In 2020 Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery closed for a four year period for a huge maintenance and infrastructure update. Leaving one big empty building, devoid of its extensive collection, and a massive undertaking to re-envisage the museum and gallery, that would’ve been closed, apart from a brief window in 2022 for The Commonwealth Games, for 4 years.
The BMAG team contacted us in November 2023, with a ‘got time for a quick chat about…’ email. Of course, we said yes, and 11 months later, a third of their galleries have been designed and re-opened to the public. That’s ten different displays and exhibitions with interpretation, titles, labels and graphical elements in vast galleries plus two dressed entrances and wayfinding, all designed and installed. In less than a year.
Having a blank canvas can be daunting but throughout the project the vision for the building was clear – it’s about Birmingham. It was to be fun, playful, a place that reflected the city and its people. A place to celebrate, explore and engage. The new offer would highlight items from the collection and showcase contemporary artists. We worked closely with the BMAG team to understand the challenges they faced and the new direction of the museum and gallery. We helped them plan the spaces and created a new look and feel with bright and welcoming graphics throughout.
From hanging Arpita Shah’s Modern Muse photographic portraits slightly higher than normal so that the viewer gazes up at them and creating a 2.5metre high reproduction of Pogus Caesar’s portrait of Benjamin Zephaniah to watch over them and visitors; to designing a fun family space celebrating the Wild City and adding 5 metre long titles to the top of Round Room to help ground the space and re-purposing old stands by painting them gold; from using wallpaper to add depth and interest to the three new Made in Birmingham displays, a quote board to look like a road sign and creating a custom made wrought iron frame; to the simple graphics to highlight the pencil lines in the work of Curtis Holder and a punchy title and introduction board for the work of students from Birmingham City University, and a lot more, we think we hit the brief and then some.
Photographs courtesy of Birmingham Museums Trust
