This week Lord Mayor popped in to see Wholesale Memory Exhibition at the Library of Birmingham – open to 7th April 2018. Friction Arts present the Wholesale Memory Exhibition an exhibition that celebrates the ‘Wholesale Market’ a historical birthplace of the city.
Smithfield Wholesale Market is to relocate to Whitton later this year, taking with it over 900 years of history of markets on the site and heralding huge changes to the city. For 8 years Friction Arts have been working to preserve the heritage and stories of Birmingham’s historic Wholesale Market working with traders, staff and customers to capture their tales of this unique place, before it is closed forever in 2018.
‘It’s about bread and butter people on the Market’ Mark Tate, Trader
Friction Arts have worked on site with traders and customers for many years now, preserving the memory of this hidden gem, something which no other arts organisation has done.
Featuring work by Nita Newman, Dan Burwood and Georgia Chapman; the Wholesale Memory takes us on a unique subculture safari, a real snapshot of what the Wholesale Market really is; a special place that is used not only as an income stream but a place where people come to connect, feel at home and become part of history. This exhibition is a rich snapshot of the journey to date, a chance to explore this unique culture before it changes forever.
Wholesale Memory is supported by Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, the John Feeney Trust, Birmingham Museums Trust, Library of Birmingham and Birmingham City Council.
‘We don’t discover markets, they’re a part of us…Markets are vital to who we are. Without the Markets they would never have been a Birmingham’ Prof. Carl Chinn