#VoteNicklin: Birmingham photography exhibition shortlisted for national award
Colmore Row, Birmingham, in 1953, by Phyllis Nicklin
The popular Birmingham city centre #NicklinUnseen outdoor photography exhibition has been shortlisted for a national award with the public getting chance to pick the winner.
Colmore Business Improvement District’s (Colmore BID) #NicklinUnseen exhibition, which displayed the work of Birmingham photographer and lecturer Phyllis Nicklin on large-format boards in Snow Hill Square, has been recognised by British BIDs, the support organisation for BIDs across the country.
Colmore BID worked alongside David Oram of Brumpic social media accounts and photography curator Pete James to deliver the exhibition, which was funded with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £10,000 and cash support from JMP, a transport consultant in Colmore BID.
#NicklinUnseen will now compete with events in Winchester and London for the ‘Place Marketing – Large Location’ category prize
Members of the public will have one week to vote for their favourite BID Award via the British BIDs website from October 31. The winner is announced on November 10. The #VoteNicklin hashtag is being used throughout the vote period.
The exhibition took place between October 2015 and January 2016 and examined the work of Ms Nicklin, who catalogued the wide-ranging post-war changes that have shaped Birmingham.
Ms Nicklin was a lecturer in the Department of Extramural Studies at the University of Birmingham during the 1950s and 1960s. During her time in post, she took thousands of photographs from across the city, which have remained in the University archive. The photographs capture the city in a state of transition, as old gives way to the modern.
Mike Best, board director at Colmore Business District, said: “Birmingham city centre is undergoing a considerable transformation at the moment, not unlike the one Phyllis herself witnessed almost 60 years ago.
The #NicklinUnseen exhibition in Snow Hill square
“As the second city evolves with developments such as Grand Central, Paradise Circus and the Beorma Quarter, we felt it was important for people who live, work and visit to look back at the last social, architectural and urban transformation which took place in the post-war years.”
David Oram, creator of the Brumpic online photo sharing platforms, who played a central role in bringing the photos back to life, said: “I was delighted to work with Colmore Bid and Pete James on this project. The images are historically important to Birmingham, they show the changing landscape of the city over the last 50 years and deserved to be seen by the widest possible audience.”
Visit http://www.britishbids.info/our-services/bid-awards-2016/ to vote.
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of Colmore Business District
