibition

Barber Takeover | Stuart Hall Archive Project – Conjunctures 📅 Friday 6 September, 12noon – 5pm 📌 Free, Drop-in Professor Patricia Noxolo and Dr Rita Gayle of the Stuart Hall Archive Project will be hosting a takeover day at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts to display, share and discuss their ongoing work for the project. The Stuart Hall Archive Project is a major multi-disciplinary research project at the University of Birmingham, that will expand public understanding and engagement with the work of the celebrated cultural theorist, Professor Stuart Hall. Come along and: 📽 Gain context and insight into Stuart Halls’ life and work through short films which will play on a loop in the Lecture Theatre 💬 Hear directly from the project organisers through an informal in-conversation in the Lecture Theatre (2 ­– 3pm) 📚 Discover more about the archive project at the information desk. ☕ Network and discuss ideas over free refreshments, including teas, coffees, and light nibbles courtesy of Sunrise Bakery.

We’re excited to welcome Tara Johnston-Comerford to the team as our new Head of Learning and Engagement (Family Leave Cover) 🙌 Tara joins us from United By 2022 where she led the Community Engagement Programme, supporting the legacy of the Commonwealth Games across the West Midlands. Tara has previously worked at some of the region's biggest arts organisations - including the Royal Shakespeare Company and Warwick Arts Centre. Some highlights have included: 🎨 Working on the annual Canley Parade with the community procession parading costumes and banners which they co-created with artists. 📚 Creating a new primary school offer in collaboration with Coventry schools, which included pupils' works being shown in the Mead Gallery. 💛 Designing the 'Making Space' with neurodivergent artist collective, Art Riot Tara’s a qualified teacher with a background in lecturing in West Midlands colleges, a School Governor and a recent alum of Clore Emerging Leaders programme. She’s also a proud lifelong Brummie and the owner of a sassy, 14-year-old Staffie called Meg. 

🎉Thank you to everyone who came to our launch party yesterday – it was amazing to share our new exhibitions with their first audiences and show off our refurbished Lady Barber gallery. We open our galleries to everyone tomorrow, Saturday 22 June – so if you didn’t have weekend plans, now you do! To get you excited, here is a preview of our renewed gallery space, hosting the ‘Claudette Johnson: Darker Than Blue’ exhibition – running until 15 September, it is not one to miss.✨ 📷 Tegen Kimbley #ClaudetteJohnson #DarkerThanBlue [Image descriptions: 1. A crowded gallery space with wooden parquet flooring and white walls. Two visitors are seated and the rest standing and looking at the artwork on the walls. A drawing of a Black man wearing blue is visible between two figures. 2. A crowded gallery space with wooden parquet flooring and white walls. Two people are seated while others gather round in discussion, several people are in the background.]

LAST CHANCE TO APPLY Not long left now to apply for an exciting role leading our Learning and Engagement department through a period of change! The year-long position will involve devising and delivering innovative L&E events, while also planning the future direction of the programme as we enter our second closure period in 2025/26. Head of Learning and Engagement (Maternity cover) - Full-time - Fixed term, 1 year up to August 2025 - Ideal start date: Monday 29 July - Salary: As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is £34,980. - Application deadline: Sunday 2 June, 11.59pm 🔗Apply now: https://lnkd.in/epZNCuF9

🚨 WE’RE HIRING 🚨 We are looking for an inspiring, strategic person to lead our creative and innovative Learning and Engagement team through a period of exciting change! The successful candidate will support the continuation and development of our L&E programmes, which are at the heart of the Barber’s mission to engage people with art and music. Head of Learning and Engagement (Maternity cover) - Full-time - Fixed term, 1 year up to August 2025 - Ideal start date: Monday 29 July - Salary: As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is £34,980. - Application deadline: Sunday 2 June, 11.59pm 🔗Sound like you? Find out more and apply: https://lnkd.in/epZNCuF9 🤝 Please share this opportunity with your networks. [Image description: A staff member and two other adults lean over an outdoor table where a child is taking part in a craft activity. White text reads 'WE'RE HIRING'] #ArtsJobs #LearningAndEngagement #MuseumJobs #GalleryJobs #CreativeCareers #Hiring