We are delighted to announce that on Monday 27th July, our Discovering Lisel Haas exhibition will open at the Library of Birmingham and run until Saturday 12th December. 

Lisel Haas was born in Mönchengladbach in 1898 and had already built a successful photographic career in Germany before she was forced to flee in 1938. She settled in Birmingham with her partner, Grete Bermbach, and re-established herself as a photographer in the city. Her archive, now held at the Library of Birmingham, includes photographs, letters and documents connecting Haas's personal history with the wider life of the city.

Her story brings together Jewish refugee history, lesbian history, women's lives, exile, photography and Birmingham's cultural memory. The exhibition includes selected material from the Haas archive alongside newly commissioned responses from five contemporary artists: Anu Gamanagari, Gibson Kochanek Studio, George Eksts, Laura Chen and Rebecca Orleans. 

The exhibition is also accompanied by an audio guide and a newly published book. 

This project is in collaboration with the Library of Birmingham and supported by Arts Council England, The National Archives' Archives Revealed programme, the John Feeney Charitable Trust, the University of Birmingham and Deutsche Bank.

Join Curator Jen Wilbur for a guided tour of the 'Discovering Lisel Haas' exhibition.

This talk will be led by curator of the exhibition, Jen Wilbur. Jen is a creative producer and curator working in arts and heritage in Birmingham and the Black Country. They are Project Manager at Bertz Associates and have been researching Lisel Haas for 6 years. They presented a paper on Haas at the Four Corners 'Another Eye' Conference in September 2020. In 2021, they included Haas in Bertz Associates' 'Women between the Lines' guided walk. Since 2024, Jen has led Bertz Associates' projects working with the Haas archive at the Library of Birmingham.

This guided talk will take you round the exhibition, drawing out highlights from the show and giving an insight into the curatorial decisions made behind the scenes.

Dates and Times

• Thursday 27 August, 2pm

• Tuesday 1 September, 5:30pm

• Saturday 10 October, 11:30am

• Tuesday 20 October, 5:30pm

• Saturday 14 November, 11:30am

• Wednesday 25 November, 2pm

• Saturday 12 December, 11:30am

The event will last roughly 1 hour

Join Art Historian Christiane Worth for a guided tour of the Jewellery Quarter which highlights the area’s European influences and hidden histories. The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham rich with history, as it was shaped by migration and the joint ventures of people from all over Europe. This walk will introduce you to the stories of European artists, business owners and photographers who migrated to Birmingham and brought their skills and talents to the city. We will also look at how European influence has shaped the interesting architecture of the Jewellery Quarter. 

This walk will begin outside the Rose Villa Tavern and last approximately 90 minutes. After the walk is finished, you will get the chance to view the ‘Discovering Lisel Haas’ exhibition in the Library of Birmingham, which details the life and works of a European refugee who made Birmingham her home.

Join us for an online screening and Q&A of our community documentary Rolling at the Tower. 

2026 marks the 150 year anniversary of the opening of the Tower Ballroom at the Edgbaston Reservoir which is an incredibly special part of Birmingham’s heritage. It brought together people from all backgrounds and made space for people to connect through a shared love of roller skating. Although the Tower has been demolished to make way for luxury flats, this community spirit has continued through Birmingham’s roller skating community today. This documentary reflects on the magic of the Tower Ballroom and the importance of keeping the memory of these spaces alive, with dreams of where the roller skating community will go next. 

This event will also feature a Q&A with the filmmakers and stars of the documentary as they discuss their process and the importance of continuing the legacy of the Tower.

We are delighted to be bringing back "Women Between the Lines", a guided walking tour celebrating the untold stories of women in Birmingham. The project is a collaboration between Bertz Associates and poet Simone Word Smith. 

The tour will be led by Iris Bertz, Director of Bertz Associates and Jen Wilbur, Project Manager of Bertz Associates with a poem performed by Simone Word Smith. It will start at the site of the former Tower Ballroom, a site tucked beside the beautiful, calming views of the Edgbaston reservoir, which holds a rich history dating back to 1827. We will then continue on through the streets of Ladywood, across the canals, and into central Birmingham, highlighting stories from a diverse library of women. The focus will range from The Suffragettes and The Women’s Liberation Movement, to a world-renowned roller skater, an accomplished architect, artists and musicians, through to the modern everyday women who are under-celebrated yet consistently make a difference. Discover the challenges, triumphs, and be inspired by the history that goes beyond the textbooks. 

The walk will start at the Lodge at the Edgbaston Reservoir, next to the former Tower Ballroom site, Reservoir Road, B16 9EE. The tour will finish at the Library of Birmingham, where you can view our ‘Discovering Lisel Haas’ exhibition and explore the life and works of Lisel Haas, a queer German-Jewish photographer who made Birmingham her home.

Over the past year, the ‘Discovering Lisel Haas’ project has continued to flourish as our researchers have discovered more about Lisel Haas and her life. After a trip to Haas’ hometown of Mönchengladbach, Iris Bertz and Jen Wilbur were able to find more pieces in the puzzle of Haas’ life, including finding out more information about Lisel’s life partner, Grete Bermbach. They were not just life partners but business partners, and women who showed incredible commitment to each other in the face of adversity. Alongside the exhibition, we are delighted to share this event which delves deeper into the story of Lisel and Grete, as well as sharing new insights into their lives in Mönchengladbach and photographic practice. 

This event will feature a panel of special guests who have been involved in the project with the opportunity to view the exhibition in a new light.