What’s on at RAMM during August

Mary Youlden
Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted Saturday, August 1, 2015 - 8:19am

This month visitors to Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum can see the city’s new currency before its launch in September, enjoy a wide selection of family activities; choose from a range of tours and see five exhibitions.

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Life and Death in Ancient Egypt: Tour
Saturday 1 August, 11.30am to 3pm, £2.50, drop in
Join one of our 30-minute time ticketed tours of our Egyptian Collection. Learn about the background to the collection and visit the Tomb of Shep en-Mut. Tours leave every 30 minutes from the ground floor geology corridor. Each tour is limited to 8 people, first come first served.

Life and Death in Ancient Egypt: Activities
Saturday 1 August, 11am to 3pm, £2.50, drop in
Help with a re-enactment of the mummification of Shep en-Mut. Have a go at the addictive Ancient Egyptian game of Senet. Join the Scribe School and learn how to write hieroglyphs.

Little Explorer Classes
Tuesday 4 August, 10.30am to 11.30am
Tickets: under 5s £6, siblings £3. A chance for under-fives to take a journey of discovery and make their own creations inspired by the museum’s collections. Parents, grandparents and carers can enjoy quality time with their little ones in a friendly, social environment.
Book in advance through The Creation Station https://v1.bookwhen.com/thecreationstationexeter, T 0844 8244534 M 07925 653942

Courtyard Family Activities
Wednesday 5 to Friday 7 August, 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm
Free drop-in. Come and discover our famous bee bags, explorer bags and brain-teaser quizzes. There will be short-and-sweet activities which will change across the holiday, including make-a-mosaic, fuzz-and-felt museum, and costumes to try on. Don’t forget to bring your camera to capture those moments…

Children’s Playday in the Park
Wednesday 5 August, noon to 3pm, free drop-in
Belmont Park, Gordon Road, Exeter EX1 2DH
Get creative with RAMM in the museum’s Imagination Tree marquee. Join us at this National Playday celebration, with live music by My Black Hat, a cafe in the Hut run by Merry Go Round, and a bouncy castle. There will be lots of free activities for children of all ages.
National Playday is celebrated by thousands of children and families at community events across the UK. For more information about local events, contact Ann Brandrick on 01392 493577 or Mandy Lane on 01392 464754. Presented by Exeter Children’s Centres and Merry Go Round Toy Libraries. Supported by Waitrose.

Little Explorer Classes
Tuesday 11 August, 10.30am to 11.30am
Tickets: under 5s £6, siblings £3
A chance for under-fives to take a journey of discovery and make their own creations inspired by the museum’s collections. Parents, grandparents and carers can enjoy quality time with their little ones in a friendly, social environment.
Book in advance through The Creation Station https://v1.bookwhen.com/thecreationstationexeter, T 0844 8244534 M 07925 653942

Second World War Handling Sessions
Tuesday 11 August, 11am to 3pm, free drop in
Explore and handle authentic and replica Second World War objects and meet members of the British-Polish 307 Squadron Project in the Making History Gallery.
Volunteer-led Second World War handling sessions occur regularly every second and last Tuesday of each month.

Museum Full Site Tour
Wednesday 12 August, 2pm, £5
Join a 60-minute tour of the archaeology, natural history and world cultures displays.

Courtyard Family Activities
Wednesday 12 to Friday 14 August, 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm
Free drop-in. Come and discover our famous bee bags, explorer bags and brain-teaser quizzes. There will be short-and-sweet activities which will change across the holiday, including make-a-mosaic, fuzz-and-felt museum, and costumes to try on. Don’t forget to bring your camera to capture those moments…  These activities are designed for families. Adults are required to stay with participating children who are under 8 years old. Some activities are messy so please wear clothes that can get dirty. Aprons will be provided.

Bumblebee Workshop
Saturday 15 August, 10.30am to 12.30pm, £8 (£6)
Meeting Room A
Using RAMM’s bee collection, Stephen Carroll, Devon County Recorder for Hymenoptera, will show participants how to identify different kinds of bumblebee. If the weather is fine, the activity will continue outdoors. Suitable for adults and children over 12.

SWAc Academicians’ Exhibition
18 August to 9 September
The South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts’ primary aim is to promote the visual arts and culture of the region. This exhibition includes work from more than 50 artists. There is a wide range of 21st-century styles and genres using traditional and experimental media. The applied arts of photography and print are represented alongside paintings in oils, acrylics and other contemporary media.
All exhibited work is available for purchase. 
Associated event: Wednesday 26 August, SWAc Academicians’ Exhibition Gallery Conversation, 1 to 2pm, £8 (£6)

Take note: Exeter Pound
18 August to 20 September
The Exeter Pound will launch on 1 September. It is a new local currency scheme for Exeter and an initiative of Exeter City Council with partners in the community, faith and business sectors. The Exeter Pound will support local independent business so as much money as possible ‘sticks to Exeter’, to build the community of local businesses and their customers and add to the brand of Exeter.
The main set of notes, £E1, £E5, £E10 and £E20 will be in circulation for three years and are designed by local artists and Si Paull from the design agency Sound in Theory in Gandy Street.
Associated event: Tuesday 1 September, 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm, Making Money in Exeter, free drop-in.

Little Explorer Classes
Tuesday 18 August, 10.30am to 11.30am
Tickets: under 5s £6, siblings £3
A chance for under-fives to take a journey of discovery and make their own creations inspired by the museum’s collections. Parents, grandparents and carers can enjoy quality time with their little ones in a friendly, social environment.
Book in advance through The Creation Station https://v1.bookwhen.com/thecreationstationexeter, T 0844 8244534 M 07925 653942

Courtyard Family Activities
Wednesday 19 to Friday 21 August, 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm
Free drop-in. Come and discover our famous bee bags, explorer bags and brain-teaser quizzes. There will be short-and-sweet activities which will change across the holiday, including make-a-mosaic, fuzz-and-felt museum, and costumes to try on. Don’t forget to bring your camera to capture those moments… These activities are designed for families. Adults are required to stay with participating children who are under 8 years old. Some activities are messy so please wear clothes that can get dirty. Aprons will be provided.

Local History Tour
Saturday 22 August, 2pm, £5
Join our 60-minute tour of the Making History galleries: Exeter and Devon from prehistory to the present.

Little Explorer Classes
Tuesday 25 August, 10.30am to 11.30am
Tickets: under 5s £6, siblings £3
A chance for under-fives to take a journey of discovery and make their own creations inspired by the museum’s collections. Parents, grandparents and carers can enjoy quality time with their little ones in a friendly, social environment.
Book in advance through The Creation Station https://v1.bookwhen.com/thecreationstationexeter, T 0844 8244534 M 07925 653942

Courtyard Family Activities
Wednesday 26 to Friday 28 August, 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm
Free drop-in
Come and discover our famous bee bags, explorer bags and brain-teaser quizzes. There will be short-and-sweet activities which will change across the holiday, including make-a-mosaic, fuzz-and-felt museum, and costumes to try on. Don’t forget to bring your camera to capture those moments…

SWAc Academicians’ Exhibition: Gallery Conversation
Wednesday 26 August, 1 to 2pm, £8 (£6)
South West Academicians, including Phil Creek and Greg Ramsden, will provide a personal view about their work, working methods and techniques. They will also review a selection of work by other artists in the exhibition.

Life and Death in Ancient Egypt: Activities
Saturday 29 August, 11am to 3pm, £2.50 per child, drop in
Help with a re-enactment of the mummification of Shep en-Mut. Have a go at the addictive Ancient Egyptian game of Senet. Join the Scribe School and learn how to write hieroglyphs.

Life and Death in Ancient Egypt: Tours
Saturday 29 August, 11.30am to 3pm, £2.50, drop in
Join one of our 30-minute time ticketed tours of our Egyptian Collection. Learn about the background to the collection and visit the Tomb of Shep en-Mut. Tours leave every 30 minutes from the ground floor geology corridor. Each tour is limited to 8 people, first come first served.

EXHIBITIONS

Exeter’s Fine Art Collection
Until 11 October
An exhibition of paintings by Francis Hayman, 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 is on public display for the first time. This important work was recently purchased after a fundraising auction organised by the Friends of the museum and a successful application to the V&A Purchase Grant Fund. The exhibition also includes portraits and self-portraits by Hayman.
The RAMM collection of topographical prints, drawings and watercolours is a rich source of information about Exeter during the 18th and 19th centuries. A group of watercolours in this display will also shows the city as it was in the early 20th century, shortly before the devastation of the Second World War.

Quay Views: Exeter Canal and the Exe
Until 2 August
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.

Benedict Rubbra: Eye to Image
Until 2 August
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. The works all originate from three-dimensional forms constructed from various materials such as paper and card or wire and wood. Vibrant shapes of light are then projected onto these forms, creating unexpected spaces and colours, tones and shadows. Changed lighting transforms the object’s appearance, allowing the creation of further paintings and drawings from a single form.
Inspired by Florentine renaissance artists like Fra Angelico, Donatello and Brunelleschi, Benedict’s work stems from his understanding of control, freedom and the timeless emotional strength that they achieved. His publications are: Painting Children (1993), Benedict Rubbra, Paintings 1958-1998 (1998) and Benedict Rubbra, Point of Balance (2008).

Social Fabric: African Textiles Today
Until 6 September
An exploration of the history, manufacture and social significance of African An exploration of the history, manufacture and social significance of African printed and factory-woven textiles. The designs mirror the convergence of African tastes and patronage with strong historical and contemporary trading ties from across the globe. These textiles have also influenced some of the region’s foremost contemporary artists and photographers.
Social Fabric shows examples from eastern and southern Africa including kanga from Kenya and Tanzania, capulana from Mozambique, and shweshwe from southern Africa. These cloths have the ability to mirror changing times, fashions and tastes. They provide a detailed chronology of the social, political, religious, emotional and sexual concerns of the (mainly) women who wear them. Their patterns and inscriptions vary according to the age of the wearer and the context in which the cloth is worn. Their unspoken language may be used to suggest thoughts and feelings which cannot be spoken. They are worn in secular and sacred contexts and play a central role in all of the major rite-of-passage ceremonies in women’s and, in some cases, men’s lives.
A British Museum touring exhibition. Supported by the John Ellerman Foundation.

DISPLAYS

Ebb and Flow: Seasonal Sounds Through the Devon Year. An installation by Chris Watson
March 2015 to March 2016
Garden entrance staircase
Chris Watson, one of the world’s leading wildlife recordists, brings sound of Devon's coast and countryside into the heart of RAMM. A celebration of the rich mosaic of habitats and wide variety of species found in our county, the work consists of four seasonal recordings from habitat types chosen for their local and national importance as well as their sonic diversity: the coast, farmland, pebblebed heathland and western oak woodland.
Summer from 21 June. Autumn from 23 September.
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.

Artist Reflections: Mark Anstee
Until 6 September
World Cultures gallery
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.

Definitely Devon: Devon Artist Network
Until 27 September
RAMM Cafe
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/

Natural history collecting and recording at home and abroad during active service.
Until 18 October
Courtyard
The First World War: From RAMM's Collection - 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.

For further information visit www.rammuseum.org.uk

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