We are delighted to be able to share the first exhibition of Lisel Haas’ works at the Library of Birmingham. Lisel Haas was born in Mönchengladbach in 1898 and had already built a successful photographic career in Germany before she was forced to flee in 1938. She settled in Birmingham with her partner, Grete Bermbach, and re-established herself as a photographer in the city. Her archive, now held at the Library of Birmingham, includes photographs, letters and documents connecting Haas’s personal history with the wider life of the city. 

Across her career, Haas photographed major actors at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre including Paul Scofield, Albert Finney, Ian Richardson and Derek Jacobi. A staircase at Birmingham Rep is still lined with Haas’s images, making her photographs part of the daily fabric of one of the city’s most important cultural institutions. She also ran a portrait studio in Moseley where she photographed local families, meaning that many Brummies have Haas’ photographs woven into their own family histories. 

Her story brings together Jewish refugee history, lesbian history, women’s lives, exile, photography and Birmingham’s cultural memory. The exhibition includes selected material from the Haas archive alongside newly commissioned responses from five contemporary artists: Anu Gamanagari, Gibson Kochanek Studio, George Eksts, Laura Chen and Rebecca Orleans. The exhibition is also accompanied by an audio guide and a newly published book.

Organised by Bertz Associates