Research questions

• How can we gather and leverage input of local audiences to enrich a major new staging of the city of Birmingham’s world-leading Pre-Raphaelite collection?
• How can we establish a model for reframing art collections in light of their local relevance, in this case via the case study of the Pre-Raphaelites?
• How can we build upon the impact potentials identified in the AHRC Network ‘Pre-Raphaelites Online’, particularly through an emphasis on the global reach and the global connections and context of their radical aesthetic philosophy and multimodal practice?

About the project

Post-Raphaelites was an 18-month project developed by Birmingham Museums Trust, the University of Birmingham and True Form Projects CIC . In the first phase, two discussion-led workshops attended by artists, curators and community activists generated a series of observations and proposals sparked by the reconceptualisation of the city’s Victorian collections, especially its extensive Pre-Raphaelite holdings. Following these workshops, six of the artists engaged with the city’s holdings of 19th-century art and design, with each funded to develop an initial creative response to the historical collections. Sofia Niazi’s proposal Souvenirs from the Craft Workshop Waqf was selected to be worked up into a full-scale commission. She produced a group of works in textile, stained glass and print entitled and facilitated a series of public weaving workshops.

Links

• Trueform Projects website.
• Sofia Niazi’s reflections.