Barber Home – online resource Inspired by Hendrik Goudt’s beautiful etching The Mocking of Ceres (1610), Chloë Qureshi, founder of Women in Hospitality Birmingham, has written a series of delicious, mouth-watering recipes. Chloë celebrates the Goddess Ceres and the four seasons through the mystical elder tree, with its fresh, zesty flowers of spring to the … Read more
Barber Home – online talk What is queer historical erasure? Arts Educator Jon Sleigh reveals powerful queer coded messages, alongside sitters’ known histories, in this emotive journey through two of our 18th-century portraits. Portrait of Countess Golovina (about 1797/1800) by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and A Portrait of Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci ( about 1773) by Thomas Gainsborough are two … Read more
Barber Home – digital showcase Celebrate the Barber Collective and its collaborators! Find out more about the Barber’s youth programme for 16 – 21 year olds and what they’ve been discovering, thinking about and creating. We showcase two projects with artists Navi Kaur and Hipkiss & Graney which explore far-reaching themes including colonialism, reclaiming histories, … Read more
Barber Home – make a camera obscura Did you know you can turn a whole room into a camera obscura? Explore our online exhibition Sights of Wonder by learning more about the Victorian photography of Francis Bedford. Bedford was the first photographer to ever accompany a royal tour. He photographed temples, pyramids, and people along … Read more
Barber Home – online resource In March we had the pleasure of hosting an event, Nocturnes: Ethereal Science / Constructing Beauty, exploring Cornwall as Crucible. For this we commissioned Infinite Opera to make a response to the Barber’s recently acquired Constructivist sculpture, Linear Construction in Space No. 1 (1942 – 43), by the Russian artist Naum … Read more
Barber Home – Concertina Creepy Crawlies Investigate amazing creepy crawlies with artist Ruth Turnbull. Inspired by Wenceslaus Hollar’s 17th century print, learn about insects and create your own folded sketchbooks and paper mobiles. Our Barber Home family resources link to the key stage 1 and 2 curriculum to support you in the kitchen table classroom … Read more
Barber Home – artist response Artist Laura Onions shares a series of drawings, produced in lockdown, responding to Charles-François Daubigny’s 1861 etching, Interior of an Inn. Particularly taken with Daubigny’s play with light and shadow, Laura has used pared down materials to explore the domestic landscape of her own home. The drawings make visible moments … Read more
Barber Home – virtual studio visit Filmed in lockdown, ceramicist Wendy Tournay welcomes us into her Birmingham studio for this week’s edition of Barber Home. Responding to the Barber’s decorative ‘Gold Teapot with Stand‘, made in 1785, Wendy shares with us the meditative slip-casting process used to create her own teapot and also explains casting, … Read more
Barber Home – creepy crawlies Calling all insect explorers – ever wanted to know more about bugs? Inspired by the amazing specimens in our 394-year-old print by Wenceslaus Hollar, we asked Liam Crowley, an entomologist from the University of Birmingham, to answer all your questions about our creepy crawly friends in a live Q&A session. … Read more
Barber Home – watch party Barber Home and CineQ collaborated for an evening of independent queer film, celebrating queerness from our own homes. With many Pride events cancelled and usual safe spaces closed off, nurturing a community of support is more important than ever. Across the world trans and non-binary rights are being eroded, so while the … Read more
Barber Home – family Join artist Benny Semp and become a St Ives sculptor using our downloadable activity pack, inspired by our exhibition Cornwall as Crucible. Learn about the materials and techniques used by artists Barbara Hepworth and Naum Gabo and turn your household scrap materials into amazing Cornish-inspired sculptures! This family activity pack links … Read more
Barber Home – online workshop Inspired by our online exhibition Sights of Wonder, Birmingham photographer Kate Green hosted a relaxed and informal photography workshop via Zoom. Exploring Francis Bedford’s 1862 photographs, the workshop outlined how to take better photos with your camera or smartphone, working with light and composition techniques. Kate also discussed photography for … Read more
Barber Home – make a zine We’re thinking about families… and families come in all shapes and sizes! Inspired by Adriaen van Ostade’s drawing The Child and The Doll, join artist Sarah Taylor Silverwood to make a zine and reflect on time spent with your family, whoever and wherever they may be. Anyone can make a … Read more
Barber Home – online workshop Barber Home and LYNNEBEC collaborated for a surreal Dada-esque movement workshop. Inspired by Jean (Hans) Arp’s ‘Man Seen by a Flower’ (1958) the workshop offered a space to explore our own physicality in the current nonsensical landscape. Responding to Arp’s working processes, LYNNEBEC embraced the strange and celebrated chaos by using chance and risk … Read more
Barber Home – Degas dancers Explore movement and learn about ballet poses inspired by artist Edgar Degas. Contemporary dancer Becca Randall has produced three video workshops inspired by the Barber’s bronze ballerina sculptures, Dancer Ready to Dance and Grande Arabesque. The whole family can take part – warm up, try the creative dance game, and … Read more