We’re Still Here | Struthers

8th July – 22nd July 2018

The gallery is pleased to host the exhibition ‘We’re Still Here’ produced by international watchmakers Struthers.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter was alive with over 30,000 workers in the jewellery and silver industries. Today, just a few hundred remain.

Many of these highly skilled individuals are self-employed or work in microcompanies, but as a collective they represent one of the last manufacturing strongholds in Britain – 40% of all jewellery made in the UK originates here – and this one square kilometre in the heart of the city contains Europe’s largest concentration of manufacturing jewellers.

Andy Pilsbury’s photography takes you inside twelve workshops still practising the heritage crafts that gave the Jewellery Quarter its name. This exhibition introduces the people, from last-of-their-kind to new apprentices working in centuries-old heritage firms to start-ups, who are doing their utmost to ensure the Jewellery Quarter remains synonymous with British manufacturing excellence. The exhibition therefore serves as a timely reminder – we’re still here.