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FLAG
News
FRIENDS OF
LEAMINGTON ART GALLERY AUGUST 2008 CHAIRMAN’S
MESSAGE We have recently ended another enjoyable season of talks, for which we have to thank Maureen Townsend and other officers. The talk on Hidcote Manor Gardens was particularly interesting and this was followed by one on Action for Birds of interest to both ornithologists and others; then we had a fascinating and enjoyable talk on Rockingham Castle. Finally our AGM was followed by a talk on the restoration of Birmingham Town Hall which will be of additional interest to anyone who may visit the building; indeed there is an opportunity for members in December (see separate sheet). The excursions, too, have been well received and we have been to places we might otherwise have missed. We are still in negotiation with the Art Gallery for FLAG’s presentation of an artefact to add to the collection to commemorate our 40th anniversary. In this respect, we have received a grant from Royal Leamington Spa Town Council to contribute to the item, and the Art Gallery is hoping to attract another grant to further supplement the finances available for the necessary purchase. The item is likely to be a ceramic work by Edmund de Waal. We await further information and hope to be able to announce the new acquisition in the not-too-distant future. We continue to have close contact with the Art Gallery and to help to events, support its work and promote what it has to offer. Please continue to support
our events, and do not hesitate to make suggestions for future talks
and visits. GRAHAM E. COOPER Chairman SHEILA CASTLE We are sorry to have to report
the death of Sheila Castle. She had been on our committee for
18 years and was always keen to help. She delivered newsletters
earlier in the year for us as usual and was always willing to stuff
envelopes and do refreshments. She was interested in everything
we did right up to her last week. We shall miss her very much. GALLERY NEWS EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS The current exhibition Clocking On: Local Working life in the 20th Century (28 June – 7 September) has been a great success, achieving excellent visitor figures and great local interest. The exhibition has been accompanied by a series of events and we were delighted to be able to host a tea party specifically for FLAG members on Friday 8 August. At the event, artist Mo Enright gave a fascinating talk about her work and experience of painting in the Potterton factory. The next exhibition will be NOW
SHOWING: New film and video from the Arts Council (17 September
– 2 November) which will feature a different projection each
week for six weeks. By returning to view work by different artists,
visitors will be able to gain a compelling insight into current practice
in this medium. The exhibiting artists are Mark Boulos, Luke Fowler,
Idris Khan, Mark Lewis, Rosalind Nashashibi and The Otolith Group.
(The exhibition will be closed on Tuesday 30 September). We are
delighted that two of the artists involved will be coming to give talks
about their work. On Thurs 18 September, we will be joined by
Mark Lewis and on Thurs 9 October Idris Khan will discuss his work and
show his latest film. Both talks are from 7 – 8pm, are free
and there is no need to book. In addition, a film making workshop,
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!, will take place on Sat 4 October, 11am
– 4pm, please call 01926 742700 to reserve a place. Tickets
cost £3 per person. CHILDREN’S ART COMPETITION Thank you to FLAG for supporting the
Children’s Art Competition and providing refreshments for those taking
part. This took place on Sat 2 August. Thirty children took
part and the quality of work produced was impressive. The judges
were artist Mo Enright, The Chairman of WDC, Councillor Mrs Judy Falp,
FLAG Chairman Graham Cooper and Councillor Eithne Goode. First
prize winner in the category for up to 7 years was Amandeep aged 6,
the runner up was Sian, 7. In the 8 to 10 age group, Anmolpreet,
9, scooped first prize while Callum, 9, came second. Ben, 14,
was placed first in the 11 – 15 category: second place went to Sophie,
14. The winners and runners up received vouchers for art materials and
all children who took part were given a small prize to say well done! CHILDREN’S GALLERY The application for Wilhelmina’s Gallery, the new Children’s Gallery, was submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund in June. We hope to hear news sometime in October and thank FLAG for their letter of support for the project. Those of you with children or grandchildren
under 12 might also be interested in our ART CART FAMILY FUN free activities
which take place from 1 – 3pm on the last Saturday of each month.
Children must be accompanied by an adult. NEW DISPLAYS It’s out with the old and in with the
new as we re-hang our main art gallery space. We aim to do this
every two years to ensure the public have the chance to see a wide range
of artworks and objects from the Art Gallery & Museum’s extensive
collection. Please note that areas of the art gallery will be
inaccessible from 1 – 10 October. The new displays will be launched
at the Big Draw event on Saturday 11 October. TAPPING IN The digitisation project, Tapping In, which was carried out in partnership with Warwickshire County Council and with financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, is drawing to a close. Since the project began in 2006, all 11,000 items in the Art Gallery & Museum’s wide-ranging collections have been added to an electronic archive which is available for the public to view at www.Isagmcollections.org.uk or by using the computers in the Art Gallery & Museum. The website, which includes over 4,500 images, provides an opportunity for members of the public and students to carry out their own research into the collections of the Art Gallery & Museum. On Thursday 28 August at 6.30pm the Chairman
of WDC, Councillor Mrs Judy Falp will launch the new website and there
will be an opportunity to find out more about the Tapping In project
and to get to know the new website, including a practical demonstration
and a chance to ask questions. Refreshments will be provided. 40th ANNIVERSARY ACQUISITION Our pursuit of a work by the artist/potter
Edmund de Waal has now developed into exciting plans for an exhibition
and the acquisition of a work made specifically for the collection.
We are currently in discussion with the artist and will unveil more
specific plans in the autumn once dates have been confirmed. FRIDAY FOCUS The regular FRIDAY FOCUS talks continue
to be popular. The ten minute presentations by Art Gallery &
Museum staff at 1pm on each Friday cover a wide range of topics relating
to the collections and the Royal Pump Rooms. Please ask at the
Art Gallery reception desk or visit www.warwickdc.gov.uk/ The COLLECTION CONNECTION programme, in which local personalities are invited to select their favourite exhibit continues to the end of the year. The selected exhibit is highlighted for a month and is the subject of a Friday Focus talk. Through the autumn those taking part include Cllr Mrs Judy Falp and Sir John Egan. In addition we now run THURSDAY FLICKERS, an exciting weekly film and video event, on Thursday evenings from 6.30 – 7.30pm. This event is free and visitors will have the chance to view screenings of new work from video artists, short-film makers and animators. AND FINALLY … We have been joined for the summer by
Leicester University student, Dawn Mason, who has been a fantastic addition
to the team and will be much missed when she departs on 22 August.
As part of her work placement she has created a display titled, If
it needed doing, it was done, which explores the roles adopted by
the W.V.S. and presents the variety of ways in which they provided assistance
during the war. The display is on the mezzanine level in the Museum
and will remain in place until September. Chloe Johnson Senior Curatorial Officer WINTER PROGRAMME NOTE As you will see from our Winter
Programme details we have increased the entrance fee to our meetings
to £1 (Guests £2). This is to help cover the increasing cost
of speakers. However, we feel that an entertaining/interesting
talk with refreshments for £1 still represents good value for money!
We hope you agree. On the subject of speakers we are always on the look out for new ones – if you have any recommendations (with contact details if possible) we would be delighted to hear them. Maureen Townsend (428273) or
Lyn Buckle (339499) Pat Butler Treasurer FLAG DONATIONS TO THE ART
GALLERY & MUSEUM 2007/8 We have been able to donate
the following during the 2007/8 year. £2,000 towards the purchase of MAGNIFICENT by PHILIP SUTTON £500 for conservation work on AN INNOCENT OR A NEW DAY by DOD PROCTOR £150 for Children’s Art Competition 2007 £250 sponsorship for the OPEN 2007 £100 for materials for work
being done by NADFAS Volunteers There are lots of ideas under
consideration by the committee for the current year including, of course,
our 40th anniversary donation. We will let you know as soon
as decisions are made. In the meantime thank you for continuing
to support our events. SIR FRANK WHITTLE TALK The Leamington Society has asked us to mention a very special event which they have arranged. The story of aviation’s greatest
engineer, Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine and turbofan
will be told by his son Ian Whittle.
FLAG News FRIENDS
OF JANUARY
2008 CHAIRMAN’S
MESSAGE To have
been in existence for forty years is a real achievement, and The Friends of
Leamington Art Gallery celebrated the fact at its December meeting. We were delighted to have welcomed the
Chairman of Warwick District Council and the Mayor of Leamington Spa. A magnificent cake helped us to celebrate and
the evening was memorable. We were
pleased to have present our President, David Barby, and Hilary Bostock, our
first Chairman. The thanks expressed to
Molly Carless, our first Honorary Secretary, made us realise how much we owe to
her and others like her, who toil behind the scenes to arrange interesting
events and facilitate the running of FLAG.
The Committee may take the decisions, and the Members may turn up to the
arranged meetings, but we must never forget the voluntary hours of
letter-writing and telephone calls without which the events could not come to
fruition. For example, Maureen Townsend
has already arranged our meeting dates up to December 2009! So let us take this opportunity to say a big
“Thank You” to all who have contributed towards the administration of FLAG,
often without special recognition. Special
thanks are due to Lyn Buckle and her helpers who co-ordinated and arranged the
Anniversary event. To
commemorate FLAG’s special anniversary, a presentation is to be made to the We hope you
will like the 2008 events and that you will support them. Please remember that you are encouraged to
express your views as to what future activities you would like to see and that
if we hear nothing from you we shall take it you are content with the sort of
arrangements we now make. As I write
this, the weather is wet and raw; in fact it is very similar to the 2007
summer, except that there are no leaves on the trees and it is cold! So, roll on this year’s spring and summer,
and please make every effort to support our forthcoming events. GRAHAM E.
COOPER Chairman 40 YEARS!
EXHIBITIONS The OPEN 2007 exhibition ran
from The new exhibition Domestic Idylls: Clementina, Lady Hawarden
will open on 25 January with the preview on Thursday 24 January. The exhibition includes a selection of works
from the COLLECTION CONNECTION This month Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum is introducing a new
addition to the programme called Collection
Connection. Every month a local
personality will be invited to choose their favourite exhibit from the permanent
displays at Leamington Art Gallery & Museum including objects in the fields
of fine art, crafts, sculpture, local and social history, archaeology and
ethnography. For the duration of the
month the chosen exhibit will be highlighted with a caption explaining who
selected it and the reasons for their choice and the selected work or object
will be the subject of a Friday Focus talk. Councillor Chris White, the Portfolio Holder for Culture at Warwick District
Council, was the first to select his favourite exhibit as part of the
Collection Connection programme. He
chose a Leamington Spa Railway Poster by artist Ronald Lampitt which appealed
to him because it is a fine example from the Golden Age of the Railway Posters
in the 1920s and 1930s. The poster will
be the subject of the ten minute talk presented by Tammy Woodrow on 40th ANNIVERSARY
ACQUISITION It has been suggested that a work by the potter Edmund de Waal would be
a suitable acquisition to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding
of FLAG. De Waal’s distinctive and
evocative work is influenced by that of Lucie Rie and Hans Coper. He is concerned with the ‘handmade’ and is
also interested in the ways in which ceramics are displayed and the ways in
which juxtapositions can trigger memories.
De Waal’s current work stems from an interest in the relationship
between ceramics and architecture. He
has exhibited widely, but his first major solo show took place recently at mima
(Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) 10 August – Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum has a number of ceramics and
glass so a work by Edmund de Waal, with its link with installation art, would
be a wonderful addition to the collection. Chloe Johnson Senior Curatorial Officer
We thought FLAG members would be interested to know that the OPEN
2007 People’s Choice Award went to
Annabel Rainbow who is a member of FLAG and another of our members, Tania
Pavlovna, also had a picture in the exhibition. |
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