The Barber Collective

Prior to an enforced break due to Covid-19, The Barber Collective was a space
for young people aged 16-21 to experience, re-imagine and reinterpret the
Barber’s collection through free, bi-weekly meet ups and workshops.
The Collective was formed in October 2017. The programme brings
contemporary artistic and educational practices to a historical collection
and aims to create a space of shared ownership and experimental creativity.
To do this we collaborate with artists and arts professionals to consider
objects from the Barber’s collection. The range of practitioners we have
worked with includes visual artists, dancers, musicians, tattoo artists and
jewellers leading to interdisciplinary workshops that have included digital,
print, illustration and dance.
Over the last three years, The Barber Collective has developed young people’s
art making skills, discursive and written skills, public speaking skills and a
sense of belonging to a group with shared interests.

“A new way to look at art differently, gave me some
new ideas, inspiring”.

Each year The Barber Collective participants showcase and celebrate their
work in a public exhibition held at the Barber Institute.
The collaborative process of designing, planning and promoting these
exhibitions has included members of the Barber’s Curatorial and
Communications and Marketing teams who have worked with the Collective
to realise each exhibition. Each year the Collective actively share their
exhibition with the public delivering public talks and workshops.

Reclaiming the Teapot
October-December 2019

Objects can provide us with a window into the past. They can tell us stories
about individuals, groups, societies and the world. Asking questions about
objects can help us to build a picture of the past and consider how that past
affects our present and future. Reclaiming the Teapot was a collaborative
project between The Barber Collective and Birmingham-based artist Navi
Kaur. The project took Teapot with Stand (1785), an object in the Barber’s
decorative arts and sculpture collection, as a starting point for discussion
and creative responses, particularly exploring its specific histories and the
legacies of colonialism.

“From engaging with everyone’s
work, I view the object in
relation to everyone’s cultural
perspectives”

“I am more skeptical of
different art pieces, but I
appreciate art more.”

-The Barber Collective Members

Currents: Empire & Migration