What's On - October 2015 to January 2016

www.museumofoxford.org

Images Š Oxford Mail and The Trustees of the British Museum

40 Years of the Museum of Oxford The season sees the launch of two special exhibitions which will continue into the new year – 40 Years, 40 Objects and the 40 Best of Oxford.

Alongside this, we have four days of finale events, 10-13 December, with each day offering something different, leaving a legacy in both of the 40th anniversary exhibitions. These events would not have been possible without the involvement of the communities of Oxford as well as individuals who have donated their objects, stories, memories and time to make these exhibitions quite unique and special. So, a massive thanks goes out to you all as well as our appreciation to all those who have supported the year, from our cultural partners, funders and sponsors, schools and community groups.

Thank you all and we look forward to seeing you at an event during the season.

Euton Daley MBE Anniversary Programme Co-ordinator Our sponsors

Photographs on cover courtesy of Oxford Mail and Trustees of the British Museum

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

Open Monday to Saturday | 10am – 5pm Visit the Museum of Oxford’s interactive galleries and explore Oxford’s fascinating story in two very different spaces. Explore Oxford is the only place to learn about the city and its people!

Look out for sneak previews of some of the objects in the 40 years 40 objects exhibition throughout this programme.

Full details on

Brass ornament showing a lamplighter loaned

by Joyce Howe

page 5

Exhibitions

pages 4–5

Workshops, Events, Talks and Tours

pages 7–16

Calendar of Events

centre pages

Family Events

pages 17–19

40th Anniversary Finale

pages 20–22 www.museumofoxford.org

28 September - 20 February 2016

@ Gallery Corridor Collections of 40 things we love about Oxford.

Expect poetry and photographs amongst other medium as part of our 40th anniversary celebrations.

Supported by

Trophy of a Rover Car presented to Ernest Wright on his retirement from the Morris Car Factory in 1991 after 50 years of service

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

An exhibition of forty objects selected by the local community to tell the story of their city. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Museum of Oxford has been working with local people and community groups to bring together objects which reflect their experiences and memories of Oxford over the past four decades. Explore Oxford’s recent history through everyday objects, historic artefacts and personal mementoes. 40 Years, 40 Objects also features artwork and digital stories created especially for the exhibition and a beautiful 800 year-old statue of the Hindu god Ganesha on loan from the British Museum.

Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum

Supported by

www.museumofoxford.org

Images Š Oxford Mail and The Trustees of the British Museum

@ The Gallery

x The Museum Gift Shop offers a range of products including gifts inspired by our collections. The shop also sells books by local authors and unique work created by Oxford and Oxfordshire artists and craft workers. A perfect place to find that interesting Christmas Gift.

If you’re interested in stocking our shelves with your artwork, published book or having your crafts in our cabinet please pop in or email museum@oxford.gov.uk.

Get 10% discount when you show this advert at the till.

A brick from the Cutteslowe Wall loaned by local historian and ex-Lord Mayor Ann Spokes Symonds

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

10, 24 Oct, 14, 28 Nov, 12 Dec & 9, 23 Jan 11am – 12noon

£4/£4.50/£5

@ Gift Shop Join the Museum of Oxford as we take you on a tour around Oxford’s magnificent Town Hall. We also offer bespoke tours for groups, including a new option to have tea and scones in The Old Museum, please email museum@oxford.gov.uk or telephone 01865 252417 with your enquiry.

Do you want to

:

Support the future

of the Museum of Ox

ford?

Have your say in the development of the

Museum?

Meet like-minded people and have fun?

If your answer is YES to any of these questions, then join our Museum of Oxford Friends!

Upcoming MoOFs events:

3 October

5 November

William Morris: A Circular Walk

Medieval Oxford Talk in the Court Room

Members of the MoOFs’ Steering Group will be giving a guided circular walk around central Oxford celebrating the early years of William Morris (Viscount Nuffield)

This talk by Michelle Bayne-Jardine will be about Medieval Oxford with the emphasis on the townspeople and a few of the colourful mayors who kept them in order!

To join MoOFs or for more information on these events and booking please email museumofoxfordfriends@gmail.com

www.museumofoxford.org

@ Heritage Learning Centre The Museum of Oxford offers lots of beginners’ workshops for adults including Searchers, Creative Writing and Art For All. All workshops take place in the Heritage Learning Centre on weekday afternoons during term time.

They are aimed at beginners but all abilities are very welcome. Please contact Antonia Harland-Lang (aharland-lang@oxford.gov.uk) to be added to the programme mailing list or just drop into a session.

5, 12, 19 Oct & 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Nov | 1.30 – 3.30pm

A research class for beginners, all ages welcome.

Research family history, local history and much more.

6, 20 Oct & 10, 24 Nov | 1.30 – 3.30pm

A creative writing class for anyone who wants to try their hand at writing prose, poetry and plays in a supportive group environment.

13 Oct, 3, 17 Nov & 1 Dec | 1.30 – 3.30pm

A mixed media art class for beginners and beyond.

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

@ Heritage Learning Centre Memory Lane is a themed reminiscence group for older people, led by Helen Fountain, Reminiscence Officer for the Museum of Oxford. For more information call Helen on 01865 252795.

Images copyright of Oxfordshire History Centre

22 October | 2 – 3.30pm

19 November | 2 – 3.30pm

10 December | 2 – 3.30pm

www.museumofoxford.org

8 Oct, 5 Nov & 3 Dec | 11am – 12noon

@ Heritage Learning Centre Memory Lane Movers and Shakers is a gentle dance and music group led by dance tutor Angela Conlan. Sessions are inspired by the memories and themes from Memory Lane. Sessions are free and light refreshments are provided. For more information call Helen Fountain on 01865 252795.

12 October | 1.30 – 2.30pm

Crime, Medicine and Science in History by Katherine Watson @ The Old Museum Join us and Dr Katherine Watson from Oxford Brookes University for the first of a fascinating series of lectures from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Trace the history of forensics from the early modern period to the present, through insanity, poisoning, infanticide and criminal identification, showing the impact of legal systems, medical practitioners and the rise of the ‘expert’ in Britain, Europe and North America.

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

13 October | 6 – 7pm

Mark Davies @ The Old Museum The River Thames is a recurring theme within a factual murder mystery which sheds light on many unusual and emotive aspects of life in 18th-century Oxfordshire and Berkshire. Local author Mark Davies gives a talk about the case.

17 October | 10.30am – 12.30pm

Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936 - 30 by Liz Woolley and Valery Rose

Plate painted in traditional canal style donated by ex-Lord Mayor Patsy Yardley

@ The Old Museum Local historians, Liz Woolley and Valery Rose, talk about their new book on Oxfordshire’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War.

www.museumofoxford.org

Date

Event Name

Type

Time

All year Oxford Uncovered Trail

Location

Cost

Family Activity 28 Sept 40 Years, 40 Objects and Exhibition - 20 Feb 40 Best of Oxford 2016 3 Oct – 40 Objects Family Trail Trail 20 Feb 2016 5 Oct Searchers Workshop 6 Oct Creative Writing Workshop 8 Oct Memory Lane Movers and Event Shakers 10 Oct Inside Oxford Town Hall Tour 12 Oct Searchers Workshop 12 Oct Before CSI: Crime, Medicine Talk and Science in History by Dr Katerine Watson 13 Oct Art for All Workshop 13 Oct The Abingdon Talk Waterturnpike Murder

by Mark Davies 17 Oct No Other Way: Oxfordshire Talk and the Spanish Civil War 1936-39 by Liz Woolley and Valery Rose 19 Oct Searchers Workshop 20 Oct Creative Writing Workshop 21 Oct Student Volunteering: Event Find Out More 22 Oct Memory Lane: Memories Event of Donnington 24 Oct Inside Oxford Town Hall Tour

10am – 4.30pm

Gift Shop

10am – 4.30pm

Gallery and FREE Gallery Corridor Gift Shop FREE

26 Oct Spooky Skeletons 29 Oct Spooky Skeletons 31 Oct 2 Nov 3 Nov 5 Nov

Museums at Night Damifino!

Searchers Art for All Memory Lane Movers and Shakers

Museum of Oxford

Family Activity Family Activity Event Workshop Workshop Event

Town Hall

10am – 4.30pm

FREE

1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 11am – 12noon HLC

FREE FREE FREE

11am Gift Shop 1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 1.30pm – 2.30pm The Old Museum

£4/£4.50/£5 FREE FREE

1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 6pm – 7pm The Old Museum

FREE FREE

10.30am – 12.30pm

FREE

The Old Museum

1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 1pm – 3pm HLC

FREE FREE FREE

2pm – 3.30pm

HLC

FREE

11am

Gift Shop

10.30am – 3.30pm 10.30am – 3.30pm 7pm

HLC

£4/£4.50/ £5 FREE

HLC

FREE

The Old Museum 1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 11am – 12noon HLC

St Aldate’s

Oxford

FREE FREE FREE

Date

Event Name

Type

Time

Location

Cost

Searchers Creative Writing Inside Oxford Town Hall Festive Family Trail

Workshop Workshop Tour Trail

1.30pm – 3.30pm 1.30pm – 3.30pm 11am 10am – 4.30pm

Searchers Art for All Memory Lane: Memories of Oxford During WW2 21 Nov When the Lights Go Out

Workshop Workshop Event

1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 1.30pm – 3.30pm HLC 2pm – 3.30pm HLC

FREE FREE FREE

10.30am – 3.30pm 11am – 3pm

The Old Museum HLC

FREE

1.30pm – 3.30pm 1.30pm – 3.30pm 11am 1.30pm – 3.30pm 1.30pm – 3.30pm 11am – 12noon

HLC HLC Gift Shop HLC HLC HLC

FREE FREE £4/£4.50/£5 FREE FREE FREE

11am – 4pm

The Old Museum HLC

FREE

The Old Museum The Old Museum

£5

9 Nov 10 Nov 14 Nov 14 Nov - 8 Jan 2016 16 Nov 17 Nov 19 Nov

21 Nov 23 Nov 24 Nov 28 Nov 30 Nov 1 Dec 3 Dec 5 Dec

Family Activity It’s a Wonderful Card Life Family Activity Searchers Workshop Creative Writing Workshop Inside Oxford Town Hall Tour Searchers Workshop Art for All Workshop Memory Lane Movers and Event Shakers Christmas Craft Fair Fair

10 Dec Memory Lane: Memory Lane Christmas Session 10 Dec Forty Forty Vision with Paul Lyalls and Guests 11 Dec The Fabric of Oxford featuring The Sonic Wardrobe by KnITSOnIK 12 Dec Hello Oxford! Created by Hannah Ringham 12 Dec Inside Oxford Town Hall 12 Dec Pam Manix - Oxford's Jewish Heritage 13 Dec English Museums and Change 17 Dec The Secret History of Oxford’s Christmas by Paul Sullivan 21 Dec Blackout!

9 Jan Inside Oxford Town Hall 23 Jan Inside Oxford Town Hall 27 Jan Alice in Waterland by Mark Davies

Event

2pm – 3.30pm

Event

7pm

Event

7.30pm

Event

7pm

HLC HLC Gift Shop Gift Shop

FREE FREE £4/£4.50/£5 FREE

FREE

FREE

£5

£5

Tour Talk

The Old Museum 11am Gift Shop 12.30pm – 1.30pm HLC

Talk

2pm

£5

Talk

6pm – 7.30pm

The Old Museum The Old Museum

Family Activity Tour Tour Talk

10.30am – 3.30pm 11am 11am 6pm – 7pm

HLC

FREE

Gift Shop Gift Shop HLC

£4/£4.50/£5 £4/£4.50/£5 FREE

£4/£4.50/£5 FREE

£5

HLC - Heritage Learning Centre

www.museumofoxford.org

21 October | 1pm – 3pm

@ Heritage Learning Centre Did you know that 73% of employers would recruit a candidate with volunteering experience over one without? Visit the Museum of Oxford and find out more about volunteering and its benefits. Talks from current volunteers will begin at 1pm.

31 October | 7pm

@ The Old Museum Join the Museum of Oxford on Halloween for a Victorian spooktacular. Enter if you dare and be guided around the scary side of the Museum’s collections, share your fears and spooky moments in Oxford, eat and drink like a Victorian and relish in some eerie events taking place in The Old Museum throughout the evening.

Three representations of the elephantheaded Hindu god, Ganesha loaned by Chinta Kallie

What will happen?

Damifino!

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

5 December | 11am – 4pm

@ The Old Museum Christmas Craft fair in The Old Museum with artists and craft makers who frequently stock the Museum’s gift shop shelves. A great place to buy that special, Oxford Christmas present.

12 December 12.30pm – 1.30pm

By Pam Manix @ Heritage Learning Centre Local author Pam Manix will give a talk on Oxford’s Jewish Heritage, dating back to Medieval times.

You can find out more about the Jewish past of this location in a Town Hall Tour (charges apply) earlier in the day.

www.museumofoxford.org

17 December | 6pm – 7.30pm £5 (includes mulled wine and mince pie)

By Paul Sullivan @ Heritage Learning Centre Join local author Paul Sullivan for a festive look at Oxford’s Christmas past. Combining interesting tales from his range of publications on Oxford with some songs and merriment, a mince pie and mulled wine will be included. Reservations can be made at the Gift Shop.

January 27 | 6pm – 7pm

By Mark Davies @ Heritage Learning Centre A talk by local author Mark Davies, to coincide with Lewis Carroll’s birthday, about the inspirational people, places, and events on or by the river to be revealed on a virtual Victorian voyage.

Tapestry banner presented to the Oxford and district hard of Hearing club on 1st June 1977, loaned by Ruth Waddle at Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

26 & 29 October | 10.30am – 3.30pm

@ Heritage Learning Centre A fun, Halloween themed, family workshop. Take a look at the ‘Dance of Death’ paintings from Alderman Fletcher’s Oxford house and make your own dancing skeleton. Find out about grave decorations from the past and try brass rubbing. Part of the ‘Get Creative Family Arts Festival’

21 November | 10.30am – 3.30pm

@ The Old Museum As part of the Oxford Christmas Light Festival, families are invited to join us to discover more about Oxford in World War 2 and how people lived when the lights went out.

Explore how people lived with war, the comradeship and how to function in time of blackouts. Also visit The Heritage Learning Centre between 11am – 3pm for It’s a Wonderful Card Life and create an advent Christmas card and winter poem with designer Aurelian Koch and poet Paul Lyalls.

21 December | 10.30am – 3.30pm

@ Heritage Learning Centre Find out about how Christmas was celebrated in a time of Blackouts, air raid shelters and material shortages and have a go at making your own 1940’s Christmas decorations which take inspiration from the ‘Make do and Mend’ culture of WW2.

www.museumofoxford.org

tickets for Horrible Histories Live on Stage at the New Theatre!

We all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead! So it’s time to prepare yourselves for Horrible Histories Live On Stage.

Using actors and 3D special effects, these two world premieres are guaranteed to thrill you and your children. Historical figures and events will come alive on stage and hover at your fingertips.

Take part in any of our family drop-in activities between the 24 October and the 21 November and receive FREE ENTRY into our competition to WIN a Family ticket for 4 people to see the Groovy Greeks on Tuesday 1 December at 7pm.

Groovy Greeks From savage Sparta to angry Athens, discover the truth about growing up in Greece. Take on the Trojans and pummel the Persians! Compete in the first ever Olympic Games and appear in the very first play. Meet your match with the Minotaur and be zapped by Zeus!

Hold on tight as you gatecrash the Groovy Greeks.

Download our

app

available on iOS and Android devices, just search for Museum Trails Oxfordshire, and enjoy a fantastic trail around our Explore Oxford gallery which includes images, movies, questions and more.

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

All year round @ Gift Shop Fun family trails around the Explore Oxford galleries available all year round with different themes suitable for all the family and available from the Museum’s gift shop.

3 October – 20 February | 10am – 4.30pm

This trail takes you to the ‘40 Years, 40 Objects’ exhibition where you can discover and sketch some of the fascinating local objects on display. You can also find out more about some of the colourful personalities from Oxford’s past and put your observation and drawing skills to the test. This trail is one of the activities in the ‘Get Creative Family Arts Festival’.

14 November – 8 January | 10am – 4.30pm

Solve the clues to find the Sneaky Santas hidden around the museum and town hall. Can you spot him hidden in William White’s office or among the Alice in Wonderland exhibits?

Put your detection skills to the test!

All year

Meet the people who lived on our doorstep in this fun trail about Oxford’s history.

www.museumofoxford.org

10 – 13 December

@ The Old Museum Come celebrate the climax of a year of events to mark the Museum of Oxford’s 40th Anniversary. All events (running from the 10-13 of December, please see pages 21 and 22) commissioned by the Museum and produced in collaboration with our cultural partners Oxford Playhouse, OVADA and OCM. Keep a watchful eye out for the Cabinet of Luminosities during our anniversary events- a playful interactive portrait of Oxford’s people and places, a modern twist on the earliest days of projection and the showmen of the magic lantern - Created by Digital Prisoners and produced by OVADA.

Tickets: Each event is £5 from Tickets Oxford - Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont St, OX1 2LW (10 – 6pm Mon – Sat) or Tel: 01865 305 305 or visit our website: www.ticketsoxford.com OR in person from the Museum of Oxford Gift Shop during opening hours (Mon – Sat 10 – 5pm)

Sticks and dolly from traditional Oxford game of Aunt Sally and ‘femur bone of unknown freeman’ trophy, loaned by the Freemen of Oxford

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

10 December | 7pm ÂŁ5

with Paul Lyalls and Guests @ The Old Museum A night of Poetry and spoken word hosted by Paul Lyalls, our poet-in-residence, featuring lots of his own poetry and humour as well as great poems written and performed by young people he has been working with. The Barge Bar will be open serving a range of drinks and snacks. Produced by the Museum of Oxford.

Tickets available at Tickets Oxford (see page 20).

11 December | 7.30pm ÂŁ5

Oxford featuring The Sonic Wardrobe by @ The Old Museum In this entertaining lecture/ performance, KNITSONIK AKA Felicity Ford seams sounds and stories to capture her odyssey into the textile world of Oxford. Accompanied/ illustrated by a special Sonic Wardrobe. The Barge Bar will be open serving a range of drinks and snacks. Produced by OCM. Tickets available at Tickets Oxford (see page 20)

www.museumofoxford.org

12 December | 7pm £5 Created by Hannah Ringham @ The Old Museum A night of music and cabaret from the heart of Oxford celebrating the city’s fabulous characters and unique history. Created with residents from Marston Court Care Home, Museum of Oxford’s Memory Lane Reminiscence Group and young local artists and performers from across the city. The Barge Bar will be open serving a range of drinks and snacks. Produced by Oxford Playhouse. Tickets available at Tickets Oxford (see page 20).

13 December | 2pm £5

@ The Old Museum How have museums changed over the last 40 years? A panel talk and discussion involving some of those who initiated or were involved in developing the Museum of Oxford with other invited guests.

Free to members of Museum of Oxford Friends.

Tickets available at Tickets Oxford (see page 20).

Museum of Oxford

Town Hall

St Aldate’s

Oxford

Hosting a wide range of exciting and heritage events, The Old Museum is also available to book for your event. For more information, visit our website.

Model Brookes bus loaned by Sebastian Blake, sustainability specialist at Oxford Brookes University

www.museumofoxford.org

Tourist Information Centre

HOLYWELL ST

T SHIP S

T

HIGH S

ST QUE EN

B L UE

By Car: If you need to take the car we recommend using the Park and Ride.

ST ( A42 0)

Twitter @museumofoxford Facebook /museumofoxford museum@oxford.gov.uk 01865 252334 (Gift Shop)

SPEE DWELL ST

AT E ’ S

BREWER ST

THAME S

T

A R ST BO

S T. A L D

PEMBROKE ST

Many local buses stop on St Aldate’s road.

T ST

KET S

E MARK

THE COVERED MARKET

CARFAX TOWER

By Bus: Via Gloucester Green bus station.

By Bike: There are plenty of racks in front of the Town Hall.

ST BROAD

MAR

OXFORD

E ST GEOR G

CORN

GLOUCESTER GREEN

CHRIST CHURCH

KEY NORMAL ROADS

TH RIVER AMES

BUSES AND/OR PEDESTRIANS ONLY

Museum Entrance: The entrance to the Town Hall is on St Aldate’s street and the Museum of Oxford’s Explore Oxford galleries are just to your right as you enter.

The Town Hall and Museum are fully accessible.

Museum of Oxford Oxford Town Hall St Aldate’s Oxford OX1 1BX Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday 10am–5pm (with last admittance at 4.30pm to all galleries) The Museum is usually closed during bank holidays, please check back at the website for more information.