Female-led contemporary art gallery set to open

Anna Katarzyna Domejko and Karolina Korupczynska both studied at Birmingham City University

Two women are set to open a new gallery which sells contemporary art.

Stryx Gallery will open its doors in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter on 13 April.

Co-directors Anna Katarzyna Domejko and Karolina Korupczynska both studied at Birmingham City University.

The pair said they wanted the female-led gallery to be a space where "artists can grow."

“Because we are both artists and migrants ourselves, and know the feeling of not belonging, we want the space to be open and welcoming, where people can chat to us and the artist," they said.

After graduating from university in 2012, Ms Korupczynska and several others founded Stryx Minerva Works in Digbeth.

The pair want the new gallery, on Vyse Street, to enable local talent to start and sustain creative careers in the city.

"We usually start working with artists through one of our residency or artist development programmes, for which they are paid appropriately, and this is important to us," they said.

The non-profit organisation, which has received funding from Arts Council England, will provide opportunities for people to invest in affordable art from emerging and mid-career artists, with prices ranging from £30 to £1,000, a spokesperson said.

It will open with a group exhibition featuring 10 artists from the West Midlands, before other artists hold exhibits in the space every six months.

Artists being represented at the gallery include Lucy Andrews, Abdulrazaq Awofeso, Gabriella Broadley, B4g_lord, Molly Cleaver, Jemima Graham and others.