{"id":434121,"date":"2025-09-18T17:36:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/434121\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T17:36:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:36:20","slug":"major-birmingham-museum-and-art-gallery-full-reopening-update-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/434121\/","title":{"rendered":"Major Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery full reopening update revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

But the renowned site will have been either partially or fully closed for an astonishing 11 years if the strategy succeeds<\/p>\n

Alexander Brock<\/strong> Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n

11:41, 18 Sep 2025Updated 12:11, 18 Sep 2025<\/p>\n

\"BirminghamBirmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery would be fully reopen by 2031 under an \u201cambitious\u201d new vision for the city centre venue.<\/p>\n

If the five-year strategy from the Birmingham<\/a> Museums Trust succeeds, the city\u2019s cultural gem will have been either partially or fully closed for around 11 years.<\/p>\n

The museum and art gallery (BMAG), next to Birmingham City Council<\/a> House, closed in 2020 for essential maintenance works but partially reopened in 2022 for the Commonwealth Games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham Labour\u2019s flag position made clear as row enters council chamber<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

It then reopened in phases last year, with a number of spaces such as the Round Room Gallery welcoming members of the public for the first time in years.<\/p>\n

But the majority of spaces in the attraction are still not in use.<\/p>\n

The Trust said its vision was set out \u201cwithin the context of the city council\u2019s financial constraints and wider sector funding challenges\u201d, adding it would take steps to secure alternative revenue streams.<\/p>\n

It also wants to launch a large-scale \u201cdigitisation programme\u201d to better connect all its sites with all of the communities of Birmingham.<\/p>\n

The plan focuses on modernising infrastructure, including urgent restoration projects at key historic sites and a transformation of the Museum Collection Centre.<\/p>\n

\"InsideInside Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

\u201cOur museums are at a critical crossroads,\u201d Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah, co- chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis strategy is about resilience, reinvention and making sure Birmingham\u2019s cultural treasures remain accessible and relevant to all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an unapologetically ambitious plan to invest in the city\u2019s greatest cultural asset, to create a world class museum service.\u201d<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cWe are committed to fostering a more democratic, inclusive approach to heritage, ensuring that every community sees themselves reflected in our spaces and stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strategy was developed with recommendations from its citizens\u2019 jury and \u201cextensive\u201d audience research, as well as support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham BOXPARK plans for historic archway no longer going ahead<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Trust operates nine sites, including BMAG, Birmingham Science Museum, Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter.<\/p>\n

It also manages a collection of over a million objects and specimens covering art, human history, science and industry and natural science on behalf of Birmingham City Council.<\/p>\n

Last year, a council report said previous repairs and maintenance at BMAG \u201chighlighted the need\u201d for essential refurbishment works to be undertaken in order to enable a full reopening.<\/p>\n

Approval was being sought at the time to submit a \u2018stage one\u2019 bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund of \u00a39m, which would go towards a total project in the sum of around \u00a310m.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the electrical and essential remedial works addressed infrastructure repairs, many galleries have not had investment in their fabric for 20 to 50 years and the electrical rewiring works have revealed new challenges,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\"BirminghamBirmingham Museum and Art Gallery(Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

These included issues with gallery walls, ceilings and floors, it continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some behind-the-scenes examples, the collections storage and facilities used by staff and volunteers are in an even poorer state of repair,\u201d the report added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"But the renowned site will have been either partially or fully closed for an astonishing 11 years if…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,983,984,4022,77,528,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-434121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-birmingham-city-centre","11":"tag-birmingham-city-council","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-labour-party","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115226515011876560","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}