HALF CROWNS IN THEIR PETTICOATS RELOADED.
@ The Exchange, Birmingham
As part of Unlocking the Vaults.
Since December 2024 Elly Clarke has been working with Jane McArdle from University of Birmingham on a new (and old 2012-13) oral history project about the former Birmingham Municipal Bank, in particular its grand purpose built head quarters on Broad Street.
'Half Crowns in Their Petticoats Reloaded' consists of 101 audio tracks recorded in 2012/13 and 2025/6. All tracks will be available for visitors to the bank - now called The Exchange - to encounter via QR codes in a series of locations around the building, bringing to life the former lives lived in the bank though the stories of those who worked and banked there, as well as the team responsible for the building's epic restoration project.
Along with a series of other projects and performances, Unlocking the Vaults launches on Wednesday 15th July and is open to all who want to join. More info here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/the-exchange/unlocking-the-vaults
For those not able to be there, here is the link to the work: https://soundcloud.com/halfcrowns/sets
Many thanks to Jane McArdle for the invitation to do this work. And to Charlie Levine for commissioning the first version, back in the days when the bank was leaky and dark, echoey and extremely cold, for what was a brilliant four day group show called Thrift Radiates Happiness.
More info HERE.