Where to start – as the city and its culture comes back to life!
It’s got to be the Bath Festivals which launches today with live events at last – subject to government guidelines.
Not surprisingly, events coming up will be particularly memorable for the artists, the staff of the festivals and the audience, as everyone has missed the joy of artistic events over the last year. Book online via www.bathfestivals.org.uk
The Museum of Bath at Work – the city’s museum of people’s history – opens its doors with a number of new projects to welcome you back.
A scale model railway layout of Bath, used in the ITV television series McDonald and Dodds has been acquired by the Museum and will be on show with demonstrations of the layout each day.
The 20 ft long model was used in the episode ‘We Need to Talk about Doreen’ and whilst the model takes liberties with the geography of Bath and its railways system it is certainly impressive.
Another exhibition opening on May 17th explores the activities of the Bath Arts Workshop – the counter cultural organisation founded in 1969 which begat the Bath Fringe Festival, Walcot Reclamation, John’s Bikes, the Natural Theatre Company and Walcot Nation Day.
The exhibition ‘Bonkers or Brilliant? The Bath Arts Workshop’ will be accompanied by a series of film shows, presentations and lectures to coincide with the Bath Fringe. The exhibition is being staged to accompany a book being produced by the Bath Arts Workshop which will be launched later in the year.
Bath’s fantastic Postal Museum is back in business with a new logo – from Tuesday, May 18th. Volunteers are in the building today giving it a thorough clean ready to meet government guidelines and will welcome visitors from tomorrow.
Explore Bath’s connections with the development of the Post Office and its personalities. Did you know about the mailing of the ‘2nd May’ Penny Black from Bath Post Office – the FIRST stamp in the world? Again book on line via http://www.bathpostalmuseum.org
BRLSI – the city’s unofficial Museum of Bath – has another great exhibition to greet you with from today.
After a rather strange interlude, BRLSI are delighted to welcome you back through our doors to enjoy the summer exhibition ‘Jurassic Ark’.
The Exhibition has a suggested donation of £2.00 and is being held at 16 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN, 10am–4pm Monday–Friday.
If you thought you knew all about our Strawberry Bank exhibits, we are bringing this unique collection of 19th century Somerset fossils right up to date with new discoveries from our recent excavation at the site which lies beneath the hills near Ilminster, Somerset.
In 2019 the BRLSI, working with and sponsored by Gekoella Ltd, excavated a site near to where the original quarry is thought to have been in order to study the fossil-bearing strata for the first time in 160 years. For the uninitiated, here was discovered a beautifully preserved Jurassic ecosystem, 183 million years old, from which Victorian geologist, Charles Moore, collected hundreds of fossils.
The fossils show exceptional preservation, with the soft tissues such as muscles, guts, and traces of skin, retaining the animals’ original shape. Matt Williams, the BRLSI Collections Manager explained the significance of these fossils: “Uncompressed, three dimensional fossils that preserve soft tissues are very rare, and the concentration of a diverse fauna at this site makes it one of the best preserved Lower Jurassic marine ecosystems in the world.”
For the last decade these exquisite fossils have been intensively studied through an exciting collaboration between the BRLSI Collections and Bristol University, funded by the initially by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and later the Leverhulme Trust. In 2019 the BRLSI, working with and sponsored by Gekoella Ltd, excavated a site near to where the original quarry is thought to have been in order to study the fossil-bearing strata for the first time in 160 years, thanks to a grant from the Geologists’ Association.
A series of palaeontology experts will deliver some online talks in connection with the exhibition, and we are especially fortunate to have the world famous Professor Mike Benton speaking on ‘The life of the Mesozoic sea dragons’ on 2 June, 7.30pm.
2 June 19:30 ‘The life of the Mesozoic sea dragons’. Mike Benton, Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Bristol
25 June 19:30 ‘Digital ichthyosaurs and rebuilding in three dimensions’. Dr Ben Moon, Palaeobiology and Biodiversity Research Group, University of Bristol
7 July 19:30 ‘Strawberry Bank’s exceptionally preserved fossils in geological context’. Dr Crispin Little, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
21 July 19:30 ‘The Strawberry Bank Lagerstätte, from Victorian hammer to 21st century laboratory’. Matt Williams, Collections Manager BRLSI
First displayed in 2014, Jurassic Ark , illustrates how these ancient creatures lived and interacted, how they died and were preserved, and what they can tell us of the history of life. Specially commissioned illustrations by John Sibbick, one of the world’s foremost palaeontological illustrators, recreate the landscape of the Jurassic period in which the extinct marine reptiles, fish, crustaceans, squid-like cephalopods, and insects flourished.
Don’t miss the chance to look at them or find out more about them in the fascinating lecture series to accompany the exhibition.
Good to welcome back the Museum of East Asian Art this week too. After a year’s closure the door reopens on Wednesday at 11am.
As an independent museum and educational charity, the Museum is committed to its vision of connecting cultures and is thrilled to welcoming back visitors from local communities, as well as from further afield. The Museum has put safety measures in place based on the government guidelines to ensure the safety of visitors, volunteers and staff. You can now pre-book timed ticket online through museum’s website, limited walk-in ticket may be available.
During the past year, the Museum has shifted its work online and continue to connect with its communities during the lockdown, from providing free digital family resources to organising online public events, and telling stories of the collections through social media channels.
With the imminent reopening, the Museum has created new gallery guides for visitor to connect and learn about the collections in person. Special exhibition – China on a Plate has been extended, which explores the culture of food and drink in China through a wide range of vessels made of different materials and used by various social classes over different time periods. The exhibition was cut short due to the national lockdown since last year.
The Museum Shop has already opened from April and has been visited by many local shoppers since. Like many museums, the Museum of East Asian Art has been badly impacted financially by the current crisis and protracted closures. Visiting the Museum and its Shop is a great way to support their work, as all proceeds go directly towards running the Museum.
Timed ticket booking link: https://meaa.org.uk/visit/
Safety Measures information: https://meaa.org.uk/visit/safety-measures/
