Midlands Art Papers brings together 13 public museums and galleries across the region to collaborate on arts projects.
Founded in 2017 by the University’s Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies, Midlands Art Papers' aim is to bring together key public museums and galleries in the Midlands. Now with 13 organisations in the network, Midlands Art Papers is an important voice in the region’s arts community.
Working collaboratively across the network, researchers in the Art History, Curating and Visual Studies department work with museum partners to publish an open-access online journal featuring articles about regional collections, exhibitions, and curatorial and learning practices. It has become a key proponent of art in the Midlands, highlighting the significance of these local collections and installations.
The network has 7 published issues, focusing on topics ranging from co-production in museums, to the connections between art, manufacture and empire in collections across the region.
The 8th issue will be published in May 2025. It will focus on queer work in museums and galleries, spotlighting exhibitions, initiatives, and artworks at institutions including Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, The New Art Gallery Walsall, and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Articles written by experts across the network will explore how queer work in the Midlands is shaped by the precise contexts, histories, and audiences in the region. The launch of the 8th issue will be celebrated with an event at the Library of Birmingham on Tuesday 10 June.
Alongside the journal, Midlands Art Papers develop events and exhibitions that give local communities the opportunity to engage with the arts in new ways. The recent exhibition: Pop, Print, Protest at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery explores how Pop artists convey powerful, persuasive challenges to capitalism, racism and conflict.
Midlands Art Papers offers a unique opportunity for arts organisations to improve their regional connections and champion civic engagement on a larger scale. Speaking on the impact it has had since its inception, Dr Sophie Hatchwell, Associate Professor in History of Art, said: “Midlands Art Papers has helped to open up public collections of art and design in the Midlands to new research perspectives and contexts, and in doing so highlights and celebrates the richness and relevance of these important cultural assets. We hope that in the future Midland’s Art Papers can continue to help develop our understanding and appreciation of these collections by making research about them more accessible”
Associate Professor in History of Art
Biographical and contact information for Dr Sophie Hatchwell, Associate Professor in the Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies at the University of Birmingham.
