Birmingham residents help put everyday lives in the museum

A curry-house booth, dance-hall membership cards and familiar toys can hold a city’s history, too. Birmingham’s new gallery gives those everyday experiences a place in its story.

A City That Can opens on 6 October at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, shaped by residents’ recommendations about what their museums should do.

The citizens’ jury brought together people from different backgrounds. Its report records that 26 residents completed 30 hours of discussion in 2024, producing 20 recommendations about access, community involvement and other priorities.

The resulting gallery includes a setting from the Koh-I-Noor curry house, preserved after artist Mohammed Ali rescued partitions and wallpaper during renovation. Birmingham-made Chad Valley toys and a vintage Cluedo game feature alongside music and sporting memorabilia.

Recruiting people without formal qualifications proved difficult, so the jury fell short of representing that part of the city.

But residents’ ideas have helped shape what visitors now encounter. The museum also invites people to contribute their own memories, leaving room for more of Birmingham to tell its story.

Sources

• BBC News — the new gallery and its exhibits
• Birmingham Museums — residents’ influence and preserved objects
• Shared Future — citizens’ jury report, participation and recruitment limitations