Talks and Trips 2020!
Starting with the complete flyer and then a breakdown of all talks and trips, above the outer part of the flyer, and below the inside. Tickets for talks can be obtained at the museum during opening hours, and also from…
Restoration of Roman Wine Strainer
Last week a small group of Friends visited the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, ideally placed about 5 minutes from the railway station. The last time we visited the history centre was back in February 2012 for a guided tour…
Collecting Desmond Morris’ Picture from Oxford
Desmond Morris famous zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology, is known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape, and for his television programmes such as Zoo Time. His Wikipedia entry mentions that he was born in Purton,…
Friends Farewell to Sophie Cummings (January 2020)
After six and a half years at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Curator Sophie Cummings has made a huge impact on the place, with regular changeovers of exhibitions both in the downstairs and upstairs galleries, there have been reasons for…
Craft Matters: Collect International Art Fair (Thursday 12 December 2019)
For our December talk, we were fortunate enough to have Isobel Dennis, Fair director of Collect coming to explain more about the International Art Fair for Modern Craft and Design which is now in its 16th year. I have taken…
Ken White: Railways & Landscapes – An Exhibition of His Talents (28/29 November 2019)
Our November talk featured Ken White in conversation with Andy Binks, with the same talk repeated for a second evening in order to be able to accommodate the large number of people who wanted to come. The talks coincided with the end…
Trip to Pembroke College, JCR Art Collection (Thursday 21 November 2019)
A trip to somewhere relatively nearby is easier to organise than one further away, Pembroke College, Oxford, was a dream, we could go on the bus, keeping the cost of the trip down. Sadly for me, on the date of the…
Open Exhibition 2019 Artists and Their Work
I do like photos of artists with their work, and last year took quite a few artists standing beside their work at the Open Exhibition. This year I have mostly relied on copying photos from Facebook, I do hope this is…
The Open Exhibition 2019
Brought back by popular demand, after being very successful last year, the Open Exhibition now occupying the main gallery runs until 21 December. It showcases work from artists who have entered from an even wider area than previously. The Friends' committee were…
A Traveller in Space and Time: Michael Ayrton (Thursday 31 October 2019)
We were very pleased to welcome Justine Hopkins, after our AGM and a sandwich break, to give a very personal, highly knowledgeable and fascinating insight into Michael Ayrton.This was a return after a 25 year break to Swindon Museum and Art…