Museum and art gallery to reopen in October

Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery closed for work in 2020 but temporarily reopened during the Commonwealth Games

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is to partially reopen to the public in October, four years after closing for renovations.

Birmingham Museums Trust confirmed selected gallery spaces at the Chamberlain Square venue would open at 10:00 BST on 24 October.

Maintenance work has been completed on schedule, the trust said, and renewed spaces would make the stories of local people more prominent.

"It's such an important institution for the people of Birmingham," joint CEOs Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah said in a statement.

"We can't wait to welcome visitors again in time for October half term."

The refurbishment has included work on heating, electrics and lifts, with the glass roofs cleaned for the first time in more than 25 years.

The Round Room, Industrial and Bridge galleries are among the spaces that will reopen, along with the Edwardian tearooms.

A new Made in Birmingham exhibition will celebrating the city's trades and the people behind them, the trust said.

And a popular Victorian Radicals exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite art will continue in The Gas Hall until at least Christmas 2024, it added.

People who visited when the museum temporarily reopened during the Commonwealth Games in 2022 loved "the stories of all Birmingham people front and centre", the co-CEOs said.

"We've made those people central to the new displays that you will all be able to see."

The trust said it had also taken on feedback visitors wanted to have more for families and children to do, with two new galleries telling stories about nature in the city.

The venue will be open later in the year Wednesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00 BST.