Birmingham Heritage Week to showcase hidden history
THE rich history of the Colmore business district will be brought to life during Birmingham Heritage Week next month.
Heritage Week, between September 6-16, celebrates the city’s diverse history with walks, talks, film screenings and visits to hidden gems.
Colmore BID, the Business Improvement District for the Colmore Row area, is sponsoring this year’s event, alongside The University of Birmingham, Historic England and Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
The week is managed by Birmingham Museums Trust.
History enthusiasts are invited for a tour of the business district led by history enthusiast Richard Trengrouse on Thursday, September 6 at 1pm. The walk will reveal some of the fascinating hidden history of the area, its lost buildings and some of the characters who have walked the same streets over the past two centuries.
Other Heritage Week events in the business district include a George Shaw photography lunchtime tour on September 11, a Historical Building Walk on September 12, and a featurelength documentary about American photographer Vivian Maier on September 13.
George Shaw was a professor of chemistry at Queens College and a respected member of Birmingham’s scientific, artistic, manu- facturing and educational communities during the Victorian era – and was also the first person in the city to make a photograph.
Vivian Maier was a little-known Chicago-based photographer who took more than 100,000 photographs which were left hidden in storage lockers and discovered decades later.
She is now considered among the 20th century’s greatest photographers and a contemporary of Birmingham photographer, Phyllis Nicklin, whose work featured in an award-winning exhibition in Snow Hill Square.
Jenny Thurston, co-ordinator for Birmingham Heritage Week, said: “Birmingham Heritage Week is the perfect time for the culturally curious to get out there and discover more about the city this September.
“Thanks to our sponsors, the festival continues to thrive and showcase the best of what Birmingham has to offer.
“The city has such a diverse and rich heritage and we’re are so pleased to be back to shout about it.”
For more about Heritage Week visit colmorebusinessdistrict. com/projects/heritage-week2018/ or birminghamheritage week.co.uk/