J. F. Kennedy Memorial, Birmingham, Mosaic memorial in Deritend, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The J. F. Kennedy Memorial is a mosaic artwork in Deritend, Birmingham, that covers a substantial wall surface with detailed tilework. The piece displays various faces and features real gold incorporated as part of a presidential seal on its surface.
Birmingham's Irish community commissioned the mosaic in 1968 following Kennedy's assassination. The original piece stood at St Chad's Circus before its relocation in 2007 due to construction work at that site.
The mosaic displays portraits of Ted Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. that visitors see directly when viewing the work. These faces reflect how Birmingham's Irish community connected with American civil rights movements and leadership.
The mosaic sits on Floodgate Street in the Irish Quarter of Digbeth and can be visited at no cost. The installation stands in open space and is freely accessible throughout the day.
Artist Kenneth Budd created the original mosaic, but his son Oliver reconstructed it in 2013 using new Smalti tiles. The recreation added the face of former Lord Mayor Mike Nangle, creating a more personal connection to the city's story.
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