Gas Hall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

In November 2007 Ikon, in partnership with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and The New Art Gallery Walsall, became one of five winners of the £1 million Art Fund International Prize. Our aim is to establish a new and ambitious international collection of contemporary art for Birmingham and the West Midlands region, using the theme ‘Metropolis: reflections on the modern city’.

Metropolis is the largest public exhibition of this nationally significant collection which includes work by 25 major artists from India, China, Europe and the USA such as Miao Xiaochun, Zhang Enli and Grazia Toderi. In addition, German artist, Christiane Baumgartnerhas been commissioned to make new work, specifically about the urban landscape of Birmingham.

Metropolis presents visions of life in modern cities around the world. With approximately 50 works in various media including digital projection, painting, sculpture, photographic installation and video art, it considers themes such as architecture, movement and consumerism, as well as the marginalised people and places of the metropolis.

For more information visit www.bmag.org.uk