Instead of happening all at once, we’ve seen the gradual reopening of Birmingham Museum & Art to the public since 2024. Next up—joining the museum’s iconic Round Room and two new areas, Wild City and Pixel Studio—is the newly refurbished history galleries tomorrow (Friday, May 2, 2025).
Birmingham: Its People, Its History is a permanent exhibition covering an area of over 850 square metres, and significantly increases the publicly accessible gallery space. Bringing Birmingham’s history to life through unique objects and fascinating people, it tells the story of Birmingham from its beginnings as a small medieval settlement to becoming a globally significant, modern city.
Visitors can explore the history of the city by travelling back in time to Birmingham’s medieval beginnings, through the world of the 18th century town, the grandeur and squalor of Victorian Birmingham, to the city’s suburban expansion and the roles played by the people of Birmingham in two World Wars.
Toby Watley, Director of Collections & Estate at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “We are thrilled to be reopening our newly refurbished Birmingham history galleries, a significant step in enabling us to double the gallery spaces accessible to the public since the museum reopened in October.
“This expansion allows us to share more of Birmingham’s rich history with our visitors and we welcome feedback on how we can further improve these galleries so they better reflect the city’s multi-faceted stories. We look forward to continuing our phased reopening to make even more of our spaces and collections accessible to the public in the coming weeks and months.”
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is open from Wednesday to Sunday, between 10 am and 5 pm, and free to visit.
What other galleries are open at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery?
The Industrial Gallery
The Industrial Gallery reopens with a new ‘Made in Birmingham’ display, featuring people who were born here, or came here, and made the city their home–and includes the HP Sauce factory sign, Ginny Lemon costume and Benjamin Zephaniah’s typewriter. The Industrial Gallery Balcony will also present ‘Deviance & Difference’, a show curated by internationally acclaimed artist Osman Yousefzada, featuring artworks by BCU School of Art graduates, alongside works by Francis Bacon, Donald Rodney and Barbara Hepworth.
The Round Room
The Round Room is the museum’s front room and has been a showcase for the city’s art collection for almost 150 years. The new display offers a fresh perspective- exploring how artists from David Cox to Jittish Kallat, Joan Eardley to Cold War Steve, have brought their own fresh take to places that are meaningful to them. It’s also a chance to enjoy the beautiful Round Room architecture, with Jacob Epstein’s Lucifer sculpture back on display.
The Bridge Gallery
A changing display area is planned for the long gallery bridging the space between the original museum and the extension wing. This space will focus on displays about people and places in the city. Modern Muse by Arpita Shah is a series of portraits of South Asian women who live and/or work in Birmingham and the West Midlands. The display also features Birmingham Museums’ important miniature portrait of Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal) – the Taj Mahal was built as her tomb – as well as modern miniatures in the same style.
Wild City
Wild City opens two new galleries dedicated to children and families, telling stories about nature in the city. Key objects include the famous portrait of the Official Rat Catcher to the City of Birmingham by Arthur Charles Shorthouse (1870-1953), children’s artworks on the walls and a small soft play and coffee area.
Pixel Studio
Pixel Studio, a new digital gallery and activity space, will host screenings of digital work and immersive experiences created by artists from across the region. Two films will be on display to start with. The Tiny Spark by Pogus Caesar reimagines the 1985 Handsworth Riots and features poetry from Benjamin Zephaniah; and Excerpt by Birmingham-based filmmaker Mixed Milk, which utilises objects from the museum’s collection. These are repeated throughout the day, while the Pixel Studio will also host a range of digital activities, games and workshops.
The Tearoom
A changing display space around creativity and the city is set just before the entrance to The Tearoom. The first display in this space is work by Curtis Holder, who won Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year in 2020 and was commissioned to draw Birmingham Royal Ballet’s director, Carlos Acosta. The display features the Carlos Acosta drawing as well as Holder’s working sketches, and drawings of other familiar figures.