City communities connect with Birmingham Shakespeare heritage
Community representatives from across Birmingham had an exciting preview of a major new project which will unlock the city's forgotten Shakespearean heritage.
Community representatives from across Birmingham had an exciting preview of a major new project which will unlock the city's forgotten Shakespearean heritage.
Community representatives from across Birmingham had an exciting preview of a major new project which will unlock the city’s forgotten Shakespearean heritage, restoring the world’s first great people’s Shakespeare Library to everyone in the city.
The evening included a chance to see the only First Folio in the world bought for comprehensive (including working-class) education, as well as artwork by Salvador Dali, costume designs by Jean Cocteau and much more.
University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood and Birmingham City Council leader Councillor Ian Ward welcomed guests to the event at the Library of Birmingham, where they learned more about the collection and plans for the ‘Everything to Everybody’ project.
The University and Council are collaborating on a £1 million plan to revive the city’s almost-forgotten Birmingham Shakespeare Memorial Library (BSML) - the first, oldest and largest Shakespeare collection in any public library in the world and one of the UK’s most important cultural assets.
The project unites the Shakespeare archive with the George Dawson Collection (GDC) - a wealth of documents relating to the nonconformist preacher, lecturer and activist, who founded the Library as part of a pioneering ‘Civic Gospel’ which helped make 19th-century Birmingham the world’s most progressive modern city.
Organisations represented at the launch included The British Library, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Friction Arts, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, DESIblitz, Ex Cathedra, Miss Macaroon and Birmingham Museums Trust, among many others.
Professor Sir David Eastwood commented: “It's wonderful to be working together with Birmingham City Council to renew George Dawson’s ambitious legacy of opening up Shakespeare and elite culture to absolutely everyone today.
“Dawson was a pioneering figure who helped to make Birmingham a real force in the vanguard of world culture. He was an inspiration for our founder Joseph Chamberlain, who established the University of Birmingham as England’s first civic university in 1900.
“We hope that our guests have been inspired by both the plans for the ‘Everything to Everybody’ project and the fascinating artefacts on display, which have provided a glimpse of the treasures contained in this collection of global importance.”
The Heritage Lottery Fund has given the partners £32,700 of development funding to help progress plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant. Their four-year project aims to revitalise Dawson’s dream of creating a culture actively involving everyone in Birmingham.
Councillor Ian Ward commented: “This is a fantastic project aimed at making Shakespeare more accessible to Birmingham’s residents and visitors. The Bard wrote for everybody so his legacy must not be hidden away; we must ensure George Dawson’s vision is fulfilled, with an extensive programme of community-led activities so people of all backgrounds can rediscover Birmingham’s Shakespeare Library and make it mean something to everyone.”
A comprehensive programme of working with History West Midlands, Birmingham Commonwealth Association, Culture Central, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and other organisations and communities across the city will culminate in a major exhibition and festival celebrating Birmingham’s cultural ambition and innovation in the year of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The project builds on prestigious global partnerships with the Folger Shakespeare Library and the University of Minnesota (USA), the Universities of Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as the German Shakespeare Society, the world’s oldest national Shakespeare society which honoured the opening of Birmingham’s civic Shakespeare library in 1868.
Birmingham-born, renowned classical actor Adrian Lester OBE is backing the project and commented: “Everything to Everybody is a great rallying cry for a more democratic culture and for Birmingham as the forgotten trailblazer of that important and inspiring dream.
“I was so proud to learn that Birmingham – my home city - is the home of what is not just the first great Shakespeare library in the world, but remains a uniquely democratic Shakespeare collection intended for the use and development of everyone across the city.”
The project has launched regional collaborations with city communities such as Birmingham Central Mosque, Midlands’ Polish Community Association and Handsworth Ladies’ Shakespeare Society. It also identifies links with collections held in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham Midland Institute, Cadbury Research Library, Birmingham Rep, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Shakespeare Institute Library.
For more information or interviews, please contact: Tony Moran, International Communications Manager, University of Birmingham on +44 (0) 121 414 8254 or +44 (0)782 783 2312. Out-of-hours enquiries: +44 (0) 7789 921 165.