Top West Midlands Art & Culture Spots: A Local’s Guide

Planning a trip around the West Midlands and keen to soak up some local artistry and heritage? That region of England’s pretty stacked with terrific destinations, but sussing out which spots are genuinely worth your time can be a bit of a minefield. You want stuff that’s a bit special, right? Well, stuff that properly reflects the heart and soul of the Midlands? Stuff that’s maybe slipped under your radar? Absolutely, it’s finding places which offer a real flavour of the area and are more than just the usual tourist traps, very much spots the usual tourist. This is the stuff that makes the region sing.

1. Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG)

So, you’re thinking of dipping into some culture in Birmingham? Proper place to kick things off is Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, often called BMAG. This is so much more than just your average place full of paintings and old bits, alright? This place gives you such a deep feel of Brum’s story and artistry, almost Brum’s story. The spot’s stuffed to the gills with Pre-Raphaelite paintings – they’ve got the biggest stack of them anywhere, actually! It’s like stepping straight into another universe with all these super-detailed, kinda dreamy works. But hold on, it isn’t just about pretty pictures. BMAG also carries all kinds of stuff that tells you about Birmingham’s past – the good bits and the tough bits. There’s a cracking collection about the city’s role in industry, peeks into lives of ordinary folk, plus things that show how Birmingham went from being a small market town to the major hub we know now. So, give yourself a decent amount of time. There’s loads to see.

2. The Black Country Living Museum

Fancy getting zapped back to the Black Country’s prime days? The Black Country Living Museum is a fab, real recreation of that specific timeframe, very museums terrific. You’re sort of walking into a proper living stage show. There are streets, houses, and workshops exactly as they’d have appeared way back when, around the Industrial Revolution era. Real life characters man these spaces. They’re dressed up in the kit, banging away at tools, telling stories, so all add a super genuine atmosphere. You almost believe you’ve travelled in some kind of time machine. Check out the chain-making shop, the canals, the homes – so much that throws light on just what existence was like when the Black Country was the powerhouse of industry, arguably, shows terrific. Get yourself a bag of chips from the chippy. They cook them in beef dripping, the old fashioned style. It’s banging!

3. Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Now, if the stage is more your kind of bag, it’s almost a must to take in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre up in Stratford-upon-Avon. The place oozes history and importance, in a way importance super genuine. Located in the Bard’s town of origin, there’s the added special feel you get in such a sacred site of English storytelling. The theatre sorts out amazing performances of Shakespeare’s plays. But it also showcases fresh contemporary dramas, very dramas stage. Even if you’re no lover of the old plays, the theatre is still grand to see inside, or so. Why don’t you take one of their back stage tours? It opens your eyes to all the hard work that goes into making such amazing theatrical productions, or arguably it makes hard work, really.

4. Coventry Cathedral

Fancy seeing something which really tugs at your heartstrings? Get along to Coventry Cathedral. What you’ve basically got is the old bombed-out shell of the previous cathedral sat right alongside the striking contemporary one, and the two sit next to each other amazingly, alright amazingly! What makes it punchy is it stands for hope and forgiveness coming out of absolute disaster, seemingly stands for. There’s so much symbolic artwork hanging all over the newer building which represents reconciliation, as a matter of fact. So, pay close attention to the tapestry of Christ – it’s a beauty – plus the engraved glass screen with all those holy people upon it, seemingly people! Just mooch about and you will soak up the peaceful atmosphere.

5. Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Tucked away inside the University of Birmingham’s grounds, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts is something of a hidden treasure. So it’s like, not many people outside of Brum are familiar with it? But those people in the know can verify its cracking stacks of masterpieces, almost, cracking hidden. This spot comes loaded up with stunning works by names like Botticelli, Bellini, Rubens, Gainsborough, and Monet. Seriously, these are famous names that pretty much everyone across the globe know about. Given the high profile artists they show off, it can almost be like seeing this quality in a little university museum? Definitely very, very definitely quality. You won’t just gawk at awesome artistry here. They also do shows, lectures, and workshops. So loads of stuff for getting closer to, or finding an alternate quality finding.