Birmingham & Midland Institute

A big thank you to members of our exhibition committee, artist in residence Peter Tinkler and art consultant and author @ruth_millington for judging our forthcoming Summer Exhibition.

Exhibition opens Monday 18th August through to Saturday 27th September.
9am-4pm.
Free entry.

The Life of Vincent Van Gogh A slide show in 2 parts illustrated with Van Gogh’s drawings and paintings and a narrative by Stephen Nicol.

Discover the incredible life of Vincent Van Gogh! 🎨 Join artist Stephen Nicol for a three-hour deep dive into Van Gogh's journey from his early years in the Netherlands to his prolific period in Arles.

🗓️ Date: Tuesday 9th September
⏰ Time: 6:30 PM - 9 PM
🎟️ Tickets: rb.gy/6rcgxz

Our Artist in Residence, Peter Tinkler, continues on his fascinating journey through the 100 Heads challenge.

Day 1 of the @VPFA1 conference is drawing to close. What a lovely way to end. Victorian silent movies accompanied by pianist @bianca.vancea_pianist

See you all for day 2 tomorrow

#VPFAExtremes #silentmovies #victorian #history

We are delighted to welcome the @VPFA1 for day 1 of their 3 day conference "Heights, Depths and Extremes."

#VPFAExtremes #VPFA #bmi1854 #birmingham #victorian

169th President of The Birmingham and Midland Institute, Sir Paul Nurse, was at the Institute to deliver his President's Address on 5th July. Afterwards he presented Professor Colin Fink with the 2025 President's Medal and conferred Fellowship of the Institute upon Carl Chinn.

Today is a special day in Birmingham's history! On July 3rd, 1854, the @bmi1854 was founded with the vision of promoting education, science, and the arts for all.
171 years on, the BMI stands as a testament to enduring intellectual curiosity and cultural enrichment.
#celebrate #171yearsyoung

In preparation of our Presidential address on Sat 5th July. Here is our President Sir Paul Nurse on BBC's Desert Island Disks in Feb 2002.

Tickets are still available to hear Sir Paul's address - bmi.org.uk/events/preside…

bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0���

President's Address: "What is Life?" With Sir Paul Nurse — The Birmingham & Midland Institute In this lecture Sir Paul considers the question “What is Life?” by discussing five great ideas of biology, ranging from the ‘Cell’ to ‘the Logic of Life’. By considering these concepts a direction of ...

Curious about life's deepest mysteries? 🤔 Join us on July 5, 2025, for our President's Address: "What is Life?" featuring Nobel Prize winner Sir Paul Nurse! He'll delve into the five great ideas of biology.
Secure your spot today! shorturl.at/wbEIj
#Biology #Science

History of Lench's Trust Professor Carl Chinn and Lenchs Trust Chief Executive will take us through the remarkable history of Birmingham’s Oldest Charity

Don't miss our final Monday lunchtime talk on 30th June, 1pm.
@lenchs_trust
will be talking about their fascinating history.
Tickets still available.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/history-of...

Lots of you may know we are a clue in the #birmingham treasure hunt. But we are so much more than just a clue.
Why not pop in and find out about our history, check out our exhibition or just have a cake and drink in our cafe.

#birmingham #clue #treasurehunt #comeinside

BMI Memberships | Join Us | Conference Venues Birmingham — The Birmingham & Midland Institute Unlock exclusive benefits with BMI Membership, your gateway to a vibrant venue in Birmingham. Join us in shaping cultural excellence, seamlessly and with style.

Unlock exclusive benefits with a BMI membership! 🔑 Get unlimited library access, discounted events, priority booking & support a vital cultural institution. Invest in your mind & our city's heritage. Details here: shorturl.at/DCSzf
#BMI #BirminghamInstitute #CultureBham

To celebrate #WorldArtDay2025 this is collection of just some of the art we have exhibited here at the BMI in the recent years.
If you would be interested in exhibiting, please email enquiries@bmi.org.uk.

#WorldArtDay2025 #arts #exhibitions #birmingham #artists

We have such gems in our collection. This is part of a six volume set of books from 1642, contemporaneously describing the English Civil War.

Our Scientist in Residence, Dr James Dawson, captured the solar eclipse on Saturday morning. Using specialist equipment, he has produced this time lapse video. Truly awesome

#eclipsesolar #eclipse #astronomy

How Do New Legal Rights Emerge? How Do New Legal Rights Emerge? From Ancient Inscriptions to Modern Courts

Ever wondered where our legal rights originate from ?
Our next Monday lunchtime talk might be able to help.
Monday 7th April, 1pm.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-do-new...

Host your event at one of Birmingham's historic gems! 🎉 Flexible spaces, central location, and cultural charm await at the BMI.
Why not book one of our versatile rooms today, for a unique experience.
#VenueHire #Birmingham #Conferences #historic

YouTube video by lovesguide The Bells of St Chad's, Shrewsbury

One of our governors, Mark Eccleston is a bellringer. He takes part in a national competition in Shrewsbury today. We wish him enormous luck.
He is closest to the camera in the video of him ringing there a few years ago.

youtu.be/M_okHfulROw?...

Reality: the mind and the matter What is reality? Is what we experience in our lives real or mere shadows?

Our next Monday lunchtime talk will be on Monday 24th March, 1pm.
"Reality: the mind and the matter - What is reality? Is what we experience in our lives real or mere shadows?"

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reality-th...

Our Scientist in Residence, Dr James Dawson, was focusing his sun telescope in February, when a plane passed between the camera and the sun. This is an image of the vapour trails the plane left. #science #astronomy #astronomyphotography #birmingham #stars #stargazing

These are a an example of some of our wonderful pictures and portraits we have on display around the BMI building.

Portraits include past presidents and even the first visitor to the Institute.
#art #portrait #Birmingham #history

To celebrate World Book Day, we would like to share our cabinets which have been relocated to the main body of the Library.
Have fun reading today! 📚
#worldbookday #reading #books

With Ramadhan starting this week, we thought we would share images of the Qur'an, printed in 1734, that we hold. Printed in English as there were few Arabic printing houses in England at the time.
#Ramadan2025 #Birmingham

We relocated some of our oldest and most precious books back into the Library proper recently. This may be the oldest book we hold; Monastic English People, printed in 1656.

The Birmingham & Midland Institute The Birmingham & Midland Institute

Check out our Eventbrite page for all our upcoming events. Give us a follow and be the first to hear about any new events or activities we add to the programme.
tinyurl.com/ev67hvu7

#BirminghamUK #events #eventbrite #artsandculture #history #charity

Don't miss our talk with Birmingham artist Robert Geoghegan, on Tuesday 25th March, 7pm.
Robert will talk about his "Funny Brummie" paintings where he paints pictures in a detailed style of his home city covering iconic landmarks.
shorturl.at/BlZR8

BMI Memberships | Join Us | Conference Venues Birmingham — The Birmingham & Midland Institute Unlock exclusive benefits with BMI Membership, your gateway to a vibrant venue in Birmingham. Join us in shaping cultural excellence, seamlessly and with style.

For more information about the Institute or to become a member, please follow the link below.
www.bmi.org.uk/membership

In celebration of Valentine's Day! Please enjoy a poem about The Rose and The Hornet, published in 1703 for the Princess Royal, Charlotte.
#HappyValentinesDay ❤️🌹

This, along with thousands more books can be found in our #library. Memberships are available, starting from £25.

A photograph of New Street station, in Birmingham, 1929. This was the largest glass roof in the world, reaching from Navigation Street to the Rotunda. Built by Follett Ostler's company, he was active in the Birmingham and Midland Institute.
#trains #newstreet #birmingham #history