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In November 2025 we visited Birmingham's main museum, which has in the last couple of years been reawakening from a shut down during which many of its galleries were redesigned so as to refresh their relevance to the city, its people, and its place in the world. Maialen Maugars (who has researched the museum) and Robert O'Toole from Warwick were given a tour and a chance to discuss the makeover with head of participation at BMAG, Andrea Bonnell.

The results of the redesign are amazing. And rich with ideas. It is a big museum, with diverse collections. For example, the Industrial Gallery and Birmingham: Its People, Its History exhibition are bright, and lively, inspiring excitement and conversation about the city. The Pre-Raphaelites gallery feels like a place for the calm contemplation of beauty. In the Staffordshire Hoard exhibition we hear from the archaeologists and historians involved in this amazing discovery, and see the bling: gold, metalwork, swords, helmets. And then in the Elephant Room the curators challenge us, and themselves, to think about the provenance and purpose of exhibits, how they were collected, and how collecting might take them away from the context and the people in which they belong.