Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery invited me to attend a private tour of the museum, showcasing some of the new exhibitions available. From the entrance hall we were taken to explore the Baroque Art Gallery, through to the Birmingham People and Change in the Inner City exhibit, onto Wendy Ramshaw's Room of Dreams, and finishing with afternoon tea in the beautiful tea room.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has an eclectic mix of collections and exhibitions such as local history, Pre-Raphaelite art, the Staffordshire Hoard (largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found), and Ancient Egyptian artifacts. It's a beautiful museum to wander around in and features the most stunning stained glass window.
The Room of Dreams is on long-term loan from a private collection and was created by Wendy Ramshaw, one of Britain’s most accomplished artist jewellers. Taking inspiration from dreams and children's stories, Ramshaw has created a beautiful installation featuring a wall full of framed jewellery pieces and large freestanding furniture.
This was, by far, my favourite exhibition in the museum; the white walls with contrasting red furniture and wall decorations made for an incredibly dreamy space and I can't help but love the connect it made between folklore and our lives.
This new display explores how the people of Birmingham have been represented in 20th and 21st century art. The collection includes photographs, film, oil paintings, and sculptures and explores Birmingham's urban landscape. I specifically enjoyed the photographs of local people and seeing how Birmingham has undergone significant redevelopments and how those have had an impacted on the local community.