While all nine Birmingham Museums Trust venues are closed, the organisation has made the perpetuation of engagement with visitors – both local and further afield – a matter of urgency. Virtual tours, an extensive image database, spotlight videos and many more digital resources have all been made available.

In addition to this, many of our readers will also have encountered the BMAG museum meme challenge on social media.

“Our doors may be closed for now, but we are still there for our visitors,” notes Janine Eason, director of engagement at the Trust. “Art and culture can help us make sense of the world and often gives us an escape. We are lucky to have some excellent online resources so that people and families can explore the collection and continue to engage with us.”

Sofa surfing

Virtual tours of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery have been made possible by collaboration with Scantech Digital.

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What’s available online?

Birmingham Museum and Galleries’ work to engage with digital audiences includes:

  • Thousands of images from the city’s collection have been made freely available to view, download, and use creatively – with new out-of-copyright images continuously added
  • A virtual 3D tour allowing the public to visit the permanent galleries of the museum
  • A series of new object spotlight videos will be released over the coming weeks on the museum group’s YouTube channel
  • The BMAG museum meme challenge on social media

Birmingham Museums, which operates as an educational charity, is also appealing for financial support during a tough time across the sector. A JustGiving page has now been set up as the organisation seeks public support to ensure it remains on as positive financial footing as possible.

Discussing the motivation behind the Museum Trust’s digital drive, Eason concluded: “We hope we can bring some joy and distraction to everyone who needs it during this concerning time.”

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