Your life at the Barber
If you join us in September 2027, you'll be based in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, close to the Great Hall and the Guild of Students. You'll study works from Botticelli and Bellini through Gainsborough, Gauguin and Van Gogh, to Manet, Magritte and Frank Auerbach in our gallery spaces and gain valuable hands-on gallery experience.
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Galleries
Having the world-class collection of the Barber on campus was such a treat throughout the duration of my studies. The main collection, spanning from the early Renaissance to the 20th century, means everyone can find something to enjoy and be inspired by. By studying and analysing these masterpieces, it encouraged a closer connection with the source material.
The Barber Fine Art Library
Lecture theatre and classrooms
Temporary exhibitions and highlights
Students can volunteer at the Barber and gain experience in curating, museum education, and marketing from the day they arrive. Optional modules like 'Inside The Gallery', taught by academic and Barber staff, introduce you to skills needed for careers across the creative industries.
Below are just a few of the Barber's temporary exhibitions.
Pocket-sized Power: A Feminist History of Portrait Miniatures
The Barber's current online exhibition by MA Art History and Curating students at Birmingham
Pocket-sized PowerPortrait miniatures are tiny, yet mighty objects. Often no bigger than a smartphone, these small detailed portraits were often made to be worn as jewellery and carried as keepsakes. Hidden in lockets, pockets, and homes, they let images and emotions travel across people and places.
Explore this online exhibition curated by our students. Pocket-sized Power brings together works from the Victoria and Albert Museum and rarely displayed works from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts.
My favourite exhibition at the Barber has to have been ‘Claudette Johnson: Darker Than Blue,’ which ran from 22 June to 15 September 2024. Johnson is renowned for her powerful depiction of Black figures, reclaiming their place within narratives of Western art history. The standout artwork for me was ‘Blues Dance’ (2023), a portrayal of a woman immersed in music and movement, brought to life by the vibrancy of the blue and yellow palette in the work. The exhibition was particularly meaningful, not only for its artistic impact, but also for being the first at the Barber to showcase the work of a Black woman.
Age of Bronze by Auguste Rodin
Art in the Barber foyer
Read the student blog about RodinThe Barber Institute purchased the bronze cast in 1942 and it is one of nineteen bronze casts made before Rodin’s death. Numerous casts of Rodin’s Age of Bronze can now be found exhibited all over the world, but what makes the Barber’s one so interesting is the way in which it is displayed.
The plinth that the sculpture sits on was made specifically for its display by the Barber gallery. The plinth seamlessly blends into the walls whilst baring the words ‘Art Gallery’ with an arrow pointing up the stairs. While arguments regarding its display are plentiful, it is much harder to argue against the impressiveness of the Age of Bronze, its importance as a piece of bronze sculpture, and its place in Rodin’s remarkable oeuvre.
Scent and the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites
Exhibition — October 2024 – January 2025
Scent and the Pre-RaphaelitesThe exhibition focused on scent as a key motif in the art and aesthetics of the Pre-Raphaelites. It explored how fragrances can be implied in paintings through the involvement of things like incense, smelling flowers, but also evoke hedonism, beauty and synaesthesia, enhancing the sensory aura of ‘art for art’s sake’. The exhibition also dealt with the social importance of scent, entering discourses around public sanitation, morality, mental health and women’s independence.
"Visiting during normal opening hours allowed the multi-sensory elements to truly shine. It was great to see students engaging with the Barber Institute’s activities." — Isabella Dryden.
As a student of History of Art at Birmingham, the Barber Institute collection and temporary exhibitions are naturally very close to my heart.