Public Art in Birmingham
Public Art in Birmingham
Jake Davies
Like all modern cities, Birmingham, England's "second city" has plenty of public art, mostly statuary but also some murals.
A simple walk around the city will bring you to dozens of artworks without you having to step inside a museum or gallery.
Probably the first public statues in the UK would have been religious in nature, and then rulers began erecting statues of themselves. Famous people from the locality are now well represented, as are memorials to wars and other major historical events.
Nowadays public art is springing up everywhere, not the least in shopping districts, and often modern pieces can cause controversy.
Here are a few of the hundreds of public statues that can be seen in a walk around central Birmingham.
Boulton, Watt & Murdoch Statues
Boulton, Watt, and Murdoch were three giants of the industrial revolution in The Midlands.
Matthew Boulton (1728 - 1809) was an industrialist and entrepreneur who took advantage of the inventions of the time to make and sell a massive number of products.
James Watt (1736 - 1819) is known mostly for his improvements to the steam engine, and William Murdoch (1754 - 1839) is credited with inventing gas lighting.
All three are buried in St. Mary's Church in Handsworth. The statue, larger than life-size, is gilded bronze and was designed by William Bloye and Raymond Forbes-Kings. It was unveiled in 1956.
It is currently in storage due to redevelopment, and is planned to be back in Centenary Square in 2020. Known by locals as "the golden boys", and sometimes as "the carpet sellers", both nicknames seemingly obvious.
The Guardians
The Guardians are a pair of statues that depict guardian animals that have features of several different animal species and somewhat human faces which leads some to label them sphinxes.
They are part of a tableau of sculptures all designed by Indian-born artist Dhruva Mistry that were placed in Victoria Square when it became pedestrianized in 1990's. The Guardians are carved out of the same stone as the Council House and Birmingham Museum behind them. Visible in the flower bed behind the Guardian in the photo is The River, the largest Mistry statue in the group.
The River
The River is a huge bronze statue of a woman meant to represent the "life force".
It was designed as a water feature, one of the biggest in Europe, with pools and fountains, but a series of costly leaks has led it to be converted into flower beds.
However, the statue has not lost its nickname of "Floozie in the Jacuzzi". Without the fountain the statue has now become a perch for local pigeons.
In front of the building is a sunken performance space, accessible from the lowest level of the interior, where concerts and other events take place.
Victoria Square
Victoria Square is named after Queen Victoria, so it's not surprising she has a statue here. The statue was unveiled in January 1901, just days before her death.
The statue was carved in marble by Thomas Brock, however the current statue is a bronze casting of the original done by William Bloye.
Anglepoise
Modern public art is often quirky and humorous, like Anglepoise located outside of Mailbox shopping mall. Designed by Holmes Wood in 2014 is simply a giant rendition of the classic desk lamp complete with plug and socket.
Chamberlain Memorial
The 65-foot-tall Neo-gothic Chamberlain Memorial was unveiled in 1880 and is dedicated to Joseph Chamberlain who was a councilor, then mayor, then MP for Birmingham. It was designed by architect John Henry Chamberlain who was a friend but not a relative.
The Bull
When the Bull Ring Shopping Center was redeveloped and renovated a new sculpture was installed. Created by sculptor Laurence Broderick, The Bull is one of the biggest bronze animal statues in the UK, being 4.5 meters long and weighing in at 6.5 tonnes.
Accommodation
There are places to stay to suit all budgets in Birmingham.
At the top end try the Clayton Hotel Birmingham or the Jurys Inn on Broad Street.
See a list of hotels in Birmingham.
Access - Getting to Birmingham
Birmingham New Street Station, right in the city centre, is Birmingham's main station with trains to Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston.
There are local train services from Snow Hill and Moor Street stations to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Worcester and Malvern.
Long distance National Express buses run nationwide from the bus station in Digbeth.
City transport in Birmingham is good and getting better with the Midland Metro a light rail system connecting Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich, Bilston and Wednesbury.
Centro organizes and co-ordinates the transport network in the West Midlands which includes the Midland Metro, buses and trains. Eventually the SWIFT smart card will be valid over the whole network.
Birmingham Airport, formerly Birmingham International Airport, is just over 5 miles south east of the city centre and offers both domestic and international flights. Birmingham International Station serves the airport and is just 10-15 minutes from New Street. There are buses to the airport from Birmingham city centre, Coventry, Erdington and Solihull.
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