April Events at the Gallery

Why not take part in one of our free Saturday events, sure to inspire creativity or even ideas as part of your MA research.

Our creative writing workshop on the 14 April, led by experienced tutor Suzannah Evans, invites participants to respond to works in the Gallery's collection. This year we're also offering people the chance to enter a competition which sees the winners reading their poems read for a recording, to be placed alongside the chosen artwork via the wonders of QR-code technology. The poems will be available to listen to for a limited period to coincide with National Poetry Day 2012 (4 October). Places can be booked here: http://spinastory.eventbrite.co.uk/

Nick Cass, Research Associate in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, is leading a curatorial interventions workshop on the 21 April which involves re-interpreting the space of the Gallery for an afternoon. This is perfect for any students wanting to learn more about curatorial and interpretive practice. Sign up here: http://nickcassart.eventbrite.co.uk/

Finally, on the 28 April John Thorp MBE, Leeds Civic Architect will be giving a talk about working on projects that have helped to define the architecture of modern Leeds. The talk will be followed by a guided tour by John across the campus to finish up at one of the city’s newest architectural additions, the M&S Company Archive, where refreshments will be served and informal tours of the building will be offered. This talk and tour is free and all are welcome. For details of these and other events, please visit: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/gallery/events.htm

Heritage-a-vision

There's a new BBC/Open University series staring this evening called Saving Britain's Past. It's going to be tracing changing attitudes to conservation and the development of the heritage industry. It sounds like it's taking a thematic approach, it's 'The City' tonight. Might be interesting?

It's in seven parts, Mondays, 7.30pm on BBC2.

Who needs objects?

Not the Neues Museum. Forget the 'Museum Without Walls', this is the museum with only walls (for now). As G2 reported on Monday,  35,000 visitors came to see the restored shell of the museum over 3 days. Similar in some ways to what the curator of Temple Newsam (who spoke to us County House Collections lot last week) described in the early years of the building being open to the public, with very little inside after the house sales dispersed the collection. I suppose in this instance, there might be a potent sense of re-occupation and of reclaiming, but it's a poetic image. I suppose the real question is, are you still visiting a museum if there's nothing in it?