Midlands Art Papers: Manifesto
Midlands Art Papers (MAP) is a regional collaboration between researchers at the University of Birmingham and cultural practitioners from 13 partner museums and galleries.
Through new research and innovative public programming, since 2016 we have sought to open up public collections of art and design to new perspectives and contexts, developing understanding and accessibility.
Through exhibitions, events and our dedicated online journal, we support and advocate for the crucial work our partner institutions do in championing, developing and protecting our artistic culture and heritage, at a time when funding cuts have threatened this important work. With leading academics and practitioners in their fields, an international readership, and links to national initiatives such as Art UK and Tate’s British Art Network, MAP enables the University and our partners to gain national and international recognition, and to forge vital relationships for safeguarding our irreplaceable regional heritage and culture.
Aims
- To enable and initiate new, collaborative research into the outstanding collections of fine and decorative arts in public museums in the Midlands.
- To foreground and broaden access to these collections.
- To develop a cooperative research culture between the Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies, and museums and art galleries in Birmingham and the Midlands.
Partner institutions
- Barber Institute of Fine Arts
- Birmingham Museums Trust
- The Collection, Lincoln
- Derby Museums
- Dudley Museum and Art Gallery
- Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry
- Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum
- The New Art Gallery, Walsall
- New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester
- The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent
- Research and Cultural Collections, University of Birmingham
- Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
- Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Editorial board
Editor: Sophie Hatchwell, Lecturer in History of Art (s.hatchwell@bham.ac.uk)
Research and Communications Assistant: Jennifer Wilbur
We would welcome contact from other institutions in the region which would like to collaborate on Midlands Art Papers.
Contact us
Email: map@contacts.bham.ac.uk