Ikon is pleased to announce plans for 2024, during which time the gallery celebrates its 60th anniversary.
Established as an artists-led alternative space in the Bullring in 1964, Ikon remains free to all and committed to showcasing the very best of British and international art.
Ikon’s 60th year sees artists in the Exhibitions programme responding to archives, collections and heritage sites; and in the Education programme addressing key social issues whilst championing arts education, often working off-site to collaborate with communities.
Exhibition Programme
Ikon’s 60th year sees artists responding to archives, collections and heritage sites. In the Spring,
a vintage printing press, on loan from Wolverhampton School of Art, will form the centrepiece
of a print exhibition with Jerwood Foundation. A traditional means of production is contrasted
with a major off-site digital commission, by Ikon in partnership with The Exchange, University of
Birmingham in response to The Stuart Hall Archive Project.
In Summer 2024, Ikon is proud to be a partner in National Treasures 2024, The National
Gallery’s Bicentenary celebration, for which Ikon hosts Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self Portrait as
Saint Catherine of Alexandria (about 1615-17). Also in the Summer, Ikon partners with English
Heritage to commission an artist’s response to the J. W. Evans Silver Factory in Birmingham’s
historic Jewellery Quarter with support from the Foundation Foundation. The Autumn/Winter
programme features an exhibition with the British Council Collection and macLYON: Friends in
Love and War / Meilleur·es ennemi·es, showing work by over 20 artists, based around the
theme of friendship.
Education Programme
Ikon’s Education Programme addresses key social issues whilst championing arts education,
often working off-site with artists to collaborate with communities. Ikon’s artist residency Art at
HMP Grendon, generously supported by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust,
enters its 10th year with a focus on the development of artistic practice within a dedicated
studio space at the prison. Ikon Youth Programme (IYP), funded by Freelands Foundation,
reflects on its navigation of the waterways on board Slow Boat, offering an alternative
curriculum against the backdrop of funding cuts to arts education.
Ikon’s partnership with the School of Education, University of Birmingham, continues with a
series of Teacher Twilights that challenge assumptions about migration, breaking down
institutional and intercommunal barriers within the classroom. Partnering with Birmingham City
Council’s Public Health Division, Ikon supports different arts and health initiatives, including the
question of how we feed infants in public spaces.