Birmingham's Public Art - City Centre Walking Tour
Overview
We get to understand Birmingham through the public art all around us on the streets of this amazing city. We see the birthplace of Sr Edward-Burne-Jones and understand how important he was as a second wave pre-Raphaelite artist.
You will be guided by author and photographer Jonathan Berg whose new book; 'Birmingham's Public Art' is published in November 2023. This tour is informative, friendly and great fun - a truly memorable experience
You will be guided by author and photographer Jonathan Berg whose new book; 'Birmingham's Public Art' is published in November 2023. This tour is informative, friendly and great fun - a truly memorable experience
Inclusions
- Tour guide
- Use of audio receiver to hear the tour guide's live tour perfectly.
- Earphones - If you can please bring earphones with a 3.5mm jack. If not we provide a new pair - you keep at the end and a small donation to our chosend charity appreciated.
- Entry/Admission - Birmingham Cathedral
- Entry/Admission - Victoria Square
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Grand Central, 68A East Mews, Birmingham B2 4XJ England
We pass through Grand Central and see Birmingham's exciting piece of public art - Ozzy the Bull.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Bullring Shopping Centre Walkway, Moor Street Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham England
We see public art in the Bullring.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street Southside, Birmingham B5 4TB England
We see street art arond the Southside area of Birmingham including Bee Girl.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: St Philip's Cathedral Garden, Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2QB England
We see public art in the Square
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Victoria Square, Birmingham B1 1BD England
Surrounded by architecturally inspiring buildings and with interesting artworks this is a place we spend a little time to start to understand the more artistic side of the city.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ England
We see the significant public art in the Square and understand more about the history of this place.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Centenary Square, Broad St., Birmingham B1 2AE England
We see public art from the 1920s art deco throuh to modern controversial bronze pieces. We get an understanding of how we the city uses public art to tell the back-story of Birmingham
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Birmingham Cathedral, Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2QB England
This was built as a church between 1715 - 1725. It became a cathedral in 1905 a few years after Birmingham had been given city status. If we are lucky enough to go inside the Burne-Jones stained glass is magnificent.
Duration: 10 minutes
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Grand Central, 68A East Mews, Birmingham B2 4XJ England
We pass through Grand Central and see Birmingham's exciting piece of public art - Ozzy the Bull.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Bullring Shopping Centre Walkway, Moor Street Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham England
We see public art in the Bullring.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street Southside, Birmingham B5 4TB England
We see street art arond the Southside area of Birmingham including Bee Girl.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: St Philip's Cathedral Garden, Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2QB England
We see public art in the Square
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Victoria Square, Birmingham B1 1BD England
Surrounded by architecturally inspiring buildings and with interesting artworks this is a place we spend a little time to start to understand the more artistic side of the city.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ England
We see the significant public art in the Square and understand more about the history of this place.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Centenary Square, Broad St., Birmingham B1 2AE England
We see public art from the 1920s art deco throuh to modern controversial bronze pieces. We get an understanding of how we the city uses public art to tell the back-story of Birmingham
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Birmingham Cathedral, Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2QB England
This was built as a church between 1715 - 1725. It became a cathedral in 1905 a few years after Birmingham had been given city status. If we are lucky enough to go inside the Burne-Jones stained glass is magnificent.
Duration: 10 minutes
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- We try not to cancel tours even with adverse weather conditions. If it is raining please bring a suitable coat or umbrella. In the event of icy conditions the tour route may be adapted.
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Face masks provided for travelers
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
- Social distancing enforced throughout experience
- Gear/equipment sanitized between use
- Guides required to regularly wash hands
- We use a live audio system. The guide uses a radio transmitter and each guest has an audio receiver loaned to them. This ensures you can hear the guide from 2m or much further if you wish. Routes are chosen to be outside in less crowded areas of the city.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
Staffshire
September 2023
From ..... - Annatomix to Zuke, - Edward Burne-Jones to William Bloye, - in-situ bass-relief carvings to illusionary Trompe L'Oeil ceiling frescoes, - historic memorials to political sculptures, - pre-Raphaelite and art nouveau expression to contemporary street art, - geometrically conceiv...
From ..... - Annatomix to Zuke, - Edward Burne-Jones to William Bloye, - in-situ bass-relief carvings to illusionary Trompe L'Oeil ceiling frescoes, - historic memorials to political sculptures, - pre-Raphaelite and art nouveau expression to contemporary street art, - geometrically conceived creations to soon to be rejuvenated world renowned stained glass windows ..... Birmingham's public art has it all in spades! We walk past these fabulous, free to all public exhibits across the city every day without stopping to admire, question, appreciate or understand their significance. To even scratch the surface of this wealth of public art, you need a great guide who can connect with the interests of a diverse audience, which included today some who have lived in the city all their lives and others from much further afield, nationally and internationally. Jonathan Berg has devoted many years to becoming an authority on all things artistic and culturally home grown in Birmingham and his walking tours are pacey, immensely engaging, full of interesting discoveries and very rewarding to all who subscribe to them. He is very at ease and presents his two hour itinerary with great clarity, insight and humour to ensure that everyone feels that they have learnt and discovered a great deal. We undertook this tour today (our sixth 'Positively Birmingham' walking tour) in anticipation of the publication of Jonathan's new book 'Birmingham's Public Art' at the beginning of November. It was very educational and enjoyable from beginning to end and left us wanting to discover more. As well as the pieces of interest that Jonathan showed us, he also directed us to other works elsewhere in the city to discover for ourselves. For anyone interested in public art generally and for those who are Brummies through and through, I cannot recommend these tours too enthusiastically. It is hard to imagine anyone embarking upon a tour with Jonathan not feeling enriched throughout. I attach but a dozen of the pictures I took today and I look forward very much to seeing all of Jonathan's photographs when his book is published.O4940TNevelynp
September 2023
An extremely thought provoking tour of the incredible diverse art in Birmingham City centre. Fantastic. Thank you Jonathan for sharing your knowledge so easily. I look forward to returning to Birmingham to go on another of your tours.
An extremely thought provoking tour of the incredible diverse art in Birmingham City centre. Fantastic. Thank you Jonathan for sharing your knowledge so easily. I look forward to returning to Birmingham to go on another of your tours.Analemmatic
September 2023
Jonathon has great enthusiasm and knowledge for the tour. It's shows how much we saw that there was loads that we just walked past.... Great variety too. From Victorian artists to modern street art
Jonathon has great enthusiasm and knowledge for the tour. It's shows how much we saw that there was loads that we just walked past.... Great variety too. From Victorian artists to modern street artPassport54407006134
September 2023
Jonathan's tour begins in front of St Martin's Church, Bullring; and ends in Centenary Square - a thorough exploration of public art in the city I never knew existed. Fascinating. Jonathan's encyclopedic knowledge is impressive, interspersed with a gentle wit and sardonic humour contextualising t...
Jonathan's tour begins in front of St Martin's Church, Bullring; and ends in Centenary Square - a thorough exploration of public art in the city I never knew existed. Fascinating. Jonathan's encyclopedic knowledge is impressive, interspersed with a gentle wit and sardonic humour contextualising the history of Birmingham bringing you right up to date. The audio system works well. The tour is evenly paced at two hours. Well worth it; highly recommended.ianl285
September 2023
… of explanation, information, anecdote, artistic creation. The guide was a continuous combination of great knowledge and humour. Excellent. Very recommended.
… of explanation, information, anecdote, artistic creation. The guide was a continuous combination of great knowledge and humour. Excellent. Very recommended.Departure732930
September 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed this walking tour around the centre of Birmingham. Wonderfully highlighted the public art (monuments, memorials , place marking and some street art) which at times would otherwise be blurred into the backdrop of a busy commercial centre.
Thoroughly enjoyed this walking tour around the centre of Birmingham. Wonderfully highlighted the public art (monuments, memorials , place marking and some street art) which at times would otherwise be blurred into the backdrop of a busy commercial centre.