Galleries to close for essential building improvements: Phase 2
The Barber Institute’s galleries will again close to the public at 5pm on Sunday 26 January 2025 to prepare for the second installment of building improvement works, reopening in 2026.
The project, which will eventually require the full closure of the building to the public in the spring this year, will create a new accessible entrance, enable music to return to the Barber Concert Hall at last, and provide an enhanced experience that befits a national arts institution and meets the expectations of 21st-century visitors.
- The Concert Hall, with its unique Art Deco auditorium, located at the heart of the Grade-1 listed building, will be retro-fitted with a new fresh-air circulation system. This will enable the prestigious Barber Concert series, funded by the Henry Barber Trust and currently based in the University’s Elgar Concert Hall, to return to the Barber.
- A new, public, level-access entrance will also be created at the north side of the building via a sloping path that crosses the terrace and through an adapted door in the French windows.
- There will be a new ground-floor, inclusive and accessible lavatory and baby-changing facility.
- The reception, shop and refreshments area will be revamped and expanded.
The work follows the first tranche of building improvement work, which focused on our Lady Barber Gallery. This, along with the four principal collection galleries, print bays and coin gallery – closed on 2 October 2023 and remained shut for just over eight months. The galleries reopened on 22 June 2024 with an exciting seven-month programme featuring major exhibitions Claudette Johnson: Darker Than Blue and Scent and the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites.
The Lady Barber Gallery – our temporary exhibition space – has now been completely refurbished, with the installation of new walls, floors, glass doors and state-of-the-art lighting. The air-handling system has also been completely replaced.
The two-part scheme was funded entirely by the University of Birmingham, which owns the Barber’s building, and was prompted by the need to replace old air-handling and heating systems and install new building hardware.
The Director of the Barber Institute, Professor Jennifer Powell, said that, while it was regrettable that the Barber’s galleries had had to close for several months, the essential repairs would enable more visitors to enjoy the collections, exhibitions, and music programmes in the future.
Professor Powell said: “We are delighted that, with the University’s funding support, we have been able to upgrade our exhibition gallery space and building controls and, crucially, that in future we will be able to welcome more visitors with mobility aids, prams or buggies, and other additional access needs, directly into the building’s reception space. This building repair work will also enable us to stage live music in the concert hall again, bringing art and music back together at the core of our building, which was key to the vision of our founder, Lady Barber.”
The University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Adam Tickell, said: “The Barber Institute is the jewel in the University’s cultural crown. We are very proud to have this world-class collection – housed in the University’s only Grade-1 listed building – on campus. This refurbishment programme demonstrates our commitment to the Barber as a crucial centre of research and learning in the arts, as well as a public gallery that is much loved by art- and music-lovers in Birmingham, the UK and around the world. Its repaired and restored facilities will ensure the Barber’s pre-eminence as a university arts centre for years to come.”
Published 7 January 2025