Birmingham is a diverse city in the West Midlands, England and it is an incredibly popular destination for vacations and  day trips. The city has an incredible variety of fantastic tourist attractions including many Listed churches and stately homes as well as many museums and galleries, including the Ikon Gallery Birmingham UK.

The Ikon Gallery is a contemporary art gallery which is situated in the building which was previously the Oozells Street Board School in Brindleyplace, but it wasn't always so suitably housed.

The gallery was founded in nineteen sixty four by Angus Skene and four art students.  The four artists were; Robert Groves, Sylvani Merilion, Jesse Bruton and Robert Groves. Angus had bought one of Prentice's paintings and the two of them talked about the endless problems faced by local artists, which included the terrible lack of support for local artists.  The discussion resulted in the basic concepts for Ikon which was to be a "gallery without walls".

Angus initially funded the project, which consisted of mobile exhibitions in such diverse locations as cinemas and post offices in a motorcycle sidecar. The idea was to make the public more aware of art.  In order to keep costs down staffing duties was by the family, friends and the founding artists who did it for free. Later the Ikon Gallery obtained a glass kiosk in the infamous Bull Ring shopping centre.

During the next couple of decades the Ikon Gallery moved from location to location until 1997 when it bought, with help from the National Lottery, the present premises, the former Oozells Street Board School. In recent years the Ikon Gallery has held a selection of exhibitions and its continuous ability to produce the superb has led to it becoming incredibly popular, to such a degree that in 2006 it opened a further gallery, the Ikon Eastside in  Digbeth.

If you are in the process of planning a vacation in Birmingham remember to allow time to visit the Gallery. Also it is important to know that although there are many hotels in Birmingham finding Birmingham bed and breakfast can sometimes be pretty difficult. It is therefore crucially important to book your accommodation at the earliest opportunity. You will need to know that Birmingham Airport is roughly 8 miles distance from the the city center just off the A45. You will easily find a number of hotels and guest houses near to the airport.