Heavy metal exhibition to rock the world thanks to £450,000 grant
AN EXHIBITION celebrating heavy metal – and Birmingham’s pivotal role in giving birth to the music – is to go international.
A touring version of Home of Metal will celebrate the headbanging genre and particularly the legendary influence of Black Sabbath, formed in Aston in 1968.
The show was first staged at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in 2011.
Now it is to return thanks to an Arts Council England grant of £450,000 for Digbeth-based organisers Capsule.
The funding will bring together fans around the world with artists and academics to tell their stories and explore the cultural legacy of the music and Black Sabbath.
The programme will launch in February in Birmingham on the final date of Black Sabbath’s last world tour. The organisers will be using social media to connect with fans, in countries as far afield as Brazil, India and Malaysia. The project will also collect stories from fans living under oppressive regimes to discover how they have shared music in ingenious ways.
The second year of the project will see the international tour before the exhibition returns to Birmingham in the third year.
When Home of Metal opened five years ago it attracted more than 200,000 visitors. Tony Iommi said: “An artist or band’s success can be measured by their relationship with the fans and the success of the Home of Metal exhibition brought home just how dedicated and loyal ours are. It’s always humbling to realise how you’ve touched people’s lives with your music. A project where fans are actively involved would be great.” Lisa Meyer, artistic director of Capsule, says: “This support from Arts Council England will enable Capsule to develop the next ambitious phase of Home of Metal and take the project to a global audience.
“We will be celebrating what is at the heart of the genre – the fans.”