'Four Stories' was developed by Dr Ruth Page and is the first project to come from the Birmingham Museums Trust Research Group.
This Research Group was initiated by the Digital Humanities Hub at the University of Birmingham, and is a unique project which brings together curators and academics to develop collaborative research based on the museum collections.
The ‘Four Stories’ book features two works of art from Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: ‘Prayers in the Desert’ by William James Müller and ‘Vanity’ by Helen Chadwick. The eight writers who have responded to these works have diverse expertise as curators, artists, art historians, novelists and historians. Together, their reflections bring to life the historical, imagined, literary and personal stories that lie behind and run through these works.
Four Stories was launched with readings from the writers at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on Tuesday 19 July, 2016.
You can see ‘Prayers in the Desert’ in the Faith in Birmingham Gallery, and ‘Vanity’ by Helen Chadwick in the ‘Turning to See’ exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Limited edition copies of ‘Four Stories’ are available for visitors in both galleries over the summer.