This month visitors to Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum have a last chance to see two hugely popular exhibitions, Art & Soul and Faces of Conflict, and see three new exhibitions: The Other Wall by Mexican painter Amador Montes, a new display of Exeter’s Fine Art Collection which includes a newly acquired painting by Reynolds and the Express & Echo Local Art Show 2015
Displays include pottery prime ministers, work by Devon artists and a contemporary artwork. Special events include art classes, pattern design classes, family activities for the holidays, the first of the spring series of classical concerts, a dawn chorus sound walk on Dartmoor, tours and talks
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Special events are listed below, followed by family activities, adult courses, exhibitions, displays then highlights from the May and June programmes.
Wednesday 1 April, 2pm, £5
Join a 60-minute tour of RAMM’s galleries
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Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
All tours of RAMM’s galleries are available for private group bookings on mutually agreed dates.
One-hour volunteer presentations are available for groups and society: RAMM or St Nicholas Priory (minimum donation of £40 to the RAMM Development Trust) or the 22,000-coin Seaton Down hoard and Roman Devon (Minimum donation £40 to the Seaton Down hoard fund). Contact ramm.extra@exeter.gov.uk or 01392 265984.
Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
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Tuesday 21 April, 11am, £5
Join a 40-minute tour of the Making History galleries: Exeter and Devon from
prehistory to the present.
All tours of RAMM’s galleries are available for private group bookings on mutually agreed dates. One-hour volunteer presentations are available for groups and society: RAMM or St Nicholas Priory (minimum donation of £40 to the RAMM Development Trust) or the 22,000-coin Seaton Down hoard and Roman Devon (Minimum donation £40 to the Seaton Down hoard fund). Contact ramm.extra@exeter.gov.uk or 01392 265984.
Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
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Tuesday 21 April, 1.10 to 2.15pm, £5 from 17 March
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Historian and writer Dr David Parker will explore the astonishing diversity of local responses to the Great War, especially the huge but often highly controversial contribution of women to the relief of suffering, homing of refugees, raising morale, supporting agriculture and ‘keeping the home fires burning’ under increasingly relentless pressures. He will then examine the legacy of the war, highlighting not only the broken promises but also the enduring welfare reforms.
Tickets are available from 17 March online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
Organised by Friends of Exeter Museums & Art Gallery, registered charity no. 306649. The Friends support the museum with financial help towards acquisitions and conservation. www.exeter.gov.uk/friends, E friends@exeter.gov.uk.
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Wednesday 22 April. Doors open at 6.30pm. Drinks, £2 donation. 7.30pm start. £18 (£16). Three concert series £50 (£44). Patrons 2 for the price of 1.
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Rathbones Spring Concert Series
Organised by RAMM Development Trust. Registered charity no 1038570. The trust raises money through its patron scheme, sponsorship, events and grant applications. Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Wednesday 29 April, 3.15am, £12 (£10)
Dartmoor
Join Chris Watson on a dawn chorus walk on the edge of Dartmoor and see the world with your ears. The walk starts in the dark and will involve uneven surfaces. It is not suitable for young children or those with limited mobility. Details of when and where to meet and what to wear and bring will be sent to ticket holders after booking. Accompanying Ebb and Flow: Seasonal sounds through the Devon Year – An installation by Chris Watson, 28 March to 31 December.
Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Wednesday 29 April, 7.30 to 9pm, £8 (£6)
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
A chance to hear Chris Watson in conversation with RSPB’s Tony Whitehead and chaired by Cheryl Tipp from the British Library Sound Archive. Discussion will focus around the art, practice and challenges of wildlife sound recording, the value of sound in connecting people with nature, and the changing nature of our sound environment. Accompanying Ebb and Flow: Seasonal sounds through the Devon Year – An installation by Chris Watson, 28 March to 31 December. There will also be a performance of the installation.
Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 April, 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm
Drop in £2.50 per child, adults free
Courtyard, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
RAMM has one of the finest collections of butterflies and moths in Britain. Take a closer look at these wonderful creatures, make models and camouflage wing designs.
Adults are expected to stay with their children while they participate and must remain with them if they are under 8 years of age. Some activities are messy so please wear clothes that can get dirty. Aprons will be provided. Tickets can be purchased from the Garden reception.
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Tuesday 7 April, 10.30 to 11.30am, under-5s £5, siblings £2.50
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
A chance for under-fives to take a journey of discovery and make collections-inspired creations. Parents, grandparents and carers can enjoy quality time with their little ones in a friendly, social environment. Book in advance through The Creation Station T 0844 824 4534, M 07925 653942, E erinblake@thecreationstation.co.uk.
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Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 April, 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm
Drop in £2.50 per child, adults free
Courtyard, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Design and make a gold, silver or bronze Roman coin to take home and another to be included in a giant coin hoard. This activity links to RAMM’s fundraising campaign to purchase and conserve the hoard of over 22,000 Roman coins found in Seaton in 2013.
Adults are expected to stay with their children while they participate and must remain with them if they are under 8 years of age. Some activities are messy so please wear clothes that can get dirty. Aprons will be provided. Tickets can be purchased from the Garden reception.
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Thursday 16 April, 10.30 to 11.30am, under-5s £5, siblings £2.50
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
A chance for under-fives to take a journey of discovery and make collections-inspired creations. Parents, grandparents and carers can enjoy quality time with their little ones in a friendly, social environment. Book in advance through The Creation Station T 0844 824 4534, M 07925 653942, E erinblake@thecreationstation.co.uk.
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Thursday 23 April, 10.30 to 11.30am, under-5s £5, siblings £2.50
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
A chance for under-fives to take a journey of discovery and make collections-inspired creations. Parents, grandparents and carers can enjoy quality time with their little ones in a friendly, social environment. Book in advance through The Creation Station T 0844 824 4534, M 07925 653942, E erinblake@thecreationstation.co.uk.
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Thursday 30 April, 10.30 to 11.30am, under-5s £5, siblings £2.50
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
A chance for under-fives to take a journey of discovery and make collections-inspired creations. Parents, grandparents and carers can enjoy quality time with their little ones in a friendly, social environment. Book in advance through The Creation Station T 0844 824 4534, M 07925 653942, E erinblake@thecreationstation.co.uk.
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Tuesdays 28 April; 5, 12, 19 (not 26) May; 2, 9, 16 June, 10am to 1pm
Course £77 book with WEA
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Each week tutor Nicci Wonnacott will look at a different area of RAMM’s collections to inform our understanding of pattern and design. Sketching from the collections, participants will develop ideas through colour and form in the studio and build a portfolio of patterns and textiles designs from which to create new and exciting surfaces.
Course ref: C3525489
Advance bookings from www.wea-sw.org.uk, T 01392 457300
Free for those in receipt of means tested benefit.
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Tuesdays 28 April; 5, 12, 19 (not 26)
May; 2, 9, 16 June, 1.30 to 3.30pm
Course £52 book with WEA
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
By examining some of the Museum’s collections, tutor Nicci Wonnacott, will take a journey, whilst discussing and considering the historical, geographical and creative ideas that tell the story of the object. Participants will then respond through drawing to create a sketchbook and develop mixed media art works. A different area of RAMM’s collections will be featured each week.
Course ref: C3525490
Advance bookings from www.wea-sw.org.uk, T 01392 457300
Free for those in receipt of means tested benefit.
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Wednesdays 29 April; 6, 13, 20 May;
3, 10, 17 June, 10am to 1pm
Course £77 book with WEA
Exeter Phoenix, Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
An opportunity to develop sketches and designs into new creations, through design processes. Work through large scale drawings and paintings and develop ideas for paintings, illustrations, fabrics and stitch to create interesting ideas and objects. Sketchbook development will be a key aspect to the success of the course. Tutor Nicci Wonnacott.
Course ref: C3525491
Advance bookings from www.wea-sw.org.uk, T 01392 457300
Free for those in receipt of means tested benefit.
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Wednesdays 29 April; 6, 13, 20 May; 3, 10, 17 June, 1.30 to 3.30pm
Course £52 book with WEA
Exeter Phoenix, Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
An opportunity to progress your drawings and ideas into new work, through idea development, working on large scale drawings and paintings and developing ideas for illustration and art to create interesting and new work. Tutor Nicci Wonnacott.
Course ref C3525492
Advance bookings from www.wea-sw.org.uk, T 01392 457300
Free for those in receipt of means tested benefit.
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28 March to 22 April
Gallery 5, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
RAMM is celebrating the Year of Mexico in the United Kingdom 2015 with an exhibition by Mexican painter Amador Montes.
This exhibition aims to explore the concept of the wall: related to contemplation and reflection in an aesthetic sense. The wall then becomes a blank canvas, a public space to express a visual dialogue, not an object that imposes boundaries. Amador Montes ‘intervened’ each piece using different mixed media.
His artwork is a visual delight of textures achieved by juxtaposing layers of oil, sgraffito, enamel pats, volumes of paper and screen printing on canvas.
At the end of each exhibition, the artist will donate to the host venue a digital intervened graphic of one the pieces exhibited on the artwork. By doing this, the artist pretends to leave symbolically a part of The Other Wall to unite cities and countries.
The Other Wall has been made possible by the Mexican Embassy in the UK.
From time to time the galleries will be closed for special events; please check before travelling.
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16 April to 11 October
Gallery 20
An exhibition of paintings by Francis Hayman, an important Devon born artist of the 18th century, alongside topographical prints and drawings of 18th- and 19th-century Exeter.
RAMM’s portrait of the artist Francis Hayman by Joshua Reynolds will be on public display for the first time. This important work was purchased after a fundraising auction organised by the Friends of the Museum and a successful application to the V&A Purchase Grant Fund. The display will also include self-portraits and portraits by Hayman himself.
A Devon-born artist, Hayman was a founder of the Royal Academy and a friend to both Reynolds and William Hogarth. He also influenced the young Thomas Gainsborough. His portrait by Joshua Reynolds, the most influential Devon-born artist of all time, makes an ideal addition to the RAMM collection since the artist and sitter shared a common bond as fellow Devonians. At this point in time Hayman’s career was in decline as his rococo style fell out of fashion. By contrast, Reynolds emerged as the predominant British portrait painter of the 18th century.
The RAMM collection of topographical prints, drawings and watercolours is a rich source of information on the appearance of Exeter during the 18th and 19th centuries. However a group of watercolours in this display will also show the city as it was in the early 20th century, shortly before the devastation of the Second World War.
From time to time the galleries will be closed for special events; please check before travelling.
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25 April to 10 May
Gallery 22, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
The annual Express & Echo Local Art Show gives art groups and societies from Exeter and the surrounding area the chance to display their members’ work in an exhibition at RAMM. Shortlisted entries are featured in the Express & Echo and readers invited to vote for their favourite.
Rosie Denham, Exeter’s Lead Councillor for Economy and Culture, explains: “This competition allows us to give recognition to the work of local art groups, help broaden appreciation of the wealth of local talent and give one group the opportunity to display their best work in perfect surroundings. Exeter City Council is delighted to be working with the Express & Echo to help recognise, reward and foster creativity in the city.”
Seven local art groups are competing: Art Haven, Devon Art Society, Exeter Art Society, Farringdon Society of Arts, Green to Grey, Topsham Art Group and United Through Art. Their statements and a full gallery of pictures can be seen on the Express & Echo website.
The previous winners are Sense (2014), Hive Art Group (2013) and Fairstream Arts (2012).
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17 January to 5 April
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
An exploration of the influence on artists and surgeons of the facial injuries suffered during the First World War. The exhibition brings together collections of historical objects and artworks from the last hundred years, including works by the artist Wyndham Lewis and specially commissioned works by the 1914FACES2014 artist in residence Paddy Hartley.
The unprecedented numbers of facial injuries in 1914-18 led to both innovations in surgical practice and to a permanently changed understanding of the face. Just as artistic practice fed into surgical practice (through sculptors working as mask-makers), so the radically new forms of surgery developed at this time changed the context in which artists represented the face.
The exhibition looks at the unique historical situation of the facially injured soldiers of the First World War, the complex question of their reintegration into society and the long-term cultural legacy of that situation.
The exhibition features historical artefacts and archives associated with Sir Harold Gillies’ pioneering surgical work at the Queen’s Hospital, Sidcup, which are on loan from the Royal College of Surgeons and the British Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. They are connected to artworks created during and immediately after the First World War (by Wyndham Lewis and George Grosz) and to contemporary work by René Apallec, Eleanor Crook and Paddy Hartley.
Organised in partnership with the University of Exeter, the exhibition arises from the EU INTERREG IV-funded project 1914FACES2014, led by Prof Bernard Devauchelle (Institut Faire Faces) and Prof David Houston Jones (University of Exeter). Paddy Hartley is the 1914FACES2014 artist in residence at the University of Exeter.
From time to time the galleries will be closed for special events; please check before travelling.
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22 November 2014 to 12 April 2015
Galleries 21 and 22, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Some of the most memorable Victorian works of art and architecture were inspired by the middle ages. This major exhibition explores an era when, as the most powerful nation in the modern world, Britain looked back to a pre-industrial age of centuries past.
It presents a rare opportunity to see works by some of the greatest 19th-century artists and designers with important loans from national and regional collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, Royal Collection, Tate, Ashmolean and the National Trust.
William Morris and Augustus Pugin are represented together with the leaders of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Walter Crane and William Lethaby, and the pre-Raphaelites, Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown, John William Waterhouse and John Ruskin.
The rich variety of exhibits – from paintings and tapestries to furniture, stained glass and metalwork – demonstrates a Victorian taste for the Gothic style that encompassed all areas of art and design. The displays also examine how these objects expressed revolutionary ideas that influenced the monarchy, politics, religion, manufacturing and sexual morality.
Some of the most outstanding examples of design commissioned in the South West are on show, including the extraordinary watercolours for Knightshayes by William Burges and an extravagant bronze throne from Tyntesfield made to designs by Viollet-le-Duc. A range of high quality furnishings and fittings from Devon churches feature alongside the work of Harry Hems, an Exeter-based sculptor and wood carver whose distinctive brand of medievalist design may be seen across the region. One section focuses on the building of RAMM itself – certainly one of the most important Gothic revival buildings in the region, designed by John Hayward and inspired by John Ruskin.
The legends of King Arthur and his Knights were never more popular than during the Victorian era. A highlight of the exhibition is the first in the series of great Holy Grail Tapestries – one of the most ambitious projects of William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. Based on Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, these tell the story of the spiritual quest by the Knights of the Round Table for the Holy Grail, the cup from which Jesus and his disciples are said to have drunk at the Last Supper. On loan from Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, The Knights of the Round Table Summoned to the Quest by the Strange Damsel is rarely on public display and will be shown in the West Country for the first time ever.
King Arthur was also rediscovered by 19th-century authors, most famously Alfred Lord Tennyson, and several of the richly-illustrated Victorian editions of his Idylls of the King are included. However, the Victorian medieval revival extended beyond Arthur. Novels, poems, plays and children’s books about Saxons, Danes and kings abounded, while the rediscovery of ruined abbeys and castles encouraged the taste for Gothic literature.
A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition with essays by Joanne Parker and Corinna Wagner, leading scholars in the field. Art & Soul: Victorians and the Gothic is available from RAMM during the exhibition at the special price of £12.95.
From time to time the galleries will be closed for special events; please check before travelling.
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14 February to 6 September
World Cultures gallery, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Anstee’s RAMMYRIORAMA is a play on the myriorama – a Victorian spectacle of moving images. Pre-dating film, these monumental scrolls unwound to reveal painted panoramas of great historic events, heroic battles or epic journeys through newly discovered foreign lands.
Mark Anstee has produced a hand-painted poster that advertises the RAMMYRIORAMA, which promises a grand tour of the world as seen through many of the objects in RAMM’s World Cultures collection.
Mark has been commissioned to make site-specific drawing projects indoors and in the landscape for over 15 years. He has been both Leverhulme Artist-in-Residence at Stonehenge and Artist-on-Manoeuvres onboard HMS Bulwark.
Artists Reflections is funded by Arts Council England’s Major Partner Museum programme. The list of artists was drawn up by RAMM’s Contemporary Arts Panel, in consultation with Arts Council England and Arts Council Collection at Southbank Centre. Mark Anstee’s reflection on world cultures is the second of four and follows Polly Morgan’s response to natural history.
Wednesday 13 May, RAMMYRIORAMA, 1 to 2pm, £8 (£6). Meeting Room A
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31 March to 21 June
Finders Keepers? gallery, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
A special display featuring contemporary local collections. This changing programme continues with a collector who has a passion for political commemorative china featuring a selection of prime ministers from past to present.
Display your collection
Do you have a collection that you would like to exhibit? Email ramm@exeter.gov.uk.
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Saturday 28 March to 31 December
Garden entrance staircase, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Chris Watson, one of the world’s leading wildlife recorders, is bringing sounds from rural Devon into the heart of RAMM. Four seasonal recordings from a variety of locations will be used to create a changing soundscape evocative of Devon’s diverse ecosystems.
Chris Watson is a BAFTA award-winning audio recordist who has worked with the BBC on many of their best-known natural history productions including Tweet of the Day, Frozen Planet and The Life of Birds.
Ebb and Flow has been made possible through New Expressions 3, a national programme fostering collaboration between contemporary artists and museums and is supported by the National Lottery through Grants for the Arts.
Wednesday 29 April, Chris Watson Dawn Chorus Sound Walk, 3.15am, £12 (£10). Dartmoor
Wednesday 29 April, Chris Watson in Conversation, 7.30 to 9pm, £8 (£6). Gallery 20
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2 March to 27 September
RAMM Cafe, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Local artists celebrate the beauty of Devon’s coast, country, cultural history and Roman roots using a range of media. Inspired by the splendour and diversity that characterises the county, all the displayed works are available for purchase.
Devon Artist Network http://www.devonartistnetwork.co.uk/
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To 24 May
Courtyard, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Daily life at home: over the 2014 to 2018 commemoration period one of the cases in RAMM’s courtyard gallery will show objects that reflect life in Exeter and Devon during the First World War, a time of momentous change for individual people, families and society.
Part of RAMM’s four-year programme of exhibitions, displays, events and activities that focuses on the First World War’s impact on the people and landscape of the Southwest. Developed with regional and national partners, it examines the wider social and cultural changes that have had a lasting effect on our everyday lives.
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18 Dec 2014 to 5 July 2015
World Cultures Display Case, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
In 1899, at the age of 90, unmarried and with no children, Henry Vaughan bequeathed one of the biggest private collections of art to several major British public institutions.
What isn’t common knowledge was that before this bequest was made, Henry Vaughan donated his father‘s small collection of ethnographic artefacts to the Albert Memorial Museum when it opened its doors to the public in 1868. In the last four decades, this collection has received much academic attention because of its connection to the second and third voyages of Captain Cook.
The display tells the story of Henry Vaughan and the journey of those objects from the exotic South Sea Islands to Exeter.
Part of Discovering Worlds, a Designation Development Fund supported project exploring the objects in and histories of lesser-known donors to Exeter’s historic Pacific collections.
9 May to 2 August
Gallery 5, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
First constructed in the 1560s, Exeter’s canal system has been extended and upgraded over the centuries. Now used primarily by leisure craft, the city waterways were once vital to the regional economy. The decline of the West Country wool trade and the arrival of the railways in the 19th century led to a reduction in use. However, sizeable cargoes were still brought up to the quayside even after the Second World War.
For three centuries, visiting and local artists have been inspired by the combination of water and architecture in and around Exeter. RAMM’s Fine Art Collection is now an invaluable visual record of the city before the major redevelopments of the late 20th century.
From time to time the galleries will be closed for special events; please check before travelling.
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2 May to 2 Aug
This is the first major exhibition dedicated to this Devon-based artist’s search for a harmonious relationship between form, colour and light. Paintings and drawings spanning four decades trace the development of his singular technique.
Accompanying events: Wednesday 20 May, Benedict Rubbra: The Search for Order, 1pm to 2pm, £8 (£6). Wednesday 10 June, Meet the Artist: Gallery Conversation 1pm to 2pm, £8 (£6). Gallery 21
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23 May to 6 September
An exploration of the history, manufacture and social significance of African printed and factory-woven textiles.
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Saturday 2 May, 8 to 11pm, £8 (£7 early bird)
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Doors 7pm, no age restriction, all standing, bar
2015 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. To celebrate RAMM is putting on a rather special Mad Hatter’s Tea Party headlined by The Carny Villains. The seven-piece band plays two-step mash-ups of gypsy swing, ska and rockabilly, telling implausible tales from a weird burlesque world on the edge of reason; the perfect encapsulation of Lewis Carroll’s book. There will also be jazzy DJs, walkabout theatre, exotic drinks and a Wonderland fancy dress theme.
Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
Tickets are also available at www.undergroundtickets.net
Presented by Cabaret Voltaire
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Sunday 3 May
Listen to the birds singing the dawn chorus and share your thoughts. Does it have a calming and relaxing effect on you? Does it make you smile? No need to be an expert; just share your encounters on Twitter and Instagram. Use #RAMMdawnchorus for your tweets and photos.
Website: www.idcd.info
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Wednesday 6 May, 1 to 2pm
£8 (£6)
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Dr Jameson Tucker of Plymouth University discusses protestant Huguenot identity, politics and their subsequent adaptation to life in the southwest of England after fleeing France following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685.
Part of the Huguenot Summer 2015 festival.
Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Wednesday 13 May, 1 to 2pm, £8 (£6)
Meeting Room A, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Dr Phil Wickham from The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum will describe how myrioramas worked and Mark Anstee will describe how history met artist resulting in a new addition to the experience of RAMM.
Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Thursday 14 May, drinks 6pm, talk 7 to 8.30pm, £12 (£10), patrons 2 for the price of 1
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Helen Dunmore’s work has achieved notable success in a wide variety of genres – novels for adults, poetry, short stories, children’s fiction and picturebooks. She won the inaugural Orange Prize in 1996 for Fiction and her latest novel, The Lie (2014), is a bestseller. A former Chair of the Society of Authors, she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, as is Lawrence Sail, the Exeter-based poet. Together they discuss the writing life, in the close context of their own work.
Sponsored by Exeter School.
Organised by RAMM Development Trust, Registered charity no 1038570. The trust raises money through its patron scheme, sponsorship, events and grant applications. Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Saturday 16 May, 7 to 10.30pm, £13
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Across the country museums open their doors for curious night time events. Enjoy the beauty of the Victorian museum in twilight.
This promises to be a special one: Indie folk band Stornoway will play. It's part a nationwide tour to celebrate the release of their eagerly anticipated third album. The band rose to national prominence in 2009 following a haunting performance on 'Later with Jools Holland'. Following this, Stornoway became the first ever unsigned band to play Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage. The success continued with two top 40 albums and globe-trotting sell out shows.
The rest of the museum will open to enjoy.
Supported by:
Bristol-based Nuala Honan & Kit Hawes, with powerful vocals and virtuoso guitar they play Americana and folk and are mainstays of the festival scene.
Cavermouth, the blues trio led by singer Alex Forster - fresh from their Hong Kong show warming up for Franz Ferdinand.
Doors open at 7pm // No age restriction // All standing // Bar
Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
Presented by Cabaret Voltaire
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Wednesday 20 May. Doors open at 6.30pm. Drinks, £2 donation. 7.30pm start. £18 (£16). Three concert series £50 (£44). Patrons 2 for the price of 1.
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Rathbones Spring Concert Series
Organised by RAMM Development Trust. Registered charity no 1038570. The trust raises money through its patron scheme, sponsorship, events and grant applications. Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 May
10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm
Drop in £2.50 per child, adults free
Courtyard, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Following the creative methods used by Benedict Rubbra in the current Eye to Image exhibition, create your own three-dimensional work of art and use a torch or coloured light to inspire a painting.
Adults are expected to stay with their children while they participate and must remain with them if they are under 8 years of age. Some activities are messy so please wear clothes that can get dirty. Aprons will be provided. Tickets can be purchased from the Garden reception.
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Tuesday 2 June, 6.30 to 7.45pm, £7.50 from 14 April
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Written sources originating in the European kingdoms between AD 800 and 1100 seem, on first reading, to describe a period of almost continuous raiding by war-bands from Scandinavia. But archaeologist Derek Gore argues that a careful analysis of the written record reveals not only the political aspirations of Viking leaders but also the desire of some warriors to settle and integrate into the population in the kingdoms while archaeological evidence suggests primarily commercial contacts between Scandinavia and Europe before this Viking Age. A study of other material such as stone sculptures, place names, personal names, hoards and single finds of metalwork from the West Country allows a more complicated picture to emerge from this difficult period.
Tickets are available from 14 April online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
Organised by Friends of Exeter Museums & Art Gallery, registered charity no. 306649. The Friends support the museum with financial help towards acquisitions and conservation. W www.exeter.gov.uk/friends, E friends@exeter.gov.uk.
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Tuesday 9 June, drinks 6pm, talk 7 to 8.30pm, £12 (£10), patrons 2 for the price of 1
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
By National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS) lecturer David Phillips. It’s hard enough telling whether your artwork is any good, but is it also socially acceptable? In an entertaining survey including artistic beauties as well as beasts, David Phillips will focus on what can make art socially questionable, concluding with a revealing explanation of Kitsch.
Sponsored by Stones
Organised by RAMM Development Trust, Registered charity no 1038570. The trust raises money through its patron scheme, sponsorship, events and grant applications. Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Wednesday 17 June. Doors open at 6.30pm. Drinks, £2 donation. 7.30pm start. £18 (£16). Three concert series £50 (£44). Patrons 2 for the price of 1.
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Rathbones Spring Concert Series
Organised by RAMM Development Trust, Registered charity no 1038570. The trust raises money through its patron scheme, sponsorship, events and grant applications. Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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Wednesday 24 June, 1 to 2pm, £12 (£10)
Gallery 20, Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter EX4 3RX
Exeter and its surroundings were home to some sixty religious houses, parish churches and chapels in the Middle Ages. Professor Nicholas Orme explains how they came into being and what they tell us about religion and society in the city up to the Reformation.
Tickets are available online or from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
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For more information contact Rob Mackenzie, Marketing Assistant, on 01392 265317 or robert.mackenzie@exeter.gov.uk, Steve Upsher, Media Relations Officer, on 01392 265103, or Ruth Randall, Audience Development Lead on 01392 265955.
The Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) is one of Exeter City Council’s flagship services. RAMM is also supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Stunning displays reveal Devon and Exeter’s rich history and global connections. Exotic animals, birds and insects delight children and a changing programme of exhibitions and events means there is likely to be something different to see on every visit. Free entry gives everyone the freedom to visit many times and to stay any length of time.
Awards and standards include Museum of the Year 2012, the Arts Council Designation Scheme, Devon Visitor Attraction of the Year 2012, Collections Trust Best Practice Award 2013, RIBA South West Special Award for Conservation and Building of the Year 2013, the Accreditation Scheme for Museums in the United Kingdom, Inspiring Learning for All, 2012 Silver Tourist Attraction Award in the South West and Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence 2014.
