Showcase: A Gift to Birmingham

The Ikon Gallery showcases photographic documentation of migrant communities in Birmingham, taken by renowned photographer Vanley Burke, in collaboration with Migrant Voice and University of Birmingham.

A Gift to Birmingham was commissioned as part of the ‘Non-formal Intercommunal Education in Birmingham (NICE-B)’ project funded by the ESRC-IAA and led by Dr Reza Gholami, Deputy Director of the Centre for Research in Race and Education, University of Birmingham.  The event is free to attend and no booking is required.

There's also an opportunity for families to have their photograph taken by Vanley Burke both during this exhibition and during a separate event entitled Family Saturday: A Gift to Birmingham on Saturday 2 April 2022, from 11:00-15:00. Booking is required. Please see the Family Gift event page for further information.

Biographies:

Vanley Burke has been described as the ‘Godfather of Black British Photography', being both an artist and photographer. He is also a curator; his archive surveying the Black British experience is held at the Library of Birmingham. His exhibition, At Home with Vanley Burke, took place at Ikon Gallery in 2015.

Dr Reza Gholami is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Research in Race and Education, University of Birmingham. He is currently a Reader in Sociology of Education within the School of Education, and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Honorary Senior Research Associate at the UCL Institute of Education. He earned his PhD in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at SOAS, University of London, where he also conducted post-doctoral research funded by the AHRC.