Culture of Birmingham
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The culture of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
is characterised by a deep-seated tradition of
individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
and experimentation, and the unusually fragmented but innovative culture that results has been widely remarked upon by commentators. Writing in 1969, the
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
-based urbanist
Jane Jacobs Jane Jacobs (''née'' Butzner; 4 May 1916 – 25 April 2006) was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book '' The Death and Life of Great American Cities ...
cast Birmingham as one of the world's great examples of urban creativity: surveying its history from the 16th to the 20th centuries she described it as a "great, confused laboratory of ideas", noting how its chaotic structure as a "muddle of oddments" meant that it "grew through constant diversification". The historian
G. M. Young George Malcolm Young (29 April 1882 – 18 November 1959) was an English historian, best known for his book on Victorian times in Britain, ''Portrait of an Age'' (1936). After a short time as an academic and a career as a civil servant lasting ...
– in a classic comparison later expanded upon by
Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...
– contrasted the "experimental, adventurous, diverse" culture of Birmingham with the "solid, uniform, pacific" culture of the outwardly similar city of
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. The American economist Edward Gleason wrote in 2011 that "cities, the dense agglomerations that dot the globe, have been engines of innovation since Plato and Socrates bickered in an Athenian marketplace. The streets of Florence gave us the Renaissance and the streets of Birmingham gave us the Industrial Revolution", concluding: "wandering these cities ... is to study nothing less than human progress." The roots of this distinctive cultural trait lie in Birmingham's unique social and economic history. By the early 1600s the area had already developed a reputation as one where the traditional power of the
aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...
and the
established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
was weak, becoming a haven for incomers who did not fit in with established thinking elsewhere: religious non-conformists, scientific and literary free-thinkers, industrial entrepreneurs and political dissenters. The
Midlands Enlightenment The Midlands Enlightenment, also known as the West Midlands Enlightenment or the Birmingham Enlightenment, was a scientific, economic, political, cultural and legal manifestation of the Age of Enlightenment that developed in Birmingham and the wide ...
that followed in the 18th century saw the town's growth into an important centre of
literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...
,
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
, theatrical and artistic activity, and the emergence of an unusually tolerant, secular society, characterised by "unfussy conviviality ... lack of dogmatism ... and a sponge-like ability to absorb new ideas". This openness and cultural pluralism was further encouraged by the town's broad-based and entrepreneurial economic structure. The "city of a thousand trades" was made up of a wide variety of highly skilled specialists operating in small workshops, producing a constantly diversifying range of products in response to changing market conditions and collaborating in a shifting, fragmented web of overlapping and informal groupings. The result was the development of a culture that valued variety, adaptability and change more than uniformity and continuity; whose need for cooperation and trust bred an innate suspicion of boastfulness and pretension; and which was characterised by the remarkable capacity for "accommodating difference" that has been an enduring theme of the city's history. The historian William Hutton, noting the diversity of Birmingham's culture as early as 1782, remarked that "the wonder consists in finding such ''agreement'' in such variety". Over two centuries later in 2008 the philosopher Sadie Plant could still describe "the city's unique, almost ''declassé'' mixture of individualism and co-operation". This inherently non-conformist culture has tended to set Birmingham apart from the London-dominated English cultural mainstream. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' wrote in 2012 of Birmingham's "intangible sense of the ''other'', of being different despite being the bullseye of Britain". The poet
Roy Fisher Roy Fisher (11 June 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English poet and jazz pianist. His poetry shows an openness to both European and American modernist influences, while remaining grounded in the experience of living in the English Midlands. ...
called it an "off-shore island in the middle of England". Writing in 1945, while the poet W. H. Auden was arguably the dominant figure of English literature worldwide, the American critic Edmund Wilson could still note how his "Birmingham background" meant that "in fundamental ways ... he doesn't belong in that London literary world – he's more vigorous and more advanced". However the same characteristic that sets Birmingham apart can also make it difficult to characterise and understand from outside. Disjunction and incongruity lie at the heart of the city's identity, and Birmingham often lacks the superficial unifying aesthetic of more homogeneous cities. Writers, artists or musicians cooperating in socially close-knit groups but producing work with little stylistic unity have been a characteristic of Birmingham's culture from the Lunar Society of the 1750s, through the Birmingham Group of the 1890s and the ''
Highfield Highfield may refer to: Places ;Places in England * Highfield, Bolton * Highfield, Derbyshire * Highfield, Gloucestershire *Highfield, Southampton *Highfield, Hertfordshire a neighbourhood in Hemel Hempstead * Highfield, Oxfordshire * Highfield, S ...
'' writers of the 1930s to the
B-Town B-Town is the name given to an indie music scene based in the Digbeth area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. B-Town bands include Peace, Swim Deep, JAWS, Sugarthief, and Spilt Milk Society. Details Some local commentators have suggested the ter ...
music scene of 2013. The city's "tradition of the untraditional", of moving forward through "waves of creative destruction", has also led to what the novelist
Catherine O'Flynn Catherine O'Flynn (born 1970) is a British writer. She has published three novels for adults, and two for children as well as various articles and short stories. Her debut novel, '' What Was Lost'', won the prestigious first novel prize at the Cos ...
has called the city's "complicated relationship with its past, where it's always trying to burn photos of itself". The result is that Birmingham has never been an easy city to define, its lack of a clear, simple image, coupled with its own characteristically ironic and self-deprecating sense of humour, often leading to its being stereotyped as "a non-place surrounded by motorways".


Music


Classical music

The Birmingham Triennial Music Festival took place from 1784 to 1912 and was considered the grandest of its kind throughout Britain. Music was written for the festival by
Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
, Gounod, Sullivan, Dvořák, Bantock and most notably Elgar, who wrote four of his most well known choral pieces for Birmingham.
Albert William Ketèlbey Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...
was born in Alma Street, Aston on 9 August 1875, the son of a teacher at the Vittoria School of Art. Ketèlbey attended the
Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...
, where he beat the runner-up, Gustav Holst, for a musical scholarship. John Joubert, the distinguished composer of choral works, joined the University of Birmingham's Music Department as senior lecturer in 1962, retiring in 1986 to concentrate on his music. During that time he had written the second of his operas and was working on his third, as well as completing a number of orchestral and chamber works. In 1995 the orchestra of Birmingham Composers Forum put on what was only the second UK performance of his Second Symphony, dating from 1970. The internationally renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's home venue is Symphony Hall, which in acoustic terms is widely considered to be one of the greatest concert halls of the 20th century and also hosts concerts by many visiting orchestras. Other professional orchestras based in the city include the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, a chamber orchestra specialising in modern music with some world premieres; the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, who give concert performances under music director Barry Wordsworth in addition to playing for the Birmingham Royal Ballet; and Ex Cathedra, one of the country's oldest and most respected early-music and
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period instrument ensembles. Birmingham is an important centre for musical education as the home of the
UCE Birmingham Conservatoire The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly re ...
, founded in 1859. The Royal College of Organists is based in
Digbeth Digbeth is an area of Central Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment ...
. Birmingham City Council appoint the
Birmingham City Organist Birmingham City Organist is an appointment made by the City of Birmingham. The purpose of the appointment is to have an organist for civic occasions and who will provide a series of free public organ recitals. Birmingham Town Hall is the traditi ...
to provide a free series of weekly public organ recitals. The
Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...
resides in the city as does the Elmhurst School for Dance, based in Edgbaston, and which claims to be the world's oldest vocational dance school. Birmingham's professional opera company – the
Birmingham Opera Company Birmingham Opera Company is a professional opera company based in Birmingham, England, that specialises in innovative and avant-garde productions of the operatic repertoire, often in unusual venues. History The company was founded by leading in ...
– specialises in staging innovative performances in unusual venues (in 2005 it performed Monteverdi's ''Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria'' in a burnt-out ice rink in the Chinese Quarter). Its artistic director, Graham Vick, has also directed at
La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
, Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera House in London. Visiting opera companies such as Opera North and Welsh National Opera perform regularly at the Hippodrome. Birmingham's other principal classical music venues include The
National Indoor Arena Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...
(NIA),
CBSO Centre The CBSO Centre is the administrative home and rehearsal centre of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Choruses (City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus and City of Birmin ...
,
Adrian Boult Hall The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...
(ABH) at Birmingham Conservatoire, the Barber Concert Hall at the
Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert At ...
and
Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham Town Hall is a concert hall and venue for popular assemblies opened in 1834 and situated in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It no ...
. Concerts also regularly take place in churches around the city including St Phillips Cathedral, St Paul's in the Jewellery Quarter, St Alban's in Highgate and
The Oratory The Oratory stands to the north of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral in Merseyside, England. It was originally the mortuary chapel to St James Cemetery, and houses a collection of 19th-century sculpture and important funeral monuments as part of the ...
on the Hagley Road.


Jazz

Jazz has been popular in the city since the 1920s. The Harmonic Festival, the Mostly Jazz Festival and the annual International Jazz Festival run alongside the year-round contemporary programme presented by promoters and development agency Jazzlines, which is now integrated into Performances Birmingham Limited that runs Birmingham Town Hall and Symphony Hall, directed by
Tony Dudley-Evans Tony Dudley-Evans is Jazz Adviser to the Jazzlines programme at Town Hall/Symphony Hall Birmingham and Programme Adviser to the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. He now sees himself as a jazz promoter, but he was for many years a British linguist and expe ...
and Mary Wakelam Sloan. The musician-led Blam! also present regular jazz sessions in several venues around the city. Jazz musicians associated with the city include Andy Hamilton, Soweto Kinch, Julian Arguelles, Ronnie Ball, Tony Kinsey,
Douglas "Dougle" Robinson Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...
and
King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...
. The busiest promoter of contemporary jazz in the city is the organisation Jazzlines (based in and a department of Symphony Hall), which mounts dozens of concerts every year featuring local, national and international artists in venues such as the CBSO Centre, the mac arts centre, the Glee Club and Symphony Hall. It enjoys the support of the city council and the Arts Council of England and also commissions new works from both local performers and performers of international standing.


Popular music

During the 1960s Birmingham was the home of a music scene comparable to that of Liverpool. Although it produced no single band as big as The Beatles it was "a seething cauldron of musical activity", and the international success of groups such as The Move, The Spencer Davis Group, The Moody Blues, Traffic and the
Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...
had a collective influence that stretched into the 1970s and beyond. The city was the birthplace of
heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...
, with pioneering metal bands from the late 1960s and 1970s such as Black Sabbath,
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
, and half of Led Zeppelin having come from Birmingham. The next decade saw the influential metal bands
Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...
and
Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...
arise from the city. Birmingham was the birthplace of modern bhangra in the 1960s, and by the 1980s had established itself as the global centre of bhangra culture, which has grown into a global phenomenon embraced by members of the Indian diaspora worldwide from Los Angeles to Singapore. The 1970s also saw the rise of reggae and ska in the city with such bands as Steel Pulse, UB40, Musical Youth, Beshara and The Beat, expounding racial unity with politically leftist lyrics and multiracial line-ups, mirroring social currents in Birmingham at that time. Other popular bands from Birmingham include
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
, Fine Young Cannibals, Ocean Colour Scene, The Streets, The Twang and Dexys Midnight Runners. Musicians Jeff Lynne, Ozzy Osbourne,
Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...
, John Lodge, Roy Wood, Joan Armatrading, Toyah Willcox, Denny Laine,
Sukshinder Shinda Sukshinder Shinda (born Sukshinder Pal Singh Bhullar, Punjabi: ਸੁਖਸ਼ਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਭੁੱਲਰ) is a British-Indian playback singer-songwriter and bhangra Record producer from Handsworth in Birmingham, England. Since ...
,
Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
, Jamelia and
Fyfe Dangerfield Fyfe Antony Dangerfield Hutchins (born 7 July 1980) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the founding member of the indie rock band Guillemots. Early life Born in Moseley, Birmingham, in 1980, he moved to Bromsgrove at the ag ...
all grew up in the city. Since 2012 the
Digbeth Digbeth is an area of Central Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment ...
-based
B-Town B-Town is the name given to an indie music scene based in the Digbeth area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. B-Town bands include Peace, Swim Deep, JAWS, Sugarthief, and Spilt Milk Society. Details Some local commentators have suggested the ter ...
indie music scene has attracted widespread attention, led by bands such as Peace and
Swim Deep Swim Deep are a British indie pop band formed in Birmingham, England. The band currently consists of Austin Williams (vocals), Cavan McCarthy (bass), James Balmont (keyboards), Robbie Wood (guitar), and Thomas Fiquet (drums). Swim Deep were fo ...
, with the NME comparing Digbeth to London's
Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...
, and ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' writing that "Birmingham is fast becoming the best place in the UK to look to for the most exciting new music". Birmingham's other city-centre music venues include the
National Indoor Arena Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...
, which was opened in 1991, O2 Academy on Bristol Street, which opened in September 2009 replacing the O2 Academy in Dale End, The
CBSO Centre The CBSO Centre is the administrative home and rehearsal centre of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Choruses (City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus and City of Birmin ...
, opened in 1997, HMV Institute in Digbeth and the
Adrian Boult Hall The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...
at the Birmingham Conservatoire.


Literature

The literary tradition of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
originally grew out of the culture of religious puritanism that developed in the town in the 16th and 17th centuries. Birmingham's location away from established centres of power, its dynamic merchant-based economy and its weak aristocracy gave it a reputation as a place where loyalty to the established power structures of church and feudal state were weak, and saw it emerge as a haven for free-thinkers and radicals, encouraging the birth of a vibrant culture of writing, printing and publishing. The 18th century saw the town's radicalism widen to encompass other literary areas, and while Birmingham's tradition of vigorous literary debate on theological issues was to survive into the Victorian era, the writers of the
Midlands Enlightenment The Midlands Enlightenment, also known as the West Midlands Enlightenment or the Birmingham Enlightenment, was a scientific, economic, political, cultural and legal manifestation of the Age of Enlightenment that developed in Birmingham and the wide ...
brought new thinking to areas as diverse as poetry, philosophy, history, fiction and children's literature. By the Victorian era Birmingham was one of the largest towns in England and at the forefront of the emergence of modern
industrial society In sociology, industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world i ...
, a fact reflected in its role as both a subject and a source for the newly dominant literary form of the novel. The diversification of the city's literary output continued into the 20th century, encompassing writing as varied as the uncompromising modernist fiction of Henry Green, the science fiction of John Wyndham, the popular romance of Barbara Cartland, the
children's stories Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...
of the Rev W. Awdry, the theatre criticism of Kenneth Tynan and the travel writing of Bruce Chatwin. Writers with roots in Birmingham have had an international influence. John Rogers compiled the first complete authorised edition of The Bible to appear in the English language; J. R. R. Tolkien is the dominant figure in the genre of fantasy fiction and one of the bestselling authors in the history of the world; W. H. Auden's work has been called the greatest body of poetry written in the English language over the last century; while notable contemporary writers from the city include David Lodge, Jim Crace,
Roy Fisher Roy Fisher (11 June 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English poet and jazz pianist. His poetry shows an openness to both European and American modernist influences, while remaining grounded in the experience of living in the English Midlands. ...
and Benjamin Zephaniah. The city also has a tradition of distinctive literary subcultures, from the Puritan writers who established the first Birmingham Library in the 1640s; through the 18th century philosophers, scientists and poets of the Lunar Society and the
Shenstone Circle The Shenstone Circle, also known as the Warwickshire Coterie, was a literary circle of poets living in and around Birmingham in England from the 1740s to the 1760s. At its heart lay the poet and landscape gardener William Shenstone, who lived at ' ...
; the Victorian Catholic revival writers associated with
Oscott College St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, often called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of the three seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Purpose Oscott Coll ...
and the
Birmingham Oratory The Birmingham Oratory is an English Catholic religious community of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. The community was founded in 1849 by St. John Henry Newman, Cong.Orat., the fi ...
; to the politically engaged 1930s writers of ''
Highfield Highfield may refer to: Places ;Places in England * Highfield, Bolton * Highfield, Derbyshire * Highfield, Gloucestershire *Highfield, Southampton *Highfield, Hertfordshire a neighbourhood in Hemel Hempstead * Highfield, Oxfordshire * Highfield, S ...
'' and the Birmingham Group. This tradition continues today, with notable groups of writers associated with the University of Birmingham, the Tindal Street Press, and the city's burgeoning crime fiction, science fiction and poetry scenes.


Theatre


Stage names

Kenneth Tynan and David Edgar were members of Birmingham's theatrical scene. The Birmingham School of Acting trains actors in the city.


Theatres

There are many theatres in Birmingham. The four largest professional theatres are the Alexandra Theatre ("the Alex"), Birmingham Repertory Theatre ("The Rep"), the Birmingham Hippodrome and the
Old Rep The Old Rep (originally Birmingham Repertory Theatre) is the United Kingdom's first ever purpose-built repertory theatre, constructed in 1913, located on Station Street in Birmingham, England. The theatre was a permanent home for Barry Jackso ...
. The '' mac'' and
Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
arts centres, the Crescent Theatre and the
Old Joint Stock Theatre The Old Joint Stock Theatre is a studio theatre and pub located at 4 Temple Row West in the centre of Birmingham, England. The listed building was designed as a library but owes its present name to its use by Birmingham Joint Stock Bank. Histor ...
also host many professional plays.
Sutton Coldfield Town Hall Sutton Coldfield Town Hall is a former hotel and council building in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. The building is Grade A locally listed. History Background A moot hall was built in Sutton Coldfield during the time of John Vesey, ...
has theatre facilities and hosts numerous amateur productions. The actors in the long-running Radio 4 serial '' The Archers'' live in and around Birmingham, where the supposedly rural programme is recorded. Birmingham also hosts a number of independent and community theatre companies, including
Banner Theatre {{primary sources, date=January 2012 Banner Theatre is a community theatre company based in Birmingham, England. The theatre was founded in 1974. History Founded in 1974, the theatre works with marginalized and disadvantaged communities using a c ...
which was founded in the city over thirty years ago. Round midnight ltd produce work for schools, colleges and arts centres as well as film, television and radio. For ten years, Birmingham's Fierce! festival has presented a performance art festival. It has recently begun commissioning new works from British and international performers.


Comedy

Comedians from Birmingham include Sid Field, Tony Hancock, Jasper Carrott,
Shazia Mirza Shazia Mirza ( ur, ) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her stand-up comedy, and her articles in British newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Daily Telegraph''. Early life and education Mirza was born in Birmi ...
and
Joe Lycett Joe Harry Lycett, also known by the self-given moniker Mummy, is an English comedian, painter and television presenter. Known for his sardonically camp style, whimsical public stunts and elaborate set designs, Lycett has been described as one ...
. Other leading figures include Jo Enright (Lab Rats, Phoenix Nights, Time Trumpet), Natalie Haynes, James Cook, Weakest Link winner Andy White and Barbara Nice (the creation of actress Janice Connolly). The Glee Club is the city's main comedy venue. The mac also host monthly/regular comedy sessions while smaller independent comedy promoters/ venues include The Cheeky Monkey Comedy Club, The Laughing Sole (in Strichley) and MY Comedy (Kitchen Garden Cafe, Kings Heath) with other nights at Old Joint Stock Theatre (city centre), and Alexandra Theatre. The
Birmingham Comedy Festival Birmingham Comedy Festival is an annual arts festival in the city of Birmingham. The festival takes place throughout the city for 10 days during October. While primarily focused on stand-up comedy, it also includes films, theatre, cabaret, visual ...
was founded in 2001 and runs over 10 days at the beginning of October with a line-up that combines leading TV names with rising talent from Birmingham and the West Midlands. Among the leading acts who've appeared at the festival are Frankie Boyle, Jimmy Carr, Lee Evans, Ken Dodd, Peter Kay, Michael McIntyre, Lenny Henry, Matt Lucas and Dylan Moran. The festival also runs the Breaking Talent Award, a comedy award for new and early career acts from across the wider West Midlands (established 2014). 2012's festival was headlined by
John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Albion ...
and included over 60 events around the city. The independent festival is open to not only stand-up comedy, but any art form, including theatre, music, visual arts, film, dance and spoken word, and in 2017 won What's On Readers' Awards for Best Midlands Arts Festival.


Visual arts


Fine art

David Cox was a Birmingham watercolour artist and president of the Associated Artists in Water Colour in 1810. An "Academy of Arts" was organised in 1814, and an exhibition of paintings took place in Union Passage that year. A School of Design, or "Society of Arts", was started February 7, 1821; Sir Robert Lawley, Bt (the first Lord Wenlock) presenting a valuable collection of casts from Grecian sculpture. The first exhibition was held in 1826, in a building on New Street. The first Ballot for pictures to be chosen from the Annual Exhibition of Local Artists took place in 1835. Edward Burne-Jones was born in Birmingham, spent his first twenty years in the city, and later became the president of the Birmingham Society of Artists (which dates from 1826). He strongly influenced the Birmingham Group, which formed the link between late Romanticism in the visual arts and the
Birmingham Surrealists The Birmingham Surrealists were an informal grouping of artists and intellectuals associated with the Surrealist movement in art, based in Birmingham, England from the 1930s to the 1950s. The key figures were the artists Conroy Maddox and John Me ...
who were prominent in the city's arts in the early and mid-20th century. The Scottish painter William Gear (1915–97) had studied with
Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...
in Paris and after World War 2 became the only British member of the Surrealist-influenced COBRA, the most avant-garde movement of the time. Between 1964 and 1975 he was head of the Faculty of Fine Art at Birmingham College of Art and continued to live in the city until his death. The
Birmingham Arts Lab The Birmingham Arts Laboratory or Arts Lab was an experimental arts centre and artist collective based in Birmingham, England from 1968 to 1982 – an "arts and performance space dedicated to radical research into art and creativity". Loosely org ...
at Gosta Green was an important centre for alternative comic art in the late 1970s; in the 1990s the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery staged a historical retrospective of the work made there.


Photography

Victorian photographer
Sir Benjamin Stone Sir John Benjamin Stone (9 February 1838 – 2 July 1914) was a British Conservative politician and photographer. Life and career Stone was born in Duddeston, Birmingham the son of a manager at a local glass works. The business passed into t ...
(1838–1914) lived and worked in Erdington, Birmingham. The Birmingham Central Library now holds th
Benjamin Stone Collection
The Victorian "father of art photography", Oscar Gustave Rejlander lived and worked at nearby Wolverhampton, and was a founder member of the Birmingham Photographic Society. The BPS later elected Henry Peach Robinson as a member. The photographer Bill Brandt made an extensive series of photographs for the Bournville Village Trust in Birmingham, between 1939 and 1943. These have been published as the book ''Homes Fit For Heroes'' (Dewi Lewis, 2004). The post-war changes in the cityscape, especially the clearance of older housing and the changes to the central markets, wer
documented
by Phyllis Nicklin (1913?-1969). In late 1979, Derek Bishton (now Consultant Editor for ''The Daily Telegraph''), John Reardon (became Picture Editor of ''The Observer''), and Brian Homer were three community photographers and activists in Handsworth, and they facilitate
the 'Handsworth Self Portrait' series of self-portraits
on the streets of Handsworth, Birmingham. Other notable photographers include
Pogus Caesar Dr Pogus Caesar (born 1953) is a British photographer, conceptual artist, archivist, author, curator, television producer and director. He was born in St Kitts, West Indies, and grew up in Birmingham, England. Early life Dr Pogus Caesar was bo ...
, his
OOM Gallery Dr Pogus Caesar (born 1953) is a British photographer, conceptual artist, archivist, author, curator, television producer and director. He was born in St Kitts, West Indies, and grew up in Birmingham, England. Early life Dr Pogus Caesar was bo ...
Archive holds in excess of 14,000 photographic images from 1982–present. Caesar's recent exhibitions include From Jamaica Row – Rebirth of the Bullring, Muzik Kinda Sweet and That Beautiful Thing, his work is represented in Birmingham Central Library. Vanley Burke also created a major portfolio of British West Indian and African themed portrait and community photography from the 1970s to the 21st century. The city is home to famed fashion photographer Garazi Gardner.


Design and typography

John Baskerville John Baskerville (baptised 28 January 1707 – 8 January 1775) was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and type designer. He was also responsible for inventing "wov ...
(1706–1775) was a noted type designer, the developer of wove paper, and typographic businessman in fine printing. His Baskerville font is still in wide use today. The
Birmingham Guild and School of Handicrafts Birmingham Guild of Handicraft was an Arts and Crafts organisation operating in Birmingham, England, established at the end of the 19th century. History The Guild began as a loose part of the Birmingham Kyrle Society, then became a more fully f ...
operated a fine arts small-press, the Press of the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft. From 1895 until 1919 this Press produced books in the Kelmscott Press tradition of the Arts and Crafts Movement. George Kynoch's Kynoch Press (1876–1981) was a Birmingham printing house that substantially contributed to the development of a British typography. The teacher Leonard Jay (1888–1963) made the Birmingham School of Printing a profound influence on a generation of typographers, and set the pattern for printing education worldwide. More recent small-press printers included F. E. Pardoe and David Wishart. Robert Dudley Best (1892–1984), managing director of the lighting factory, Best & Lloyd, designed the "Bestlite" adjustable table lamp, which was first produced in 1930 and continues to be manufactured. Best was a member of the Design and Industries Association and was influenced by Walter Gropius.


Contemporary artists

Graffiti (or "spraycan art") culture appeared in the early 1980s, with the area featuring in Channel 4 documentary ''Bombing''. Local artists who use urban Birmingham as their canvas (this is illegal, and regarded by some as vandalism) have included
Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...
and Goldie. Street art competitions are still regularly held at the Custard Factory. A variety of contemporary public art is located around the city centre, most of it created by artists from outside the Midlands. The construction of the
Bull Ring Shopping Centre The Bull Ring is a major shopping area in central Birmingham England, and has been an important feature of Birmingham since the Middle Ages, when its market was first held. Two shopping centres have been built in the area; in the 1960s, and the ...
included three light wands which were erected at the main entrance, a huge mural on a glass façade located at the entrance facing
New Street station Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and v ...
and three fountains in St Martin's Square in the shape of
cube In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. Viewed from a corner it is a hexagon and its net is usually depicted as a cross. The cube is the only r ...
s, which are illuminated at night in different colours. Contemporary African-Caribbean artists and photographers who have exhibited internationally include
Pogus Caesar Dr Pogus Caesar (born 1953) is a British photographer, conceptual artist, archivist, author, curator, television producer and director. He was born in St Kitts, West Indies, and grew up in Birmingham, England. Early life Dr Pogus Caesar was bo ...
, Keith Piper and the late
Donald Rodney Donald Gladstone Rodney (18 May 1961 – 4 March 1998) was a British artist. He was a leading figure in Britain's BLK Art Group of the 1980s and became recognised as "one of the most innovative and versatile artists of his generation." Rodney's wo ...
.


Galleries

*
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert ...
is housed at the University of Birmingham and although only a small gallery it was declared 'Gallery of the Year' by the Good Britain Guide 2004. *Birmingham has one of the largest collections of
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
art in the world at The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. *The Ikon Gallery is housed in a neo-gothic former school in Brindleyplace and showcases
modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
. Number 9 The Gallery is close by. *The Halcyon Gallery is located inside the International Convention Centre. It opened with a major retrospective of
Robert Lenkiewicz Robert Oscar Lenkiewicz (31 December 1941 – 5 August 2002) was one of South West England's most celebrated artists of modern times. Perennially unfashionable in high art circles, his work was nevertheless popular with the public.
, and has continued with exhibitions by artists as diverse as Rolf Harris and L. S. Lowry. *The Waterhall gallery in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery displays a regular showcase of modern art which includes local artists and others sometimes from the city's own extensive collection. * Harborne Gallery, the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and the 'New Gallery' in St Paul's square also shows local artists. *The old Bird's Custard Factory is now one of the largest media and arts villages in Europe, with occasional exhibitions and modern sculpture and water features. *
OOM Gallery Dr Pogus Caesar (born 1953) is a British photographer, conceptual artist, archivist, author, curator, television producer and director. He was born in St Kitts, West Indies, and grew up in Birmingham, England. Early life Dr Pogus Caesar was bo ...
online collaborates with the private, public and voluntary sector by developing and producing a diverse range of multimedia art projects. *The mac hosts theatre performances, concerts, literature and poetry showcases, courses, film screenings and small art exhibitions. *The Drum Arts Centre features works of African, Asian and Caribbean contemporary artists. * Selly Oak ball park is home to many graffiti murals that change on a regular basis. Other graffiti art can be seen across the city on disused buildings and canal towpaths as well as subways. There are a variety of other small and private galleries in the city.


Media

Birmingham has several major local newspapers – the daily '' Birmingham Mail'' and the weekly ''
Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...
'' and ''
Sunday Mercury ''Sunday Mercury'' is a Sunday tabloid published in Birmingham, UK, and now owned by Reach plc. The first edition was published on 29 December 1918. The first editor was John Turner Fearon (1869–1937), who left the Dublin-based ''Freeman's ...
'', all owned by the Trinity Mirror. ''Forward'' (formerly ''Birmingham Voice'') is a freesheet produced by Birmingham City Council, which is distributed to homes in the city. Birmingham is also the hub for various national ethnic media, and the base for two regional
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
editions (East and West Midlands). The BBC has two facilities in the city.
The Mailbox Mailbox Birmingham (also known as The Mailbox) is a mixed-use development located within the city centre of Birmingham, England. It houses British luxury department store chain Harvey Nichols, and the BBC Birmingham studios. The scheme compr ...
, in the city centre, is the national headquarters of BBC English Regions and the headquarters of
BBC West Midlands BBC Midlands (known as the Midland Region from 1927 until c. 1974) is the BBC English Region producing local radio and web content for Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, and Worcestershire. Although the r ...
and the BBC Birmingham network production centre. These were previously located at the
Pebble Mill Studios Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...
in Edgbaston. The BBC Drama Village, based in Selly Oak, is a production facility specialising in television drama. Central/ATV studios in Birmingham were the location for the recording of many programmes for ITV including '' Tiswas'' and ''
Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
'', until the complex was closed in 1997, and Central moved to its current Gas Street studios. These were also the main hub for CITV, until that was moved to Manchester in 2004. Central's output from Birmingham now consists of only the ''West'' and ''East'' editions of the regional news programme ''
Central Tonight ''ITV News Central'' is a British television news service for The Midlands, broadcast and produced by ITV Central. History Launched on Friday 1 January 1982, replacing ''ATV Today'', ''Central News'' was initially a pan-regional service base ...
''. The city is served by numerous national and regional radio stations, as well as local radio stations. These include
Free Radio ''Free Radio'' is a television show, created by Lance Krall and Rory Rosegarten. The show originated on VH1, but has also played on Comedy Central, and Super Channel (Canada). It stars Lance Krall, prominent for his role on ''The Joe Schmo Show ...
, 102.2 Capital FM Birmingham, Heart West Midlands,
Greatest Hits West Midlands Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the West Midlands. The station forms ...
,
BBC WM BBC Radio WM is the BBC's local radio station serving the West Midlands. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Mailbox in Birmingham. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 236,000 lis ...
, New Style Radio 98.7FM and
Smooth Radio Smooth Radio may refer to: * Smooth Radio (2010), the original national network in the UK * Smooth Radio (2014) See also * Smoothfm smoothfm is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by NOVA Entertainment. From original ...
's West Midlands News & Admin Team. '' The Archers'', the world's longest running radio soap, is recorded in Birmingham for BBC Radio 4.


Cinema

Birmingham has not been especially prominent in British cinema, however there are a number of films that have been filmed partly or wholly in the city: * ''
Privilege Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...
'' (1967) * '' A Private Enterprise'' (1974) * '' Take Me High'' (1974) * ''
The Firm The FIRM (stylized as The FIRM) is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. The original "The FIRM" videos are best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training. History In 1979, Anna Bens ...
'' (1989) * ''
I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle ''I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle'' is a 1990 British comedy horror film about a motorcycle possessed by an evil spirit, which rides by itself and kills people, particularly members of a particular motorcycle gang. It stars Neil Morrissey as the ...
'' (1990) * ''
Bhaji on the Beach ''Bhaji on the Beach'' is a 1993 British comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha (in her feature film directorial debut) and written by Meera Syal. Plot A community group of British women (mostly Punjabis of various faiths) of differen ...
'' (1993) * ''
Felicia's Journey ''Felicia's Journey'' is a novel written by Irish author William Trevor, first published by Viking Press in 1994. The novel was made into a 1999 film of the same name. The book won the Whitbread Prize and ''The Sunday Express'' Book of the Ye ...
'' (1999) * ''
Sex Lives of the Potato Men ''Sex Lives of the Potato Men'' is a 2004 British sex comedy film, written and directed by Andy Humphries. The film is about the sexual antics of a group of potato delivery men in Birmingham and stars Johnny Vegas and Mackenzie Crook. ''Sex Liv ...
'' (2004) * ''
Don't Stop Dreaming ''Don't Stop Dreaming'' is a film directed by Aditya Raj Kapoor (son of actor Shammi Kapoor), produced by Munir Ahmad and set in Birmingham, England. Bollywood actors Rishi Kapoor and Sunil Shetty, ''EastEnders'' actress Michelle Collins, DJ and ...
'' (2007) * ''
Clubbed ''Clubbed'' is a 2008 British drama film about a 1980s factory worker who takes up a job as a club doorman, written by Geoff Thompson and directed by Neil Thompson. Plot In 1984, Danny - a lonely factory worker intimidated by life - is batter ...
'' (2008) * ''
1 Day ''1 Day'' is a 2009 British crime film about gangs and their communities in inner city Birmingham. The story follows Flash as he attempts to get £100,000 to his boss Angel in less than 24 hours or face certain death. Directed by Penny Woolcock ...
'' (2009) * '' Tormented'' (2009) * ''
Land Gold Women ''Land Gold Women'' is a 2011 English-language film written and directed by Avantika Hari, a graduate of the London Film School. The film is produced by Mumbai-based Vivek Agrawal. It is the first film in English that deals with the issue of hon ...
'' (2011) * '' Turbulence'' (2011) * '' Tezz'' (2012) * ''
The Girl With All The Gifts ''The Girl with All the Gifts'' is a science-fiction novel by M. R. Carey, published in June 2014 by Orbit Books. It is based on his 2013 Edgar Award-nominated short story ''Iphigenia In Aulis'' and was written concurrently with the screenplay ...
''(2016) * '' Kingsman: The Golden Circle''(2017)


Major arts events

From 1997 the city has hosted an annual arts festival '' ArtsFest'' during September, where families can enjoy many of the city's arts, for free. It is said to be the largest free arts festival in the UK. In December 2006 the city council announced that it would no longer hold Artsfest

but it continued in 2008 under the support of Brindley Place, Centro, Kerrang Radio and of course, Birmingham City Council. There are a number of events scheduled for the forthcoming months in Birmingha


See also

*
Architecture of Birmingham Although Birmingham in England has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years, today's city is overwhelmingly a product of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, with little surviving from its early history. As it has expanded, it has acqui ...


References

Notes Bibliography * * * * * * * *


External links


Birmingham EventsBirmingham Alive!Created in BirminghamBirmingham ArtsFestmac (Midlands Arts Centre)Birmingham Comedy FestivalBirmingham music files
{{City of Birmingham, state=collapsed Birmingham