About Us

‘Digbeth Speaks’ has been devised, and is led, by young members of the Friends of Birmingham Archives and Heritage (Library of Birmingham). The project is supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. 

The Digbeth Speaks Project ran until the end of 2013, and we want to say a huge thank you to all involved.

Please click here to find an archive of the project on the Connecting Histories website: http://www.connectinghistories.org.uk/digbethspeaks/default.asp

Digbeth Speaks was run by members of the Friends of Birmingham Archives and Heritage. Find out more, get in touch and join FOBAH here: http://www.fobah.org/ 

Project Managers:

Carly Hegenbarth is a second year AHRC-funded PhD student in History of Art at the University of Birmingham, and committee member of the Friends of Birmingham Archives and Heritage (FOBAH).

Sarah Taylor Silverwood is a visual artist. Recent solo exhibitions and residencies include Chicago Sister Cities International, USA, (October 2014), The New Art Gallery Walsall (Jan-July 2014) and The University of Birmingham (2012-13). She has received a number of awards including the Ruskin Drawing Prize 2014, Whitworth Wallis Trust Award 2013, the Jerwood Drawing Prize (shortlist 2008) and the National Drawing Inspiration Award 2012. Sarah is also a Board Director at DACS.

Katie Hall is the Exhibitions Officer at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG). She graduated with an MA in History of Art from the University of Birmingham in 2010 and subsequently worked for the Barber Institute of Fine Arts and Research and Cultural Collections and was a University of Birmingham Cultural Intern at BMAG.


Team Leaders:

Marie Giraud is an MRes History of Art student funded by the George Marshall University scholarship. Her research focuses on the devotional prints and paintings during the religious quarrels of the French Enlightenment. During her non-academic hours she is a keen amateur broadcaster and has had significant media experience, which includes presenting a short feature on the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham.

Imogen Wiltshire is an AHRC-funded History of Art PhD student at the University of Birmingham. She is also a committee member of the Student Group of the Association of Art Historians (AAH).