The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (officially abbreviated as BIAD) is the largest British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

 and design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

 teaching and research centre outside London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It is a faculty of Birmingham City University

Birmingham City University

Birmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...

 and the largest, most successful department of the university.

History

BIAD dates back, in various incarnations, to the year 1843. It reached its full maturity from the 1890s, as the Birmingham Municipal School of Art at Margaret Street, under the leadership of Edward R. Taylor

Edward R. Taylor

Edward Richard Taylor RBSA was an English artist and educator. He painted in both oils and watercolours.Taylor taught at the Lincoln School of Art and became influential in the Arts and Crafts movement as the first headmaster at the Birmingham Municipal School of Arts and Crafts from 1877-1903.In...

. BIAD's Archives holds extensive records on the history of art & design in Birmingham, and 20 similar collections have also been deposited with the archives.

Organisation

The main BIAD campus

Campus

A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...

 and library is located at Gosta Green

Gosta Green

Gosta Green is an area in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies at the edge of the city centre, about three-quarters of a mile to the north-east of Birmingham New Street station via Corporation St or the High St....

, just north of Birmingham city centre, and about three-quarters of a mile from both Birmingham New Street railway station

Birmingham New Street Station

Birmingham New Street is the main railway station serving Birmingham, England, located in the city centre. It is an important hub for the British railway system, being served by a number of important long-distance and cross-country lines, including the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Main Line,...

 and the Custard Factory

Custard Factory

The Custard Factory is an arts and media production centre in Birmingham, England .Located on the redeveloped site of the Bird's Custard factory in the industrial district of Digbeth, it is home to a community of businesses, primarily with an artistic and media slant, but also including...

 quarter. It is adjacent to Aston University

Aston University

Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...

.

There are also smaller centres located in: Bournville

Bournville

Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...

 (Centre for Visual Arts

Bournville Centre for Visual Arts

The Bournville Centre for Visual Arts is an art school in Birmingham, England. It is located at Ruskin Hall on Linden Road in the area of Bournville...

, foundation awards and evening classes) in the suburbs south of the city centre; Margaret Street (former Birmingham School of Art)

Birmingham School of Art

The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...

 (Fine Art) in the city centre next to Birmingham Central Library

Birmingham Central Library

Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council...

 and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England.Entrance to the Museum and Art Gallery is free, but some major exhibitions in the Gas Hall incur an entrance fee...

; and Vittoria Street (School of Jewellery) in the city's Jewellery Quarter

Jewellery Quarter

The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre, England, situated in the south of the Hockley area. It is covered by the Ladywood district. There is a population of around 3,000 people in a area....

. The International Project Space

International Project Space

The International Project Space is an art gallery located at the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts, a campus of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design in the Bournville district of Birmingham, England.The gallery opened in 2002 and hosts a programme of exhibitions by...

 at Bournville hosts international art exhibitions and residencies. BIAD at Gosta Green is home to User-lab, a research and design laboratory specialising in user-centred design.

School of Art

The Birmingham School of Art was originally a municipal art school but was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and then became a part of the BIAD in 1988. Its Grade I listed building located on Margaret Street remains the home of the university's Department of Fine Art and is still commonly referred to by its original title.

School of Architecture

Birmingham School of Architecture was opened in 1908 celebrating its centenary in 2008, is widely recognised for delivering learning excellence from experienced, industry professionals.

Reputation

The Sunday Times University Guide 2004 stated: "Rated excellent (5) Art and Design". Birmingham City University states that: "BIAD received an excellent Quality Assurance score of 22/24 for Art and Design" from the QAA

Qaa

Qaa is a town in Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon.It has a mainly Greek Catholic population....

.

The nationwide Research Assessment Exercise 2008 found that Birmingham City University has the highest percentage of 4* research (17%) of any of the post-1992 new universities, and BIAD achieved a profile where 30% of research was at 4* level and 30% was at 3* level. A 4* rating is considered the 'top' level.

External links

• BIAD Research official site
• BIAD Archives
• History of BIAD
• The 1997 Mapplethorpe raid, and UCE's subsequent strong anti-censorship stand, see also Robert Mapplethorpe#UCE controversy, the page has been deleted so now here via archive.org
• User-lab, user-centred design lab based at BIAD