EXHIBITIONS & DISPLAYS
All exhibitions & displays are included in the cost of admission unless otherwise stated
Opening soon . . .
Joséphine Bowes – The Woman of Fashion
Celebrating 125 years of Her Museum
26 August 2017 until 7 January 2018
The Museum’s 125th anniversary celebrations continue with a new in-focus display in the award winning Fashion & Textile Gallery. The display pays tribute to founder Joséphine Bowes, who was a driving force behind the creation of The Bowes Museum, highlighting her influence as a socialite and devotee of fashion.
Now showing . . .
Turkish Tulips
29 July until 5 November 2017
An exquisite and engaging trail, linked to items from the Museum collection, viewed through the eyes of contemporary artist Gavin Turk in collaboration with other renowned British artists including Damien Hirst, Cornelia Parker, Sir Peter Blake, Fiona Banner, Matt Collishaw, Adam Dant and Yinka Shonibare MBE. In an interactive experience which challenges visitors to see things in new ways, the familiar becomes the unfamiliar as the tulip’s role in history is played out in a tale of romance, beauty, obsession, inequality, and extravagance.
The Clockwork Garden
29 July until 5 November 2017
A bewitching show promising a magical experience for all ages, offering hands-on activities for the young and the young-at-heart. Flying in from somewhere out in space, a mechanical seed has landed in our exhibition gallery to fill it with a beautiful, interactive exhibition. The seed needs to learn the secrets that make our earthly gardens full of life and beauty, so it can take them back to its own planet. This highly creative interactive adventure will beguile and enchant children and adults.
Michael Eden: Wedgwood and Wouldn’t
27 May until 17 September 2017
The exhibition celebrates the Wedgwoodn’t Vases by contemporary artist Michael Eden. The design is loosely based on early Wedgwood Vases which highlight the pioneering techniques of the Industrial Revolution. Eden is at the forefront of a second revolution using 3D printing to create objects that were previously impossible to manufacture.
EVENTS 2017
Events are included in the admission charge unless otherwise stated
AUGUST 2017
Roll Up, Roll Up – Family Fun Day
Date 22 Aug Time 11.00 – 4.00
Come and join The Bowes Museum in this fun packed day of drop-in activities on a circus theme, guaranteed to entertain the whole family! Learn some new circus skills and be ready to be entertained. Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
Picnic in the Park
Date 23 Aug Time 10.30 – 4.00
Bring a picnic and spend the day in the grounds of The Bowes Museum. Children, who must be accompanied by an adult, can try orienteering and a simple craft activity as well as playing in the park.
Printing Fun
Date 24 & 25 Aug Time 10.30 – 4.00
Try printing in this fun drop-in workshop suitable for all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
Stone Age to Iron Age
Date 29 Aug Time 10.00 – 12.00 or 1.30 – 3.30 Cost £4.50 per child
See a variety of Stone, Bronze and Iron Age artefacts in the galleries before making a clay pot in the style of a Bronze Age beaker. Booking required on 01833 690606. Suitable for children aged 5+ who must be accompanied by an adult, for whom there is no charge for the event.
Romans
Date 30 Aug Time 10.30 – 4.00
Learn about the Romans and take part in a variety of themed crafts. Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
Terrific Tudors
Date 31 Aug Time 10.30 – 4.00
Meet a Tudor maid and learn about a Tudor feast before making a herb filled bag called a tussy-mussy and creating a Tudor inspired headdress to wear! Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
SEPTEMBER 2017
Victorians
Date 1 Sep Time 10.30 – 4.00
Try a variety of Victorian themed crafts including writing with a dippy pen and learn how to make a proddy mat. Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
Heritage Open Days – Reading Room tours
Date 8 Sep Time 11.00 – 3.00
Visit the purpose-built Reference Library and Archives Reading Room at the top of the Museum’s central dome to see a display of documents and books from the collections while enjoying panoramic views. The Reading Room offers visitors the opportunity to access books and periodicals from the Reference Library and original documents from the Archives. This year the display will include material from the Museum’s First World War Commemoration Project ‘To Serve King and Country’. These tours are free, but please note that normal charges apply for admission to the Museum Galleries. Booking preferred on 01833 690606 or at info@thebowesmuseum.org.uk as each tour is limited to a maximum of 10 people.
Gallery Talk
Date 8 Sep Time 2.15
Join Assistant Curator of Fine Art, Bernadette Petti to explore the recent acquisition St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child by the workshop of Dieric Bouts, now on display in the Museum’s picture galleries.
Leaving their Mark: Conscientious Objectors & the Richmond Castle Cell Block
Date 9 Sep Time 2.30 Cost £3.00 Adults (talk only) or free with museum admission
Dr Meghan Leyland will explore the experiences of conscientious objectors during WW1. This talk will uncover some of the very personal and often moving stories of individuals held at Richmond Castle during WW1, whilst placing these stories in the context of local and national events to introduce the wider history of war resistance between 1914 and 1918. Booking required online or by calling 01833 690606. Cost includes refreshments.
Painting workshop – Tulip Fever
Date 15 Sep Time 10.00 – 4.30 Cost £35 Adult, £33 FOBM, inc morning refreshments
Join artist Linda Birch to make a vibrant tissue collage painting using tulips, in celebration of the Turkish Tulips exhibition. Booking required on 01833 690606.
OCTOBER 2017
The Bowes Museum First World War Commemoration Project – A Day for all Generations
Date 7 Oct Time 10.30 – 3.30 (Talks at 11.00 and 2.30)
Find out about food eaten during the First World War in A Taste of the Times: Food in WW1 with food historians Jan and Richard Crouch. This informal drop-in event includes discussion, handling and tasting, plus a short talk at 11.00 and 2.30. Also join our Education Team to help create a piece of art depicting a WW1 battlefield, in Red, White and Blue: Flowers in the Field, which is also drop-in. Create a felted red poppy, white marguerite or blue cornflower for the foreground of the canvas to create a field of flowers. Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom admission applies.
Painting workshop – Still Life in Pastel
Date 23 Oct Time 10.00 – 4.30 Cost £35 Adult, £33 FOBM, inc morning refreshments
Join artist Linda Birch to create a still life painting, using the many examples in The Bowes Museum’s collection as inspiration.
Silver Spiders
Date 23 Oct Time 10.30 – 4.00
Inspired by our Silver and Metals gallery, children can try a variety of fun crafts on a spider theme. Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
Spooky Folk Tales – Family Fun Day
Date 24 Oct Time 11.00 – 4.00
Popular storyteller Adam Bushnell is back, telling his spooky tales which are being published in his new book Durham Folk Tales. In addition, families are able to take part in a fun packed day of craft activities linked to the stories! Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
Halloween Crafts
Date 25 & 26 Oct Time 10.30 – 12.00 or 1.30 – 3.00
Be brave and take part in fun Halloween themed craft activities. Booking required on 01833 690606. Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
Planting Tulips
Date 27 Oct Time 10.30 – 4.00
Be inspired by the Turkish Tulips exhibition and plant a tulip in the Museum grounds before creating a watercolour painting to take home. Children must be accompanied by an adult, for whom normal admission applies.
NOVEMBER 2017
The Photography Project
Date 4 Nov Time 10.00 Cost £15.00 (Places limited to 10)
In this half day workshop, photographic artist Lee Karen Stow shares thoughts and tips on how to create and sustain a personal photography project or long-term body of work. Learn how to turn your chosen theme or passion into an individual narrative, expressing what you love about life. She will also look at ways to share your work, to exhibit and ways to get your work seen. Suitable for photographers with moderate to advanced level of experience. Cost includes the artist’s talk Poppies: Women, War and Peace, which follows at 2.30. Places are limited so booking is required online or by calling 01833 690606.
Poppies: Women, War, Peace
Date 4 Nov Time 2.30 Cost £3.00 Adults (talk only), or free with museum admission
Join photographer Lee Karen Stow to discover more about the inspiration behind her international touring exhibition Poppies: Women, War, Peace. The project remembers women whose lives have been affected by war, from WW1 to conflicts of today, alongside a botanical series of the poppy wildflower in all its colours. Her work is inspired by Moïna Bell Michael and Madame Anna E Guérin who immortalised the Flanders Fields poppy as a symbol of remembrance a century ago. Booking required online or by calling 01833 690606. Cost includes refreshments.
Painting workshop – Gentle Abstract in Coloured Pencil
Date 20 Nov Time 10.00 – 4.30 Cost £35 Adult, £33 FOBM, inc morning refreshments
Join artist Linda Birch to make an abstract work by adapting a painting from The Bowes collection, experimenting with colour and shape.
DECEMBER 2017
Painting workshop – Doll’s House Diptych
Date 8 Dec Time 10.00 – 4.30 Cost £35 Adult, £33 FOBM, inc morning refreshments
Join artist Linda Birch to make a miniature painting with doors on the theme of a dolls house, richly coloured in watercolours or acrylic.
Christmas Market
Date 16 & 17 Dec Time 10.00 – 4.00 Cost tbc
The annual Christmas Market will take place this weekend . . . watch this space for further details!