The Midlands has a wealth of art galleries and museums hosting a range of fantastic exhibitions - both permanent and temporary. Here's a selection of what's showing across the region. 

TEREZA BUŠKOVA: MOTHERS WITHOUT HANDS

Prague-born and Birmingham-based artist Tereza Bušková is the driving force behind the international project Mothers Without Hands. 

The initiative, which aims to raise awareness of violence against women and girls, saw diverse communities in Folkestone, Prague, Brno, Erdington and Walsall engage in creative workshops and public processions. The exhibition includes photographic prints, a major video work, and a selection of costumes, headdresses and ceremonial crowns.  

New Art Gallery, Walsall, until Sunday 15 November

SURREAL SOLIHULL

Art lovers are being invited ‘to see the familiar in unexpected ways’ in this brand-new exhibition. The display is a celebration of the legacy of Emmy Bridgwater, who was born in Edgbaston, spent her final years in Solihull, and whose bold, uncanny artwork made a significant impact on British surrealism. Art historian & author Ruth Millington is the curator of the show, which takes the theme ‘surreal’ and features work by 29 West Midlands-based artists.  

Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham, Wednesday 16 September - Sunday 22 November

PAULA REGO: VISIONS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

Unseen preparatory sketches and etching plates are among the items on show in this exhibition of work by the late Paula Rego, who is widely considered to be one of the finest artists, printmakers and storytellers of modern times. 

The display features three series of graphic works by the Lisbon-born artist: Jane Eyre, Nursery Rhymes and Peter Pan. 

Each series is accompanied by a variety of Paula’s personal items, many of which have never before been displayed in public. 

Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Saturday 19 September - Saturday 21 November

RAQIB SHAW: NIGHT SONNETS

It’s been more than a decade since Raqib Shaw mounted an exhibition of new work in the UK, so his admirers will surely be eager to check out this brand-new offering. 

Night Sonnets brings together a cycle of nocturnal paintings and tapestry which has been informed by the 52-year-old artist’s lifelong interest in moonlight and the conditions of the night. 

The paintings act as vehicles via which Raqib contemplates difficult issues such as human consciousness, environmental loss and destruction of knowledge, exploring questions about the human condition and the complexities of modern-day existence.

The exhibition includes a number of works which have never before been exhibited in the UK. These include The Retrospective 2002-2022, an epic, highly detailed painting which functions as a visual inventory of the Calcutta-born artist’s impressive career.

Compton Verney, Warwickshire, Saturday 19 September - Sunday 21 February

ANDY WARHOL: ART STAR

Wolverhampton Art Gallery’s tribute to Andy Warhol is an Artist Rooms exhibition created in partnership with Tate and National Galleries of Scotland.

The display includes both iconic and lesser-known drawings, screenprints, paintings and photographs from the 1950s to the 1980s. Warhol’s famous Campbell’s soup tin features in the show, taking its place alongside images of The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery, until Sunday 4 October

DIPPY IN COVENTRY: THE NATION'S FAVOURITE DINOSAUR

The Natural History Museum’s iconic Diplodocus cast - life-size, made of plaster-of-paris, and affectionately referred to as Dippy - has taken up residence in Coventry for an initial period of three years. 

Diplodocus carnegii, to give it its official name, lived during the Late Jurassic period, somewhere between 155 and 145 million years ago. Huge, plant-eating dinosaurs with long, whip-like tails, they grew to about 25 metres in length and are believed to have weighed around 15 tonnes, making them three tonnes heavier than a London double-decker bus. 

Dippy first arrived in London in 1905 and recently visited Birmingham as part of an eight-city tour that attracted a record-breaking two million visitors.

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, until February 2027