Birmingham’s historic architecture and changing landscape will be put in the picture at a new exhibition showcasing how the city’s skyline has been transformed over the last 20 years.
Birmingham City University’s Parkside Gallery will host the ‘Brummagem Lost City Found’ exhibition from today (September 18), which brings together a collection of large-scale prints, paper constructions and rare archive materials centred around some of the city’s most iconic sites.
The artworks, which feature artistic takes on Spaghetti Junction, the Inner Ring Road and New Street Signal Box, have been produced by two local artists, Birmingham City University Professor, Andrew Kulman and Sara Kulman.
Both Andrew and Sara are residents of Birmingham and use city’s transformation as the inspiration for the work on show in ‘Brummagem Lost City Found’.
The exhibition has been compiled in a bid to recognise and honour the Brutalist architecture which characterised the city’s architecture during the 1950s-70s.
Professor Andrew Kulman said: “Over the last 20 years Birmingham has lost much of the Brutalist architecture that characterised the city. Most recently the iconic Central Library was controversially demolished and is being replaced by brand new buildings.
“While it would be hard to deny the benefits to the city, there is an overwhelming feeling of loss as the old buildings fall and the city is reshaped. As the city is regenerated there is a sense of nostalgia among those who called the ‘concrete jungle’ home.”
‘Brummagem Lost City Found’ is free for the public to attend at Birmingham City University’s Parkside Gallery at its City Centre Campus in Eastside.
Sara Kulman added: “Birmingham is a fantastic place for artists to work and exhibit, the changing city is a great inspiration. This exhibition has given me the opportunity to reflect on the city as it is today, to bring new life and a fresh perspective to the remaining structures that defined my youth, a city that I still call home.”
The exhibition will run from September 18 to October 27.