The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Our current exhibition, ‘Love is Real, and It’s Inside Of My Computer’ was selected to be part of Visit Birmingham's 100 days of Creativity campaign! 🌟 This campaign seeks to highlight the creative work going on in Birmingham over the summer, including art, theatre, and music, alongside much more. We’ve pulled together some picks from the programme, showing what Grand Union’s staff are most excited for. 💗 Our Programme Director Hannah has chosen melissandre varin’s ‘dirty nails (les angles noirs)’ and Ramesh Mario Nithiyendra’s ‘Idols of Mud and Water’ at Eastside Projects, and Fierce Festival’s Launch on July 17. Hannah is excited about these exhibitions put on by our neighbours at Eastside Projects and is looking forward to seeing what is coming up at the next iteration of Fierce Festival under the new co-direction of Clayton Lee. ⚡ Cheryl, Grand Union’s director, has chosen Tereza Buskova’s ‘Hidden Mothers’ exhibition at the Mac. Cheryl is looking forward to seeing Tereza’s celebration of the rituals and folklore connected to motherhood from different cultures. 🌸 And finally, our Programme Assistant Beth recommends Claudette Johnson’s ‘Darker than Blue’ at the Barber Institute. Beth is a long-term fan of Johnson’s amazing work, and can’t wait to see the newly refurbished Barber gallery. 💙 You can explore the full 100 Days of Creativity programme here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gzMJZWk8 📸 Images: 1. dirty nails (les ongles noir) launch performances, Eastside Projects, Birmingham, June 2024. Photo: @ayesha_jones of @vmelissandre. 2. Image courtesy of Fierce Festival, taken from Visit Birmingham’s website, 2024 3. Tereza Buskova, ‘Hidden Mothers’, photograph by Carl Gibbons. From MAC’s website, 2024. 4. Claudette Johnson, Blues Dance, 2023. The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust), purchased with support from the Garcia Family Foundation, 2024. © Claudette Johnson. Image © The Courtauld. Photo: David Bebber. #110DaysOfCreativity

🎉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.]

I had the pleasure of attending the reopening of The Barber Institute of Fine Arts last night. They've been closed for a few months for the first of a few phases of refurbishments and structural changes to this beautiful building and its galleries. Last year I met with the lovely Flora Kay to do a #Livestream from The Barber for The Active Wellbeing Society. The aim being to share the place with our communities, welcome them into this fabulous #Free space, and tell them a bit about what happens here, what to expect and the other activities that are available at The Barber. Flora and the team work really hard to support communities far beyond the reach of the campus grounds. With #Art for #Wellbeing sessions available on a #SocialPrescribing model, but freely available to all without the need for referral, they're offering access to not just creativity but a space to explore feelings and life experiences in a place of safety. The Barber are also continuing their ongoing efforts to prove #FineArt isn't just art 'for and of rich old white guys in history' (my words admittedly, but it's something I really struggle with in galleries generally to be honest). There's been collections & exhibitions exploring interesting themes. But following this initial stage of the refit the galleries are distinctly different. While still full of such an impressive collection of classic fine art, there are some #Modern & classic but unusual examples in the mix too. There's also currently The Hidden Lives of Plants exhibition which blew my mind, a small but brilliant coin collection following the portrayal of #Women, #GenderRoles & #GenderFluidity through history and across the globe, and the Claudette Johnson gallery which I could have stayed in all evening. Those works were so striking and detailed, every mark was worth of examination to understand each piece in its entirety. There's another closure coming up for a more structural refurb including some really exciting #Accessibility updates. They really did love their grand sweeping stairs when they built this place! So the team have worked hard to find a solution to enable them to make the building more welcoming & physically #Accessible to more folks. Which you know I'm super excited to see the outcome of. Many thanks to Flora for dropping me an invite & huge well done to the team as I know having the place closed for so long will have been very strange and it's clear to see a lot of work too! #Gallery #GalleryOpening #Birmingham #Community #CommunitySupport #FreeActivities #Network image descriptions: 1 Charlie outside The Barber. The angle is low to take in the grand stonework of the building behind her. 2 A busy gallery of people admiring huge impressive artworks of people of colour 3 A display of coins on a board with text descriptors 4 An incredibly detailed and lifelike painting of a plant 5 The busy entrance hall to The Barber. The hall is long and wide & there are artworks on walls

Very excited to be able to see the The Barber Institute of Fine Arts this Thursday, opening for the first time following its phase one renovation works (and prior to further refurbishment from this autumn). Such a gorgeous building and collection, a real jewel in the crown from the University of Birmingham, the city and the region. #university #universityofbirmingham #barberinstitute #barberinstituteoffineart #art #fineart #music #societyandculture #artsandculture #arts #culture #visualarts #visualart #gallery #artgallery #museum #heritage #birmingham #birminghamuk #reopening #collection #portraits #artwork Professor Jennifer PowellRachel A.Sally BrooksElaine FultonFiona de LondrasAleksandra CavoskiZarah A.Emma TylerClaire JonesDeniz SözenH. Camilla SmithMelissa FordJohn SewellMatt Carey-WilliamsKirsty McCarrison Andrew DaviesRobert WenleyFlora KayHelen CobbyVictoria OsborneToby WatleyLinzi StauversAlice BenbowOli Stevenson https://lnkd.in/eq8k6pve

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

🎨 🍃 It’s the #InternationalDayofFamilies and this August, families will be taking over our spaces once again. That’s right – after a successful pilot in 2023 the Barber Family Festival will be returning for its second year. 📅 Barber Family Festival 2024 will run 3 – 11 August. 🔗 See our website for full details: https://lnkd.in/ei95_6CW 🎥 Video by Paul Stringer.

Pre Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born #OnThisDay 🎈 Read the story of Fanny Cornforth, the artist's model who is often left out of Rossetti's story 👉 https://ow.ly/cjCS50RAoBg 'The Blue Bower' by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882) 📸 The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

WE’RE #HIRING 🤔 Are you a capable, organised person with experience in registration, collections care or exhibitions planning? Then keep reading because we are looking for a part-time Exhibitions and Loans Assistant who can hit the ground running during an exciting time of change for the gallery. This is an amazing opportunity to assist in the delivery of the Barber’s ambitious loans and exhibitions programmes. The successful candidate will support the Barber’s Collections team in the preparation for our 2024 reopening, as well as in the planning and preparation for Phase 2 of our building improvement programme which will involve a major decant project. ⏳ Fixed term; 18 months – 3 days a week 💰 Salary: £25,866 pro rata ⏰ Deadline to apply: 7 April 2024 👉 Read the full job description and apply: https://lnkd.in/epZNCuF9 [Image description: Packing crates lined up with a glimpse of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'The Blue Bower' in the background. White text reads 'WE'RE HIRING'.] #ArtJobs #GalleryJobs #MuseumJobs

💙We have loved seeing all the joyful and important reasons #CultureMatters to people as part of the Culture Central campaign this past week! Many amazing institutions from Birmingham and the West Midlands have been sharing details about their impactful work: Centrala, British Ceramics Biennial, B:Music, Ikon Gallery, Grand Union and many more... Culture matters to the Barber – we believe the arts positively impact people’s lives, contributing to education, community-building, and well-being. This belief, outlined in the Barber’s vision, is at the heart of everything we do: from sharing our phenomenal art collection with the world for free, to engaging with families, schools and university students – or through our extensive work in community outreach and well-being research. Why does culture matter to you? 📷 Images: 1. Visit from Dorothy Parkes Community Centre 2. School workshop with George Dixon Academy 3. Woodland Tribe at the Barber Family Festival 4. Black History Month Poetry Night with The Guild of Students