New funding unlocks the history and heritage of The Exchange in Birmingham
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded more than £170,000 for a new project at The Exchange.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded more than £170,000 to the University of Birmingham for a project exploring the history of the Birmingham Municipal Bank building, now The Exchange.
The project, called ‘Unlocking the Vaults,’ will explore the bank’s archive, interview people who used to be customers of and work at the bank through historian-led community research with volunteers and students, and include a community photography exhibition.
In addition to understanding the history of the bank, the project will also explore financial resilience and household saving in modern-day Birmingham, incorporating new research from the University of Birmingham.
Public Programme Officer at the University of Birmingham, Jane McArdle, said: “We are delighted to have received this funding from National Lottery players and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which will enable us to dig deeper into the heritage of this amazing building. The funding allows us to invite members of the public to get involved in first-hand and archival research, as well as share these findings through exhibitions and events. We will also be able to work with schools and community groups and further use our ground breaking research with the communities of Birmingham, both past and present.”
The Banking Hall inside of the Birmingham Municipal Bank.
The Banking Hall now inside The Exchange.
The funding has been announced during Birmingham Heritage Week, which also sees The Exchange receive a plaque to commemorate its 2022 Birmingham Civic Society Renaissance Award. The annual award is given to building projects in the city that evidence the very best in conservation in their development.
Richard Sapcote, Chair of The Birmingham Civic Society, said: “Every year the Birmingham Civic Society judging team review the applications to secure the Renaissance Award and sifts to a few to view. This time we toured five buildings where the owners have taken care of and retained an unloved property. The Exchange had that wow factor, the University of Birmingham had gone to extreme lengths in retaining historic features and truly invested in its long-term future. A deserved winner.”
As part of Birmingham Heritage Week, The Exchange is holding a free Family Heritage Day on Saturday 14th September. The Heritage Day celebrations will include drama workshops, themed tours, talks, storytelling workshops, and arts and crafts drop-in activities.
Simon Cane, Director of Public and Cultural Engagement said: “When the University of Birmingham opened The Exchange in 2021, we knew that the history of the building was key to our mission to make it a new city centre hub connecting the research of the University to our diverse Birmingham community. From our regular building tours to just visiting the café for a cup of coffee, there are different ways that the people of Birmingham can see and connect to the beautiful history of this building, but thanks to this new funding we are now able to invite people to take part in Unlocking the Vaults, and get even further immersed in this vital part of our city’s story.”
Notes for editors
Notes for editors
- For media inquiries please contact Ellie Hail, Communications Officer, University of Birmingham on +44 (0)7966 311 409. Out-of-hours, please call +44 (0) 121 414 2772.
- The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 8,000 international students from over 150 countries.
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About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in the strategic plan, Heritage 2033.
Over the next ten years, the Heritage Fund aims to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.
The Heritage Fund helps protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.
The Heritage Fund is passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.
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www.heritagefund.org.uk