Art Galleries in Birmingham
Birmingham possesses two world-class collections of art at the Barber Institute in Edgbaston and the Museum & Art Gallery on Chamberlain Square. The city also features a number of contemporary galleries that showcase established and emerging artists working in a broad range of styles and media.
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is housed in an extension to the Council House on Chamberlain Square in the Business Quarter; its facade incorporates a clock tower known as Big Brum and a double colonnade crowned by a triangular pediment with sculptural reliefs.
The art gallery contains world-class collections of Dutch, Flemish, German, Italian and Spanish baroque and renaissance Masters. There are also major works in many other styles from Impressionist to Cubist and post-Modernist to Realist.
The gallery also contains notable works by English masters such as Constable, Turner & Hogarth and a pre-Raphaelite section with the world's largest collection of works by Edward Burne-Jones.
The Print Room contains a collection of 30,000 watercolours, prints and drawings that includes works by Blake, Gainsborough and Turner.
There are spectacular displays of modern art in the Waterhall Gallery; visiting exhibitions are held in Gas Hall, formerly an open-plan municipal gas office.
The facilities include a shop, a licensed Edwardian tearoom and study areas. Admission is free.
Links: Guide Business Quarter Birmingham Museums
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, on the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham, was established in 1932 by Dame Martha Barber: the widow of the solicitor Sir Henry Barber who profited immensely from land deals during the late 19th century.
Dame Martha stipulated that the trustees could only purchase artworks of the same quality as those in the National Gallery. Consequently, the Institute contains an international collection whose canvasses span from the 13th to the 20th centuries.
There are, in particular, works by Dutch, German & French masters including Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Botticelli, Holbein & Veronese etc.
The French colourists, impressionists and post-impressionists are represented by Manet, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh & Gauguin etc.; the English collection includes works by Turner, Gainsborough & Reynolds.
The 20th century galleries include oil paintings and drawings by Picasso, Matisse, Magritte & Schiele etc. The Institute also contains sculpture, miniature portraits and objets d'art. A bronze equestrian statue (circa 1720) of George I stands outside the entrance.
Admission is free.
Links: Guide University & Environs Barber Institute Website
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists is located in Dakota House: a converted warehouse on Brook Street off Saint Paul's Square in the Jewellery Quarter.
The society is an independent association of artists established in 1821 and granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1868. Former presidents include John Everett Millais and Edward Burne-Jones.
The Society used to occupy a splendid neo-classical building on New Street which has been demolished. It moved to Dakota House in the year 2000. These premises contain a craft gallery that displays contemporary glassware, silverware, ceramics and jewellery.
There are also two picture galleries that host visiting exhibitions and display work by members, friends and associates.
The society holds a permanent collection of 400 or so older works, including pictures by well-known artists such as John Everett Millais and David Cox.
The facilities include a cafe.
Guide Jewellery Quarter Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Website
The Ikon Gallery is located at the former Oozells Street Board School on Oozells Square at Brindleyplace in the Convention Quarter. It is a contemporary art gallery that is managed as a registered charity funded by the Arts Council and Birmingham City Council.
The Ikon was established in 1965 by the art collector Angus Skene and four students from the Birmingham School of Art - one of whom was fascinated by the Ikons of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Ikon aims to be "an antithesis to exclusive art establishments and galleries" and "a place where the exchange of visual ideas can become a familiar reality".
The gallery hosts temporary exhibitions in 450 square metres of space spread over two floors. A variety of media is displayed including paintings, sound, sculpture, film and photography.
The Ikon also promotes public understanding of modern art through talks, tours, workshops, seminars and off-site, community & educational projects.
The facilities include a shop and cafe. Admission is free.
Links: Guide Convention Quarter Ikon Gallery Website
Ikon Eastside is an art gallery lcoated in a converted warehouse on Fazeley Street in the Arts & Media Quarter of Digbeth. It operates as a second display space for the Ikon at Brindleyplace in the Convention Quarter and hosts a programme of contemporary and innovative exhibitions during the summer months.
Links: Guide Digbeth Ikon Gallery Website
International Project Space is an art venue at the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts on Maple Road. It is managed by the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design: a faculty of Birmingham City University.
International Project Space was established in 2002 in order to produce, disseminate and exhibit contemporary art in the West Midlands.
It hosts international, national and regional projects, provides residencies and holds exhibitions and conferences. Admission is free.
Links: Guide Bournville International Project Space Website
The Vaad is an art gallery with roughly 3000 square feet of exhibition space at the former Bird Custard Factory in Digbeth.
It hosts visiting exhibitions by new and established artists.
Links: Guide Digbeth Custard Factory Website
Vivid is a contemporary art project space on Heath Mill Lane in the Arts & Media Quarter in Digbeth. The gallery is a converted vehicle repair workshop with over 3000 square feet of flexible presentation space.
Vivid provides a resource for artists and curators, mainly by hosting exhibitions and residencies by direct invitation, and by commissions and technical support for the production and exhibition of media arts.
Vivid provides a showcase for new talent and work of international significance in the field of contemporary media and interdisciplinary art.
Vivid receives funding from the Arts Council and Advantage West Midlands.
Links: Guide Digbeth Vivid Website
Artifex is a contemporary commercial art gallery at the Mitchell Centre on Weeford Road in the Mere Green area of Sutton Coldfield.
The gallery displays and promotes the work of talented British artists and designers, including original painting, sculpture, metalwork, jewellery, glassware, mirrors, clocks, furniture and ceramics.
Links: Guide Mere Green Artifex Website
Artlounge is a commercial art gallery on Wharfside Street at the Mailbox in the Convention Quarter. It was founded by Veejay Lingiah in 2001 and offers a broad range of collectable paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, glassware and ceramics.
Artlounge operates on the principle that art is a non-elitist sector of the broader fashion world and seeks to enhance the gallery experience by fusing fashion, music and design.
Artlounge and the Mailbox jointly sponsor the Three White Walls Gallery, also located on Wharfside Street. The Three White Walls is an exciting and progressive art space that hosts successive six-weekly exhibitions intended to challenge, provoke and inspire.
Links: Guide Convention Quarter Artlounge Website
The Canvas Lounge, on Coleshill Road in Sutton Coldfield Town, was established in 2003 as a retail art gallery that showcases limited edition works created by international artists.
The gallery sells art prints and paintings intended to brighten the home and/or work environment. Images can be reproduced on canvass, perspex blocks, metallic panels or as wallpaper murals. Categories include figurative, abstract, landscape, legends, la femme, nature, pop art and graffiti.
Links: Guide Sutton Coldfield Town Canvass Lounge
Castle Galleries are a national chain of art stores that specialise in limited edition and original work by collectable artists. The Birmingham branch is located on Wharfside Street at the Mailbox in the Convention Quarter.
Castle Galleries offers a broad range of work including figurative, landscape and contemporary art, original paintings, limited edition prints and sculpture.
Castle maintains a close relationship with Washington Green: the European fine art publisher. It was named "Art Retailer of the Year" by the Fine Art Trade Guild in both 2003 and 2004.
Links: Guide Convention Quarter Castle Galleries Website
The Driffold Art Gallery is on the Birmingham Road in the Maney area of Sutton Coldfield. It was established in 1983 by David Gilbert, a former arts columnist, and occupies the whole of the Smithy: a Victorian stone cottage with a 15th century timber cruck frame.
The gallery deals in a broad range of subjects and styles, particularly in Victorian, Impressionist and modern paintings. It has a reputation for unspoilt older paintings that do not require substantial restoration.
Links: Sutton Coldfield Town Driffold Gallery Website
Factory Art is located at Augusta House on Victoria Road in Acocks Green Village. It is an evolving private art collection that specialises in the Pop Art movement of the mid-sixties and subsequent artworks inspired thereby. The collection may be viewed by appointment.
Links: Acocks Green Village Factory Art Website
Greenhill Galleries are located at the corner of Billesley Lane and Greenhill Road in the Wake Green area of Moseley. Greenhill is a retail gallery that specialises in picture framing, greeting cards, limited and open edition prints. The gallery also displays work by local artists.
Links: Guide Wake Green Greenhill Galleries Website
The Halcyon is based at Mayfair in London. It is one of Europe's most prestigious galleries and represents many leading contemporary artists, particularly in the areas of original painting, drawing and sculpture.
There is a branch of the Halcyon at the International Convention Centre on Centenary Square that displays and sells collectable prints, paintings, sculpture and other artworks in a broad range of styles and media.
Links: Guide Convention Quarter Halcyon Website
Marcus Galleries is an art consultancy located at 135 Alcester Road in Moseley Village. The gallery displays original paintings and limited and open edition prints. It also provides research, framing, installation and interior design to the corporate and leisure sectors.
Links: Guide Moseley Village Marcus Galleries Website
The Mitchell Centre is an arts and crafts centre located in a group of converted farm buildings on Weeford Road in Mere Green.
The centre, formerly part of Fox Hill Farm, contains workshops, a walled garden, tearoom, contemporary art gallery, and several retail shops that offer craft items such as furniture and jewellery. Traditional craft skills are sometimes demonstrated.
Links: Guide Mere Green
Number Nine is a commercial art gallery at 9 Brindley Place in the Convention Quarter. Established by Lee Benson in 1999, it displays a broad range of contemporary paintings, sculpture, ceramics, glassware and rock art by local and international artists.
Number Nine provides a platform for artistic talent, particularly from the Midlands. Its customers may commission artworks and other specialised services such as welding, stone relief and design metal work.
Links: Guide Convention Quarter
Number Nine Gallery WebsiteThe Purple Gallery is on Mary Vale Road in Bournville. The gallery, which opened in 2005, promotes work by contemporary emerging artists. It stocks an impressive range of paintings, sculpture, jewellery, ceramics and textiles. It also offers an "art for business" consultancy and hosts a regular programme of exhibitions.
Links: Guide Bournville Purple Gallery Website
The Reuban Colley Fine Art Gallery showcases old masters, contemporary and new talent on St Mary's Row in Moseley Village.
The gallery seeks to stimulate artistic appreciation in addition to selling fine art. It is supported by the City Council Retail Development Programme.
48-52 St Mary's Row B13 8JG 0121 449 3744 Map
Reuben Colley WebsiteSaint Paul's Gallery is located in a former warehouse on Northwood Street off Saint Paul's Square in the Jewellery Quarter.
The gallery specialises in limited edition signed album cover art, signed musician portrait photographs and fine art prints. It deals, in particular, in originals and limited edition prints of artworks by famous artists such as Picasso, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol.
Links: Guide Jewellery Quarter Saint Paul's Gallery
Snap Galleries is located at Fort Dunlop in the Tyburn area of Erdington. It is a commercial retail art gallery that specialises in iconic rock n' roll photographs produced in limited editions by the very best photographers of the genre.
The collections date from the 1950's to the present day and cover a vast range of work from famous pictures of international megastars to obscure images of lesser known musicians. The gallery has two thousand square metres of display space and regularly hosts exhibitions.
Links: Guide Tyburn Snap Galleries Website
Visual Edge International is an art consultancy and commissioning agency on Victoria Square in the Business Quarter.
Links: Guide Business Quarter Visual Edge Website
Washington Green is a fine art publisher that specialises in the translation of original artworks into collectable limited editions. The company, which forms part of the Halcyon Fine Art Group, is based on Upper Gough Street in Southside
Links: Guide Southside Washington Green Website
Whitewall Galleries are a chain of contemporary art galleries with a branch on Colmore Row in the Business Quarter and on Mere Green Road in Sutton Coldfield.
Whitewall supplies a broad range of the finest contemporary art from across the globe including original paintings, collectable prints and sculpture.
It also advises upon the acquisition and presentation of contemporary artworks and hosts a programme of events including exhibitions, launch parties & unique artist tours.
Links: Guide Business Quarter Guide Mere Green Whitewalls Website
The Woodbridge is a commercial art gallery by the corner of Woodbridge Road and Church Road in Moseley Village.
Links: Guide Moseley Village
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