The Slow Boat Year Two Review took place on 2 March 2023. Ikon Youth Programme collaborated with project evaluator, artist and educator Cathy Wade to produce the event, which reflected on the Slow Boat 2022-23 programme. Eight artist-educators were invited to conduct activities as stimuli for evaluative discussion.  

This April, Ikon, in partnership with the Summit Learning Trust, commissioned visual arts duo Hipkiss & Graney to deliver a series of creative workshops for primary, secondary and college students across the eight academies that make up the Trust. The workshops, produced to coincide with the Coronation of King Charles III, encouraged learners to think critically about art and engage in dialogue about our cultural history and collective futures, and respond to it through meaningful creative and practical activities. 

We were delighted to receive over 600 entries to the Brindley Cherry Blossoms Photography Competition earlier this month. Organised in partnership with Brindleyplace, Ikon invited visitors to capture the cherry blossom trees in Oozells Square, and we can now announce the winners.

Racing Thoughts No.17 – the latest post by Dean Kelland, Ikon’s artist in residence at HMP Grendon.

Brindleyplace and Ikon are encouraging you to capture the blooming of the Cherry Blossoms in Oozells Square by holding a Brindley Cherry Blossoms Photography Competition.

The latest post by Dean Kelland, Ikon’s artist in residence at HMP Grendon.

Ikon is proud to be a partner in National Treasures 2024, a key strand of the programme celebrating The National Gallery’s Bicentenary.    

The authors of the critically acclaimed book Birmingham: The Brutiful Years tell us about their favourite Brutalist buildings in Birmingham.

Ikon announces its Winter 2023 exhibition with British artist Mali Morris.

Ikon presents There is no masterpiece, the first exhibition at the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Studio at HMP Grendon, Buckinghamshire.  

Artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah RA will represent Great Britain at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2024, the British Council has announced.

As we approach the end of 2022, we would like to thank everyone who has supported Ikon during the year. We remain committed to offering free experiences of art for all, including our exhibitions, off-site projects, talks, tours and workshops.

The latest post by Dean Kelland, Ikon’s artist in residence at HMP Grendon. “It started with a seemingly insignificant series of e-mail notifications. None of which I responded to. In that lack of response lay the catalyst for a decision to retrace steps and try to find or re-find the roots of what I do. It is no surprise that after 25 years as an educator, 100 miles an hour, week in week out I would feel a sense of loss.”

Take a look at Ikon Shop’s newly commissioned window illustration by Window Artists for our winter exhibition, Horror in the Modernist Block. Birmingham-based Window Artists take their inspiration from their love of the city’s brutalist architecture, as well as the natural world and how it intersects with the urban landscape.

Ikon announces its future exhibitions and education programmes for 2023. Find out what’s coming up!

Thinking back to the opening night of our Autumn exhibitions.

Ikon enters a new phase in its history as Jonathan Watkins, Director since 1999, has completed his time leading the gallery. During the coming period members of the current senior management team will take on new roles and responsibilities.

Today Jonathan Watkins steps down as Ikon Director. Thank you for your 23 years of service, for leading Ikon to where it is today and for your commitment to presenting the very best contemporary art. The impact of your dedication and leadership is felt by all at Ikon, the many artists you have supported and the much wider cultural community.

These unique prints by artist Farwa Moledina accompany her new work Women of Paradise (2022), currently on show in Ikon’s Tower Room.  

The team at Ikon Shop have also put together a selection of books and stationery inspired by the work of Edward Lear. Here are just a few!

Families spent time together making and experimenting with creative, hands-on activities inspired by Mayunkiki’s exhibition.

I had made it a policy from the beginning of the residency to never ask directly about anyone’s reason for being in Grendon. I had never googled them or tried to find any details about them outside of the prison either. For this reason it was easy to interject with certainty and also not react to the list of offences that had been shared. “Who am I to judge anyone here? You’ve been judged, by others…and yourselves. The present is more than the past for me and I prefer to move forward not back.”

Recently, Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) have been fortunate enough to join the artist Tom Hicks on photo walks around Black Country areas. Find out how they got on.