Restless Times: Art in Britain, 1914-1945

Evelyn Dunbar, 'A Land Girl and the Bail Bull', 1945 © Tate, London 2010

Taking the core of Museum Sheffield’s record-breaking Restless Times exhibition, Tate Britain presents an in-focus display of art that responds to Britain’s Restless Times – 1914 to 1945.

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The Last Room: what did you think?

Watercolour is currently causing a great deal of discussion at Tate Britain, and if you haven’t been to see it, the Easter holidays might just be your moment (we recommend you book in advance for this one!). Here’s a taster with co-curator Alison Smith:

Have you already visited the show? We’ve found that people are really divided by the last room, which features contemporary and adventurous use of Watercolour – they either love everything before it or love nothing but it! What did you think?

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WIN Watercolour tickets and posters!

The Great British Art Debate is based around five key questions (you can find them up there, cleverly filed under ‘Questions’).

Every week we’re going to focus on a debate question, and we’re offering a pair of tickets to Watercolour at Tate Britain PLUS two Watercolour show posters to the best comment of that week.

Fire up your debating muscles and get to grips with this week’s question:

Should the public have a say in what goes into museums?

Each week’s competition closes on the Friday. Winners will be announced the following Monday (except bank holidays). Tickets are for entrance to the Watercolour show only (entrance to Tate Britain’s collection displays is always free). Good luck!

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Jim Richardson: Should the public have a say in what goes into museums?

I personally feel that we have seen a huge shift in the way the public interact with world around them because of the more interactive internet which has evolved over the past decade.

Just as people no longer just see the internet as a place to find information, I think that the public no longer expect didactic experiences from museums, they instead want cultural institutions to be platforms for exchange, places that accept that anyone can have a valid point of view.

One element is having a say what goes into museums, this could be by submitting work through an open call for entry, voting from a shortlist for what should appear in an exhibition or interacting with an exhibition in the gallery.

Though I believe strongly in the public being given a voice, personally I feel that the majority of an exhibition programme should still be curated in a traditional manner.

Museums have a many other ways to give their audiences a voice, one of those which I find particularly interesting is simply asking those in the gallery space how they feel about the art on display, and sharing this with others.

I have seen museums do this through comment cards pegged in the gallery, writing with chalk on the wall around the paintings, through text messages, video and through the web. By sharing their opinions on art with other visitors, you see a dialogue emerge, this creates a different starting point from which others can approach and appreciate an exhibition.

Often these starting points are not the same as those you would find in a curatorial description of a work of art, but they are just as valid and often make you look at art in new and unusual ways.

Jim Richardson is the founder of Sumo, a digital marketing agency which specialises in the arts and cultural sector, and MuseumNext, the annual conference on how museums can benefit from the latest web trends and technology.
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Keith Armstrong: Under the Fantastic Sky

Event name: Lunchtime Lecture: Keith Armstrong – Under the Fantastic Sky

Date and time: Wednesday 1 June, 12.30 – 13.30

Venue: The Laing Art Gallery

Description: Poet and performer Keith Armstrong will speak about John Martin and his brothers and their relationship to regional culture. Armstrong will also perform a sequence of his own poems inspired by Martin and his family.

Admission: Free – no need to book.

Contact: For more info about this and other events at The Laing, call (0191) 232 7734 or visit the official site.

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The Abyss that Abides

Event name: Lunchtime Lecture: The Abyss that Abides

Date and time: Wednesday 18 May, 12.30 – 13.30

Venue: The Laing Art Gallery

Description: Julie Milne  speaks about the Influence of John Martin’s work on contemporary culture. Milne is curator at the Laing Art Gallery.

Admission: Free – no need to book.

Contact: For more info about this and other events at The Laing, call (0191) 232 7734 or visit the official site.

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