Birmingham celebrates 'forgotten pop-art pioneer' Peter Phillips

An outdoor exhibition titled 'Pop Goes Brum!' will be held in Birmingham's Snow Hill Square from 9 to 30 June 2025, celebrating the life and work of Peter Phillips, a pioneering British pop artist who died in June 2025. Curated by art historian Ruth Millington and developed in partnership with Birmingham School of Art, the free exhibition aims to showcase Phillips' 'pioneering achievements' and his deep connection to Birmingham, where he was born in 1939 and trained at Moseley School of Art and Birmingham School of Art. Phillips, who ranked alongside David Hockney, Pauline Boty, Peter Blake, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein, was a key figure in the international pop art movement and helped launch British pop art with a 1961 exhibition.