The Exchange X Barber LATES: Art, science and the natural world
- Location
- The Exchange 3 Centenary Square Birmingham B1 2DR
- Dates
- Thursday 5 June 2025 (18:00-20:00)
René Magritte, 'The Flavour of Tears', 1948, © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2025
The Exchange, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, and Vivid Projects team up for a playful and thought-provoking evening of art, creativity and conversation.
Inspired by René Magritte’s The Flavour of Tears—a surrealist painting that challenges how we see nature—this event brings together bold new responses from ways towards something, a Birmingham collective.
See how cutting-edge environmental and cultural research from University of Birmingham academics collides with the Barber’s collection. And get hands-on at our drop-in collage party, exploring themes in Magritte’s work.
Event Schedule
Talks
18:10 – Welcome and Introduction to ‘Flavour of Tears’ by René Magritte – The Barber Institute of Fine Arts
18:25 – René Magritte: Rework, Reuse, Respond – Dr John Fagg, Senior Lecturer in American Literature and Cultures
18:40 – BREAK
18:55 – Talk from Stefan Krause, Professor of Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry
19:10 – BREAK
19:20 - Sound Performance by ways towards things with Carla Busuttil
20:00 – Event close
Drop-in Workshops
Collage Party: Get hands-on at our drop-in collage party, exploring themes in Magritte’s work with BCU MA Arts and Education students.
Sculpting Nature and Decay: Join artist duo Juneau Projects and create your own mini sculpture inspired by Magritte’s surrealist masterpiece and current UoB research into the natural world.
Come for the art, stay for the conversation, and discover how surrealism, science and creativity meet in unexpected ways.