Birmingham photography exhibition scoops national award
AN outdoor photography exhibition featuring images of Birmingham in the 1950s and 1960s has won a national award after a public vote.
Colmore Business Improvement District’s #NicklinUnseen exhibition, which displayed the work of University of Birmingham photographer and lecturer Phyllis Nicklin on large-format boards in Snow Hill Square, secured more than half of the public votes placed for all shortlisted finalists in the British BIDs Awards ‘Place Marketing – Large Location’ category.
More than 1,800 people voted for 13 different shortlisted projects in the British BIDs awards, with 51% of all votes cast supporting #NicklinUnseen.
In securing the win it beat off competition from entries in Winchester and London.
Colmore BID worked alongside David Oram of Brumpic social media accounts and photography curator Pete James to deliver the exhibition, which was funded with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £10,000 and cash support from JMP, a transport consultant in Colmore BID.
The exhibition, staged between October 2015 and January 2016, examined the work of Ms Nicklin, who catalogued the wide-ranging post-war changes that have shaped Birmingham.
Ms Nicklin was a lecturer in the Department of Extramural Studies at the University of Birmingham during the 1950s and 1960s. During her time in post, she took thousands of photographs from across the city, which have remained in the University archive. The photographs capture the city in a state of transition, as old gives way to the modern.
Gary Cardin, chair of Colmore BID, said: “The NicklinUnseen exhibition shone a light on a vital document of our city’s history and we feel very honoured we were able to partner with some fantastic institutions to display this imagery in the heart of Birmingham.
“Our District, and the entire city, is currently undergoing a similar level of change to what Phyllis herself would have seen when she was capturing her wonderful images. As development and growth races forward, it feels appropriate to take stock and see how far this city has come in the last half century.”
Brumpic’s David Oram added: “It was great working with Colmore Bid and Pete James on this project and I hope the success of this exhibition encourages others to engage with the history of the city.”
