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 us for a guided walk exploring what Birmingham was like for Lisel Haas and Grete Bermbach followed by a Lumen printing workshop. This walk around Birmingham City Centre invites you to take a slower look at the world around us and remember those who walked before us. 

German-Jewish photographer Lisel Haas and her life partner Grete Bermbach settled in Birmingham after fleeing Nazi persecution and built a new life in the city, working at some of Birmingham’s most important institutions such as the Repertory Theatre and The Alexandra. This walk invites you to look up at the buildings they worked at and visited and see the world through their eyes.

There will also be a Lumen printing workshop led by Clare Hewitt, a photographer and cataloguer at Bertz Associates, which will give you the opportunity to create your own digital print inspired by your experience of the walk.

This walk will be led by art historian Christiane Worth and Bertz Associates director Iris Bertz who have extensive experience leading guided walks, including our most recent sold out Birmingham Heritage Week walks.

This walk is supported by Go Jauntly's This City Moves programme and funded by the UK Government, Active Travel England and Birmingham City Council.