This might be the closest you ever come to stepping inside a bank’s vaults without robbing one. Step inside the Birmingham Municipal Bank’s former safe deposit facility (containing more than 4,000 safe deposit boxes), with the brand-new National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported project, ‘Unlocking the Vaults’.
Set within The Exchange, the exhibition (currently running until November 7, 2026) reconnects the building—which is now the University of Birmingham’s city-centre home—with its past life as the Bank’s head office. You can hear from former employees, explore original records, and discover personal experiences.
How did it come about?
Drawing on archives, objects and oral histories held at the Library of Birmingham, a volunteer research group has spent two years researching over 100 years of Birmingham history to uncover new perspectives on the Bank and the local people connected to it.
What will I discover at the Birmingham Municipal Bank?
You will hear oral histories from former employees, customers, and community participants; see original Birmingham Municipal Bank records, artefacts, and photographs; explore the social and financial history of the Bank; and share your own reflections and ideas as part of the exhibition.
The free exhibition also features ‘Petticoats Reloaded’, a project by artist Elly Clarke that brings together oral histories recorded in 2013 with new 2025 recordings. Alongside, the exhibition showcases ‘Thrift Radiates Happiness’, a project developed with photographer Jo Gane through collaborations with community groups.
You can visit ‘Unlocking the Vaults’ at the Exchange from Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm, for free.
