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The Bowes Museum is delighted to announce that it will be holding an exhibition from March 2021, showcasing some of the remarkable North Country quilts it has added to its collection in the last 20 years.

North Country Quilts: In Celebration of New Acquisitions follows on from the hugely successful North Country Quilts: Legend and Living Tradition, which the Museum held in 2000.

Visitors will be able to see examples of wholecloth, strippy and chintz quilts, with fabrics dating back to the 1790s as well as pieced quilts, coverlets and much, much more. Items from the collection on display will include, among others, a quilt made by Hannah Hauxwell's grandmother and a beautiful replica of an original 1930s Northern Industries Workrooms quilt made by Evelyn Jones and Elsie Gibson, who worked in the 'factory' in Barnard Castle and demonstrated their craft during the last exhibition.

The International award-winning Northern artist Martin Kinnear has produced Regeneration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It’s a powerful and moving take on the year the World came to a halt, about what happens when plans are cancelled, futures are placed in doubt and the life-affirming power of change. It’s about beauty and hope and the restorative power of contemplation and features a 16-foot high animation at its centre, inspired by High Force waterfall in Teesdale. 

It’s a humane and thoughtful artistic critique by the Wensley-based artist, who is nicknamed ‘Lefty’ after a stroke 15 years ago at the age of 35, which left him paralysed down his left side. He took Paris by storm in 2018, scooping the prestigious Medaille d’Argent at the Salon Des Beaux Art.

If you're looking for inspiration this October half term holiday or for things to do in the run up to Christmas then The Bowes Museum is bound to have something for you.

We've got a packed events programme over the coming months for you to look forward to, including: loads of children's crafts, a drive-in cinema, the return of Santa as well as our not to be missed annual outdoor Christmas Market.

Book your tickets now to guarantee you can join in the fun.

The Bowes Museum is looking for new trustees to join its board to help guide it forward and ensure its success for future generations.

People with energy and a passion for the Arts as well as practical skills and experience are invited to apply as the board aims to become more diverse, relevant and inclusive, reflecting the world around us as it maps the way forward for the 2020's.

The closing date for applications is 31 October 2020.

 

Visitors to The Bowes Museum now have until 8 November to enjoy the Pre-Raphaelite Knights: Reinventing the Medieval World exhibition.

The exhibition, which opened in February, explores myths and legends through the eyes of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a secret band of Victorian artists, writers and poets who rebelled against the Royal Academy's promotion of the work of Raphael.

The Museum is delighted that individuals and institutions including the Tate, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Guildhall Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery have agreed to extend their loans of paintings, books, sculptures and more featuring maidens in distress, knights in armour, saints and chivalry for visitors to see.