Birmingham’s new Lord Mayor, Councillor Maureen Cornish, exchanged keys with creator of Key to the City Paul Ramírez Jonas at Birmingham New Street Station.

They were joined by Mayor of MiniBrum Alicia Adeyanju who exchanged keys with local basketball star Kofi Josephs and Harry Warrender Senior Vice President and Head of UKI. ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions who exchanged keys with the company's longest serving employee Stewart Taylor.

 

Paul Ramírez Jonas said ‘It was an honour for me to receive my key from the Lord Mayor today and it’s been great seeing people come along over the weekend to get theirs.

“Some people will want to be competitive and tick off every location, but I think it’s more than a game. Having a key might make you notice more about what is closed to us and why. Ultimately I hope people think ‘Why are we so afraid of each other?’

Key to the City is part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival and hundreds of people queued up to receive keys over the weekend. One woman was moved to tears when her partner told her the reason he was awarding her the key was because she'd had a hard year and had looked after everyone else before herself.

Two strangers were paired up, one a man in his 80s who said he'd come because he'd been cooped up inside for two years and he wanted to get out into the world again. He was awarded the key for his ‘spirit of adventure’.

Many people joined the queue as they were passing, out of curiosity. Others who work in the station lined up during their break.

For 6 weeks until 7 August anyone can award the Key to the City to whomever they want, for whatever reason they want. Key holders are able to explore private and intriguing places and spaces that they might not have happened on before, bringing a new perspective to the city.

All 15,000 keys and their respective locks have been produced by security experts, Yale who are the official sponsor of Key to the City. Anyone can queue up at New Street Station and get a key and passport that includes details  of the 21 locations that can be explored.

Paul Ramírez Jonas’s Key to the City was first seen in New York 12 years ago. Remounting it for Birmingham 2022 Festival reveals to a whole new audience, in an entirely different city, that culture can still be a freely shared experience, whilst also highlighting the increasing privatisation of urban space.

Birmingham 2022 Festival is generously supported by Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.