Made in Birmingham explores Birmingham's industrial prowess in the 19th century. Picture courtesy Birmingham City Council
Outdoor Exhibition: Made in Birmingham, Centenary Square, Birmingham, until August 31 2009
Some people may still not readily identify England’s vibrant second city as a place of culture, but most do know that Birmingham is steeped in a fascinating and important history.
Once called ‘the city of a thousand trades’, Victorian Birmingham was a vibrant industrial metropolis, a powerhouse of the industrial revolution that supplied the world with all sorts of commodities from hatpins to cars.
This important heritage is currently being commemorated with a free outdoor photographic exhibition in the city’s Centenary Square.
A flyer from the exhibition of Local Manufacturers and Natural History, which was held in 1886. Picture courtest Birmingham City Council
Made in Birmingham celebrates one of the most significant public demonstrations of the city’s industrial prowess: The Exhibition of Local Manufacturers and Natural History, which was held in 1886 at Bingley Hall, now the site of the International Convention Centre.
Featuring over 50 stunning images taken by Birmingham photographer John Collier at the 1886 exhibition the new exhibition coincides with the bicentenary of the death of industrialist and inventor Matthew Boulton who played a huge part in transforming Birmingham and Britain into a real industrial powerhouse.
A statue of Boulton with his contemporaries James Watt and William Murdoch, overlooks the square where the exhibition takes place.
Birmingham was known as 'the city of a thousand trades'. Picture courtesy Birmingham City Council
Made in Birmingham is part of the year-long ‘Advantage West Midlands Celebration of Imagination’, in aid of the innovations, revolution and transportation which defined the West Midlands region we know today.
Find out more about Matthew Boulton and his bicentenary on the Birmingham City Council website and the Black Country’s Celebration of Imagination at www.visittheheart.co.uk
