Ikon Gallery in Brindleyplace: free entry, Tuesday to Sunday

Ikon is closed on Mondays, so go Tuesday. The gallery opens Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays, 11am to 5pm. Entry is free and donations are welcome. There is no booking needed for general entry. It sits at 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, B1 2HS, and Tripadvisor puts a typical visit at one to two hours.

What it is

Ikon is a contemporary art gallery with temporary exhibitions over two floors, alongside Ikon Shop. The building is a Grade II listed, neo-Gothic Victorian school, the former Oozells Street School, according to Art Fund. Tripadvisor says the shows cover sound, film, mixed media, photography, painting, sculpture and installation, so what you see changes from one visit to the next.

What to see now

The main show is Lines of Flight by Balraj Khanna, on until the end of February. It is billed as the first major survey of the British-Indian artist (1939 to 2024) and brings together more than 40 paintings made over six decades. The themes are migration, Partition, identity and belonging, with a fascination for the natural world. Khanna was self-taught, witnessed Partition in 1947 and moved to London in 1962.

There is a Birmingham link too. The show marks 25 years since his painted safety curtain for Birmingham Hippodrome, Astral Dance, from 2001. Ikon also says exhibitions often have a free digital guide, so check before you go in.

The history

Ikon was founded in 1964 by artists, with a prospectus that described it as an “antithesis to exclusive art establishments and galleries”. The idea was a gallery without walls: a base for a touring programme in non-art venues. Ikon’s own history page names four founders: Jesse Bruton, Robert Groves, Sylvani Merilion and David Prentice. Before Brindleyplace it was on John Bright Street, from 1990 to 1997.

The move to Oozells Square came in 1997, according to ArtBiogs. Argent bought derelict land in the 1990s to create Brindleyplace, and the school was the only building of quality left. Architects Levitt Bernstein restored it, rebuilt the damaged tower and added a glazed extension, in a project valued at £4.7m, as the practice’s project page sets out.

Events coming up

• 14 November: two upcycled sari workshops with Pri Pri, a bell garland one at 11am and a wreath one at 1pm, plus a Balraj Khanna book launch.
• 21 November, 3pm to 4pm: the Balraj Khanna Estate in conversation with Antonia Blocker.
• 3 December, 5pm to 8pm: Winter Craft Market.

Check the event pages on Ikon’s site for whether a workshop needs booking.

The shop

Ikon Shop is billed as Birmingham’s only specialist art bookshop. It stocks books, cards, artists’ limited editions and gifts, and opens 10am to 5pm on the same days as the gallery. National Art Pass holders get 10% off.

Access

Ikon calls itself fully accessible. The AccessAble guide lists level access, automatic double-width main doors and an adapted ground-floor toilet. There is a level change to the Tower Room.

For after: Medicine Bakery, inside Ikon

The café in the building is Medicine Bakery, which replaced the old Yorks Café. Ikon describes it as known for pastries and a spot for brunch, coffee or tea, with cocktails on the terrace. Hours are Sunday to Thursday 9am to 5pm, and Friday and Saturday 9am to 7pm, so it runs later than the gallery at weekends. The owner, Simon Jones, said Medicine started in Birmingham nightlife with Medicine Bar in the Custard Factory, Digbeth. The Ikon visit page has the café details.

Getting there

Brindleyplace is canalside and, according to Ikon’s venue brochure, within easy walking distance of New Street Station and Grand Central. For Christmas and New Year opening, check the website first.