About Us

Inspiration Bank showcases rarely seen artworks and decorative objects from Midlands-based gallery, museum and library archives. With a current strength in early fine printing and 20th century art Inspiration Bank aims to inspire creatives of today with the creativity of yesteryear.

At the moment, Birmingham City University is particularly interested in hearing from Midlands-based galleries, museums and libraries with visual collections that they wish to showcase to a wider audience.

Interested in becoming a Partner? Click here to get in touch via our general enquiry form.

For more information on how Inspiration Bank came about, and where it's heading in the future, please see below.

Current Developments

Following the success of the pilot Inspiration Bank website launched in 2005, Birmingham City University is now intent on:

  • Improving access to other collections of artefacts to promote the rich resources available across the region, as well as increasing the size and diversity of the image database.
  • Promoting further uptake from creative talent and businesses.
  • Enhancing the user experience and developing user features.

We welcome all comment and suggestions from site users, which you can send to us via our general enquiry form.

Background

www.inspirationbank.com originated as a collaborative digitisation project between Birmingham Central Library and Birmingham City University, with the primary aims of:

  • Improving public awareness and access to Birmingham Central Library's archive of rare illustrative material, whilst preserving the condition of these fragile collections.
  • Creating a digital library and an intuitive suite of search tools for the specific needs of a creative audience.

Supported by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) as part of Birmingham City University's 'Creating Content' project, www.inspirationbank.com follows the project's wider agenda to nurture and support the regions' creative industries and talent, and promote innovation in screen based media.

www.inspirationbank.com was conceived, developed and is project managed by a specialist web team (Media Content Lab) within Birmingham City University's Department of Media and Communication. The website and unique search tools are driven by a bespoke digital library system developed for the purpose.

To view Media Content Lab's portfolio of web design/development work and other screen based media solutions offered by the department, including graphic design, video and motion graphics please visit www.mediacontentlab.com.