Exhibitions
All the World’s a Stage
Court, Patrons & Writers in Shakespeare's Circle
10 June – 25 September
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Exhibitions
Buried Treasures
Uncovering Hoards
6 May 2016 - 26 February 2017
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Visit
WHAT’S ON
Download our brochures for everything you need to know about this season at the Barber.
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About
WELCOME
Monet, Manet and Magritte; Renoir, Rubens, Rossetti and Rodin; Degas, Delacroix and Van Dyck - as well as Botticelli, Poussin, Turner, Gainsborough, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Bellows, Hodgkin and Auerbach...
You can see key works by all these - and many more - great artists in the galleries at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. There's also a stunning coin gallery and an exciting programme of exhibitions, concerts, lectures, gallery talks, workshops and family activities.
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TS
0121 414 7333
info@barber.org.uk
Opening times:
Monday to Friday: 10am - 5pm
Saturday & Sunday: 11am - 5pm
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Exhibitions
Curious Beauty
27 May – 4 September
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Visit
What our visitors say…
"A rare treat of a gallery." (FluterCoventry, June 2015)
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Visit
‘VISIT THIS PLACE. IT IS A JEWEL…’
- Michael Glover, The Independent
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Learning
Creative Sunday workshops
May - September 2016
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Learning
SUMMER TASTER SUNDAYS
7,14, 21 & 28 August
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E-newsletter
Sign up to our monthly 'In the Picture' email newsletter, outlining just some of the exciting events programmed for the weeks ahead.
What's on Brochures
There is always plenty for you and your family to do at the Barber, with something on offer for people of all ages and interests. Join our free mailing list, providing you each season with a copy of our latest what's on guide, Families First and/or Music brochure. These give details and full listings of events, including exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and workshops. Simply fill in your details and let us know what events you would like to hear about.
Concerts
Birmingham and Solihull International Jazz and Blues Festival
Friday 15 & Friday 22 July, 1.10pm
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Events
Reinventing the Bard
For adults, led by Jacqui Rowe, Barber Writer in Residence 2013-2014
Saturday 17 September, 1.30 ‒ 4pm
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Events
Don’t Judge a Book…
For adults, led by Jacqui Rowe, Barber Writer in Residence 2013-2014
Saturday 18 June, 1.30 ‒ 4pm
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Events
Inside Outside
For adults, led by Jacqui Rowe, Barber Writer in Residence 2013-2014
Saturday 16 July, 1.30 ‒ 4pm
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Events
THE BARBER: A POTTED HISTORY
Thursday 15 September 11am - 12.30pm
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Exhibitions
Tales of the City
24 June - 2 October 2016
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Events
Approaches to Aspects of Drawing
Saturdays 9, 16 & 23 July, 11am - 4pm
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Events
Paint Your Own Miniature
Saturdays 11, 18 & 25 June, 11am - 4pm
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Events
LUNCHTIME LECTURES
Selected Wednesdays, 1.10pm.
Look out for our term-time lunchtime lecture series. Exploring topics that complement our collections and exhibition programme, these popular illustrated 50-minute lectures take place in the Barber Lecture Theatre.
FREE, no booking required
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Concerts
Martin James Bartlett
Wednesday 17 May 7.30pm
Winner of the 2014 BBC Young Musician competition, Martin James Bartlett makes his Barber Institute debut for the launch of the 2017 Birmingham International Piano Festival.
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Concerts
6 Hands Guitar Trio
Wednesday 10 May 7.30pm
After a barnstorming debut at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in June 2015, John Williams and John Etheridge have invited Gary Ryan to join them once more on a UK tour with their guitar supergroup 6 Hands. John Williams is a well-known classical guitarist with an interest in contemporary music; John Etheridge is an iconic jazz guitarist known for pushing the boundaries whilst Gary Ryan is a classical guitarist and composer and together, they will perform a programme of solos, duos and trios.
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Concerts
I Fagiolini: Flaming Heart
Wednesday 22 March 7.30pm
I Fagiolini is a British solo-voice ensemble directed by Robert Hollingworth. Alongside 50 international concerts per year, the group has also released 15 CDs and two DVDs, and in 2011, won a Gramophone award for their world premiere CD of the Striggio 40 part mass. They will be performing their brand new programme, entitled ‘Flaming Heart’.
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Concerts
The Heath Quartet
Wednesday 22 February 7.30pm
The first ensemble in 15 years to win the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artists Award, The Heath Quartet make their Barber debut with a programme of iconic quartets.
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Concerts
Carolyn Sampson & Joseph Middleton: A Shakespeare and Verlaine Songbook
Wednesday 9 November 7.30pm
We are delighted to welcome two University of Birmingham alumni, Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton to perform in this Barber Evening Concert. In this performance, they explore the works of English playwright William Shakespeare and French poet Paul Verlaine through song.
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Concerts
The English Concert: Baroque Masters
Wednesday 26 October 7.30pm
The English Concert join us for their second Barber Evening Concert following a sold-out performance in 2014. We welcome back this influential ensemble with a programme that features the Principal strings of The English Concert, including viola Principal Alfonso Leal del Ojo in a performance of Telemann’s viola concerto.
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Concerts
Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet
Wednesday 19 October 7.30pm
The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet (Philharmonisches Bläserquintett Berlin) make their Barber Institute debut with an eclectic programme for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn.
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Learning
Summer Art Schools
Tuesday 2, Wednesday 3 & Thursday 4 August; Tuesday 16, Wednesday 17 & Thursday 18 August
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Learning
CoComad Festival 2016
Saturday 2 July, 12 noon – 6pm
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Learning
BARBER YOUTH
Workshops: 12 & 26 April; 10 & 24 May; 5 & 9 July; 13 & 27 September. Arts + Careers Talks 2016: 7 & 21 June, 4.30 – 6.30pm
Aged 13 -18 and into art? Join Barber Youth!
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Events
LUNCHTIME TOURS AND TALKS
Tuesdays, 1.15pm
These weekly talks focus on exhibitions and displays, as well as including introductory and themed mini-tours of the collection. They last approximately 30 minutes so why not come along in your lunch break?
FREE, no booking required
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Events
BARBER BOOK CLUB
Tuesdays 12 April, 10 May, 14 June, 12 July, 13 September
Why not come along to our ever popular Book Club?
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Concerts
University Camerata
Friday 9 December 1.10pm
MA Choral Conducting students direct the University Camerata, in this, the final lunchtime concert of the Autumn term. Join this talented group of singers for a programme of music for chamber choir.
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Concerts
Florentine Arts Ensemble: Dahl’s Norwegian Landscape
Friday 2 December 1.10pm
Taking inspiration from the Barber Gallery collection and Johan Cristian Dahl’s captivating 1840 oil on canvas - A mother and child by the sea – the Florentine Arts Ensemble present a Scandinavian programme for violin and piano.
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Concerts
Amy Harman and Erdem Misirlioglu
Friday 25 November 1.10pm
YCAT artist Amy Harman is joined by Erdem Misirlioglu to present a programme of music for bassoon and piano.
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Concerts
Musica Secreta, Early Modern Vocal Ensembles and Early Music Ensembles
Sunday 20 November 3pm
To celebrate the quincentenary of the publication of Ariosto's Orlando furioso, the Centre for Early Music Performance and Research and the Early Modern Vocal Ensemble team up with the professional baroque ensemble Musica Secreta to present a programme of musical responses to this exciting and epoch-making publication.
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Concerts
Birmingham Symphonic Brass
Sunday 13 November 3pm
Ten talented brass players and their musical director Stephen Roberts present a lively afternoon concert suitable for families.
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Concerts
Musica Secreta
Friday 18 November 1.10pm
Musica Secreta present a programme of music as part of this weekend celebrating Ariosto’s Orlando furioso.
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Concerts
King Edward’s School and King Edward VI High School for Girls
Friday 11 November 1.10pm
King Edward’s School and King Edward VI High School give their annual concert in the Barber Concert Hall presenting a selection of their talented young musicians.
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Concerts
Binchois Consort: In Praise of Saints – English Music and Midlands Alabasters in the Fifteenth Century
Friday 4 November 1.10pm
The Binchois Consort present a concert of English Music contemporary with fifteenth century Midlands Alabasters, conducted by Peyton and Barber Professor of Music, Andrew Kirkman.
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Concerts
Daniel Lebhardt
Friday 28 October 1.10pm
Daniel makes his Barber Institute debut with a performance that includes Beethoven’s final piano sonata and Thomas Adès’s 1992 Darknesse Visible.
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Concerts
Richard Jenkinson & David le Page
Friday 21 October 1.10pm
In the final year of his Phd at the University, former CBSO Principal Cellist Richard Jenkinson is joined by leader of Orchestra of the Swan, David le Page.
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Concerts
Joel Williams & Duncan Appleby: Shakespeare and his contemporaries
Friday 14 October 1.10pm
Winner of the 2014 Musica Britannica Sir Antony Lewis Memorial Prize, tenor Joel Williams is joined by Duncan Appleby for a recital of music influenced by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
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Concerts
James Turnbull & Clare Hammond
Friday 7 October 1.10pm
This year’s Presteigne Festival tour concert is given by acclaimed pianist Clare Hammond and oboist James Turnbull.
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Concerts
Bournville String Orchestra
Saturday 3 September, 7.30pm
In their annual Charity concert, the Bournville String Orchestra are joined by four young, talented soloists to perform a delightful variety of music. This year, money is being raised in aid of the Children's Hand and Arm Surgery Unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital.
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Events
BEDFAS AT THE BARBER
Thursdays 21 April, 19 May & 16 June 6pm
Birmingham Evening Decorative and Fine Arts Society's (BEDFAS) fascinating and enjoyable lectures now take place at the Barber each month.
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Concerts
Lunchtime Concerts
Fridays at 1.10pm, Barber Concert Hall
A series of free lunchtime concerts by professional musicians, taking place every Friday during term time.
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