Opening this month

12 September-9 January 2010

This exhibition is a collaboration between Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (BMAG) and the Birmingham Philatelic Society, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary. It will look at the history of postal stamps and the art of collecting. Most objects will be loans from the society and BMAG's collection of more than 44,000 stamps bequeathed by Thomas Evans.

Cost £500
Main funder BMAG
Curators Varshali Patel, David Symons, BMAG and members of the Birmingham Philatelic Society


15 September-August 2010

The Silver Studio, created by British wallpaper and textiles designer Arthur Silver, adapted Japanese materials, methods and motifs in its designs for UK consumers. This show explores how Japanese influences were used in a wide range of wallpapers and textiles. The exhibition is part of Japan-UK 150, a series of events that celebrate 150 years of international friendship.

Cost £15,000
Sponsor The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
Curator Zoë Hendon
Exhibition design and literature Bluemove


16 September-8 January 2010

The Glasgow School of Art building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh opened 100 years ago this December. This exhibition is part of a city-wide programme organised by the Mackintosh Heritage Group in the lead-up to the school's centenary. Drawn from the Hunterian's large Mackintosh collection, the show will feature designs, photography and archival material.

Cost £1,000 (design, conservation and curation all in-house)
Main funder Hunterian
Curator Pamela Robertson


16 September-5 December

This exhibition is part of the Great British Art Debate, a four-year project to explore identity through national and regional art collections. The partners are Tate Britain; Tyne & Wear Museums; Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service; Iniva in London; and Museums Sheffield, which hosted its first Great British Art Debate exhibition, A Picture of You?, earlier this year.

A Picture of Us? has seen contributors, such as artist Jeremy Deller and designer Wayne Hemingway, choose a British work of art that says something about their identity. Artists represented include Bill Brandt, William Blake and Tacita Dean.

Cost £12,000
Main funders Heritage Lottery Fund, Renaissance Yorkshire, Museums Sheffield
Curator Louisa Briggs
3D design Museums Sheffield
2D design The Cafeteria


18 September-24 January 2010

Stephen Shakeshaft is the former picture editor of the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo and this exhibition features more than 70 of his photographs. Those snapped by Shakeshaft include former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, jazz singer George Melly and politician Harold Wilson.

Cost £15,000
Main funder National Museums Liverpool
Curator Stephen Shakeshaft


26 September-10 January 2010

This exploration of the role of women artists in surrealism will feature more than 100 works, including pieces by Frida Kahlo, Meret Oppenheim and Lee Miller.

Cost £500,000
Main funder Northwest Regional Development Agency
Curator Patricia Allmer
Website design Wonder Associates


26 September-10 January 2010

An exhibition of contemporary artwork portraying fairytales, myths and legends from around the world, organised by East London Printmakers, a not-for-profit studio in Hackney.

Cost N/A
Concept Katja Rosenberg
Design Richard Roberts, with Maureen Valfort and Nick Morley


28 September-17 January 2010

Artist Jeremy Millar's first solo museum exhibition is inspired by two Poles - anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski and artist Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, who shared a common interest in Papau New Guinea. The commission is part of New Visions, the maritime museum's contemporary art programme.

Cost N/A
Main funders Arts Council England, Polish Cultural Institute
Polska Year, Adam Mikiewicz Institute, Wyborova Vodka
Curator Lisa Le Feuvre