The History of MAC

September 11, 2023

Lola Tartaglia-Baker

The beginning of MAC

There are two people who were essential to the creation of MAC (Midlands Art Centre). They are John English and Sir Frank Price.

Sir Frank Price was born in 1922 and grew up in the back-to-back slum houses with his 3 siblings. Price wanted to improve Birmingham's landscape and so he went into local government, originally joining the Communist Party only to change to the Labour Party. It was during his career that Price decided he wanted to make the arts accessible to the Birmingham community.

John English shared a similar goal. He was born in Birmingham in 1911 and became an industrial chemist. However, John had a flare for the arts and so he and his wife set up the Arena Theatre Company in 1948. Their goal was to bring theatre to the people of Birmingham. They performed in town halls in the winter and toured parks in the summer. They performed every summer in Cannon Hill Park from 1949 to 1961. John saw that children were exposed more to chimneys and factories than they were to anything else and John wanted to change that.

This shared passion of the arts and love for the Birmingham community brought John and Frank together in the creation of the Midlands Arts Centre.

The idea of an arts centre was very new and experimental, but with Frank Price being Councillor and chair of council parks committee, the idea was soon made reality. In 1962 the plans for MAC were set into motion. 8.6 acres of Cannon Hill park was given to build the centre along with funding. With the arts centre being one of the first of its kind it sparked international interest and volunteers from around the world came to help build the outdoor theatre.

The art centre became a significant part of the Birmingham arts landscape and has facilitated the evolution of many great artists as well as many local people who engage in artistic hobbies.

Who has it been significant to over the years?

In their 2022 documentary, produced to celebrate their 60th year of opening, MAC interviewed some of its members and staff, one of them being Maryam Wahid.

Marayam Wahid is a Birmingham artist and photographer. She uses her medium to explore her identity as a British Asian, Muslim woman. MAC had been a huge part of her life growing up and more recently, hosted an exhibition of her work. Marayam says that MAC has given her ‘the chance to tell her own story and amplify her work’. She also explained that having a team that cared made the launch so much more special than she ever could have imagined.

Marayam is one of many people who’s personal history intersects with the history of MAC. Piali Ray, now the director of Sampad Arts, also began her journey at MAC.

Piali Ray was born in Bengal, India and moved to Birmingham in the early 1980s. Having had a rich artistic life back in India, she had quite the shock when she first moved to Birmingham, saying she found it to be a ‘cultural desert’. When someone mentioned MAC to her she looked into it almost straight away and shortly after, in 1982, became a dance teacher there. MAC helped her to meet other artists in the UK making her move across the world less scary. Moreover, Piali credits MAC with taking her from a dancer to an artist by giving her the freedom and support to experiment with choreography. Piali Ray went on to do some amazing things, including founding a charity, built on the foundation MAC gave her. Piali says that her charity, Sampad (the national South Asian arts agency), was born at Midlands Art Centre. Sampad has remained connected with MAC, eventually becoming an occupant and later assisting the redevelopment.

It was Piali Ray along with other dancers such as Niahid Siddiqui and Chitraleka Bolar who gave MAC the reputation as a centre for South Asian dance and performing arts. Nahid Siddiqui went from being a Kathak teacher at MAC to touring the country with her students; whilst Chitra Bolar who specialised in Bharatanatyam, began teaching at MAC in 1978 and went on to form a successful company.

MAC continues to support many artists on their way to achieving great things.

Later History

In the 1980’s the government cut funding for the arts and in the 1990’s these funding cuts began to show. MAC was crumbling, window frames were rotting away and the staff knew that if something wasn't done, MAC would cease to exist. Instead of listening to the council who were pushing the centre to reduce the breadth of what they offered, MAC raised money in other ways and closed for refurbishment for two years. Dorothy Wilson, staff member at MAC, said that Birmingham community and MAC members were truly ‘inspiring’ with the amount of money they donated to the centre for its refurbishment, and it just goes to show how many lives the MAC touched.

With the re-opening of the MAC edging closer and closer, staff were worried that the enthusiasm for the centre would have dwindled in the two years they were closed, but an astounding 30,000 people came to MAC the first weekend it reopened.

The refurbishment of MAC ensured that accessibility was updated which aids in their goal of inclusivity.

Around 2012 ‘Mac Makes Music' was founded. This branch of MAC was created in collaboration with Youth Music and has gone on to positively impact many children in Birmingham by ‘providing innovative music making opportunities for children and young people with limited access to music provision’. It focuses on inclusivity by supporting each young person based on their individual abilities, and needs.

MAC Today

MAC has changed from being just for young people and children to being for people of all ages whilst honouring and upholding the vision of John English and Frank Price. Deborah Kermode, MAC CEO, says that the centre ‘remains committed to Birmingham's cultural welfare’ and is one of the few places that provides a space for people to come and learn about themselves.

As MAC continues to evolve, it remains dedicated to its original mission while adapting to the changing needs and interests of the Birmingham community. On the 27th of August MAC will be the location of an event for one of Bertz Associate’s projects ‘Rolling Out’. This will involve skating workshops and screening of a short film about the roller skating community in Birmingham. The project focuses on celebrating skating as a tool that transcends perceived social barriers connecting people of all ages, genders and ethnicities through a shared passion. Bertz Rolling Out project and MAC both share a passion for making the arts, in this case skating, more accessible to the community as well as creating spaces for people to be themselves and feel supported. Facilitating this project is just another way that MAC continues to support the Birmingham community.

Frank Pierce and John English recognized both the value of art in everyday life and the significance of the Birmingham community. Throughout its history, the played a vital role in the lives of so many people, nurturing aspirations, propelling emerging talents into the limelight, and perhaps most significantly, fostering individual journeys of self-discovery. It has served as a haven, offering people a safe space for them to be themselves unapologetically. Much of Birmingham's cultural landscape is built on the foundation of MAC. Its permanency through the years has ensured that Frank Pierce and John English's legacy continued on making its mark on local history. Its significance to the community and the cultural fabric is truly immeasurable, and its continued presence will undoubtedly enrich the lives of generations to come.