Travel Destinations

Birmingham is a cosmopolitan city in the West Midlands (a county in England), it is a really popular vacation destination. The city has a huge number of world class attractions including many listed churches and stately homes as well as many museums and galleries, including Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery.

The Ikon Gallery is an art gallery focusing on contemporary art which is situated in the former Oozells Street Board School in Brindleyplace, however it had not always has such a prestigious local.

The gallery was founded in the year nineteen sixty four by 4 artists and Angus Skene. The 4 artists were; David Prentice, Sylvani Merilion, Jesse Bruton and Robert Groves. Angus Skene had purchased and the two of them discussed the endless problems suffered by local artists, which included the lack of venues and support. The conversation formed the basic ideas for Ikon which was to be a “gallery without walls”.

Skene financed the project initially, which consisted of mobile exhibitions in such diverse venues as post offices and cinemas in a motorcycle sidecar, the idea being to make the public more aware of art. To keep the overheads down staffing was by the family, friends and the founding artists who did not charge for their time. In 1965 the Ikon Gallery obtained a glass kiosk in the Bull Ring shopping centre.

Over the 2 couple of decades the Ikon Gallery moved from place to place until 1997 when it purchased, with aid from the National Lottery, its current premises, the former Oozells Street Board School. In recent years the Ikon Gallery has put on a selection of exhibitions and its continuous ability to excel has led it to become surprisingly popular, to such an extent that in 2006 it opened a further gallery, the Ikon Eastside in Digbeth.

If you are considering a short break in Birmingham try to allow time to visit the Ikon Gallery. Also it is important to know that although there are many Birmingham hotels and guest houses finding bed and breakfast in Birmingham can sometimes be very difficult. Because of this it is vitally important to book your accommodation at the earliest opportunity. You should know that Birmingham Airport is approximately 8 miles from the center of the city just off the A45 and near the M42 (junction 6). You will will be able to find a respectable number of hotels and guest houses close to the airport.

If you are planning to stay in Birmingham bed and breakfast accommodation you may be interested in our listings of accommodation close to the Ikon Gallery