An exciting £9 million museum project focussing on the history of Birmingham and its people moves a major step closer to completion this week.
Builders Thomas Vale Construction will hand over the new Birmingham History Galleries to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) staff for fitting out ahead of the planned opening in September 2012.
Backed by a £4.9 million Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the project involves the restoration and refurbishment of part of the Grade II* listed BMAG building and the creation of a series of stunning new permanent displays focussing on the history and development of Birmingham.
Cllr Martin Mullaney, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture, said: “This exciting project, which will tell the story of Birmingham’s great global history, is now moving into the final stage.
“The new exhibition space is magnificent and I know staff at the museum are excited at the prospect of fitting out new galleries that I’m sure will be a big hit.”
The exhibition fit-out will involve the creation of four distinctive history galleries which focus on the development of the city from medieval times to 1945, with a fifth which explores the character and identity of Birmingham and its people today.
And, as they develop a number of oral history projects on various aspects of Birmingham life, BMAG curators are calling on ordinary Brummies to secure a place in the new galleries.
The ‘Your Birmingham’ gallery will explore the histories and stories of a wide range of local people through objects, text, photographs, audio and film.
Staff are currently collecting stories on the following:
Suburban Birmingham in the first half of the twentieth century
- Working at Austin Motor Works, Longbridge
- Working at Cadbury’s
- Working at Chad Valley, Harborne
- Moving to Kingstanding or Weoley Castle estates
1945 onwards
- 40s – 90s Lewis’s Store: shoppers/employees
- 50s The Duddeston Four or Prefabs: first residents
- 60s Birmingham Nightclubs in the 1950s/60s: People who owned/went out to Birmingham nightclubs
- 1964 The Bull Ring: shoppers/shopkeepers
- 2000 – 2003 Bullring: shoppers/shopkeepers
- HP Factory: Workers/HP Sauce enthusiasts
- Duran Duran fans
- 1947 Winter: Birmingham people who experienced the winter in Birmingham
- 1953 End of the Trams: Birmingham people who remember travelling on the last trams in the city
- 1968 Rivers of Blood Speech: people present at speech or affected in aftermath
- 1977 Silver Jubilee: Birmingham people who celebrated in Birmingham
- 1986 / 1987 / 1988 / 1989 Super Prix: Birmingham spectators/participants
How to tell your story:
- Use our on-line form http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=orjlyQeOyqs86JWp0yRAtg_3d_3d
- Go to the Your Birmingham group on Flickr where you can upload photos of your objects and tell your stories. http://www.flickr.com/groups/yourbirmingham/
- Call Mariyam Ali 0121 303 4585, 07920576831
ENDS
For more information contact Geoff Coleman on 0121 303 3501
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