• Five-year plan to reshape the city’s museum landscape.

• Sets out vision for world class, inclusive museums that reflect Birmingham’s diverse heritage.

• Includes urgent restoration projects at key historic sites and full reopening of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery by 2031.

An ambitious five-year strategy to reshape Birmingham’s museum landscape, ensure its long-term sustainability and greater community engagement has been unveiled by Birmingham Museums Trust.

The trust’s Strategy and Business Plan 2025-30: Laying the Foundations, developed with recommendations from its citizens’ jury and extensive audience research, outlines its vision for world-class, inclusive museums that reflect Birmingham’s diverse heritage.

The strategy aims to be game changing for the future of the city’s museums and Birmingham’s citizens’ experience of their city.

The development of the strategy was made possible with the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.

Birmingham Museums Trust operates nine museum sites, namely, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, Museum Collection Centre, Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Sarehole Mill, Soho House and Weoley Castle.

The trust manages a collection of over one million objects and specimens covering art, human history, science and industry and natural science on behalf of Birmingham City Council - one of the top three most important civic museum collections in the UK.

Its new strategy sets out an ambitious vision for transformation within the context of the city council’s financial constraints and wider sector funding challenges, taking decisive steps to secure alternative revenue streams while advocating for cultural investment.

This includes the full reopening of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery by 2031 and launching a large-scale digitisation programme to better connect all its sites with, and attract wider audiences from, all of the communities of Birmingham, including global majority audiences, young people and families.

The plan also focuses on modernising infrastructure, including urgent restoration projects at key historic sites and a transformation of the Museum Collection Centre.

Additionally, the trust is working towards a net zero roadmap to improve environmental sustainability across all sites.

As part of its mission to strengthen public engagement, it will launch new immersive exhibitions, increase digital access to collections and establish a cultural citizenship research centre to drive collaborative research and audience participation.

"Our museums are at a critical crossroads," said Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah, co-chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust.

"This strategy is about resilience, reinvention and making sure Birmingham’s cultural treasures remain accessible and relevant to all.

“It is an unapologetically ambitious plan to invest in the city’s greatest cultural asset, to create a world class museum service, which can be at the forefront of making Birmingham a great place to live, work, play and visit. And even beyond this, to deliver our mission as part of the wider arts and culture sector. 

“We are committed to fostering a more democratic, inclusive approach to heritage, ensuring that every community sees themselves reflected in our spaces and stories."

As part of its collective statement, the Birmingham Museums’ Citizens’ Jury, whose recommendations helped to inform the strategy, said:

“We acknowledge our museums are fighting for their survival; they must take risks in their bid to be inspiring, educating, engaging to all.

“It is important for our museums to involve and represent the communities they are responsible to, that is, the people of Birmingham and they shouldn’t be precious about doing so.

“We deserve museums that are proud of us, that we can be proud of, that celebrate what’s unique about Birmingham.”

Liz Bates, Director, England, Midlands & East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

“We’re proud to have supported Birmingham Museums Trust in developing a strategy that places community connection and long-term sustainability at its core. The nomination of the groundbreaking citizens’ jury for a Museums Change Lives award highlights the thoughtful and inclusive approach taken.

“Supporting museums to adapt and remain relevant is important for our vision for heritage, and part of how we’ve invested over £2 billion of National Lottery and other funding to help safeguard heritage across the Midlands and East of England.”