National Museums Liverpool Blog - Lisa

Is football a new religion? Can being a female artist be an advantage in some cultures? These are just some of the subjects covered in a brief interview I did with acclaimed local artists The Singh Twins. I chatted with Rabindra and Amrit at the private view of the Walker Art Gallery's latest exhibition The Rise of Women Artists, where Ranbindra's painting 'Oh Come All Ye Re-eds' is on display. One of the main things I was interested to find out was whether they ever actually define themselves as 'women artists' or if they didn't think about gender at all.

Amrit said; 'I think personally as artists we’ve never thought of ourselves as women, we’ve never defined ourselves as ‘British female artists’. I think that the gender issue is not really important, as ultimately I think the art should speak for itself and the quality of the work. Therefore it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman.

But I think that it is important in the context of if you consider throughout history where there has been prejudice towards female artists then obviously that is something that needs to be re-addressed. I think there should be more incentives to support female artists especially since many of them are juggling a million things; family life and other commitments around the work they are trying to do. And it’s not always easy to take up a career in art alongside that and to commit to all your other daily activities. Essentially though, no I don’t think that gender matters. The work should speak for itself.

Rabindra said; 'From a personal perspective though, in terms of support for women, in the context of our own background and coming from an Indian family, actually we’ve had a lot more support being women than we would have done being men. Because traditionally it’s the men who are meant to be the breadwinners and go out and get a so-called ‘decent job’. There was less pressure on the women! So I think from our own cultural context I think it’s been an advantage that we’re women and we’ve had 100% support from our family in pursuing a career as artists.

You can listen to or download the full interview with The Singh Twins here and see photos from the private view on our The Rise of Women Artists Flickr set.

Last week our new exhibition at the Lady Lever Art Gallery opened - An Edwardian Family Album. I'm not a big photography buff, but I still found the photos pretty captivating. They not only give you a glimpse into family life in Edwardian times, many of them also have an ethereal quality that is really interesting. They create an effect that is almost like capturing ghosts from the past on film. One that definitely has this feel is the photo of a group of people exploring Castleton caverns. They are all holding torches in a pitch black cave - but of course the ladies are all still wearing their fabulous hats!

Owner of the collection, Heather Price and her late husband David, were given a large collection of glass negatives which had been found in a friend's attic. Both keen photographers themselves they were keen to get these unusual photographs on display, so that others could enjoy them. Heather said "Dai would have been so pleased with how the exhibition has come together. He'd have been here every other day to see it." You can see Heather above, with her and David's favourite photograph from the collection. It is of the photographer's daughter Mary, dressed in her Sunday best dress and bonnet, with pet dog Bob.

Heather told me that she felt the details in the photos were really wonderful and showed that the photographer, Jack Urton, must have been very knowledgeable about photography. This was a time when advancements in technology meant that more people could start taking their own photographs in any location, rather than having to rely on professionals in studios. This new found freedom must have been pretty exciting and this is palpable in the variety of photos from cute family snaps, to dramatic shots of the Wirral coastline.

You can also have a look at my attempts at photographing the exhibition on our An Edwardian Family Album Flickr set!

If anything in the exhibition reminds you of photographs in your own family album, you can share your memories by filling in a card in the gallery's response area, or post your comments below.

Here is Laura Healy from our Development Office to tell us why she is mad about Thornback Rays and how you can support our RayWatch project to help protect them.

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According to local anglers, October is the best month to find Thornback Rays in the River Mersey. One of the most popular animals on display at World Museum's aquarium in Liverpool, they are also the focus of our new public appeal called RayWatch.  

We're working with the Sharktrust to tag Thornback Rays in the Liverpool Bay area and monitor them in the wild. I work in the Development Office and volunteer in the aquarium so I've been making 'Ray Champion' packs and I'm currently on-call to go on an all-day tagging trip on the Mersey once the weather is right!

It's funny how many people don't realise we have Thornback Rays in the Mersey. I'm excited that RayWatch is going to help us learn more about the rays and most importantly, how we can help to protect them. 

The first thing I noticed about the Thornbacks when I saw them at World Museum, was that they are such a beautiful colour. They are covered in a pattern quite similar to that of a leopard. They also have thorny tails (hence their name!), which aren’t dangerous to humans. I've been told that Thornbacks rays aren’t actually rays at all – they are skates, who lay eggs rather than give birth to live young.  

For £10 you can adopt a ray; add your Thornback Ray's name to our RayWatch web page and get updates on it's location and the whole RayWatch project. For £25 you can become a Ray Champion. In addition to adopting a ray, you also get a cuddly ray toy (pictured) and a family ticket for a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium at World Museum in Liverpool.  

I'm telling all my friends and family about RayWatch - it's for a great cause - so join me in supporting our conservation effort!

What sort of paintings inspire you? Those with flame-haired Pre-Raphaelite muses or striking 20th century works?

National Poetry Day is on Thursday 8 October and we want you to be involved! Get inspired by a painting at the Walker Art Gallery, write a poem about it and send it to us. 

We'll publish a selection of them on the website and pick one winning poem. The winner can choose one poetry book from the ones listed below:

• 'Rapture' by Carol Ann Duffy (hardback)
• 'The Mersey Sound' by Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri (paperback)
• 'Andraste's Hair' by Eleanor Rees (hardback)

The theme for this year's National Poetry Day is 'heroes and heroines', so we have put together a selection of paintings that we think fit in with this idea. These range from ‘Dante's Dream’ by Dante Gabriel Rossetti to 'Pin Up 1963 - For Francis Bacon’ by Sam Walsh. So now it's your turn to look through our selected paintings and get inspired!

Send in your entry by Monday 2 November using the online form on the Get inspired...at the Walker page. Good luck!

Here is Phil Lewis our Aquarium & Bughouse Assistant to tell you about the forthcoming Shark Week at the World Museum...

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European Shark Week runs from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 October when we'll have an array of activities at the World Museum's Clore Natural History Centre. There will be badge making for children and lots of posters and pockets guides to give away, with information about sharks and rays.  All the drawings of the various species that are produced by visitors during the week, will be mounted on the wall to form a huge mural. 

You can also come to several presentations delivered by our very enthusiastic aquarium staff at the Treasure House Theatre. These will focus on the status of sharks in the wild with lots of interesting shark and ray facts and plenty of interaction with the audience!  The dates for these presentations are: Sunday 11, Tuesday 13, Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October.
 
The purpose of Shark Week is to raise awareness about the tens of millions of sharks and rays that are slaughtered each year. This is due to unsustainable fishing practices and a desire for shark fin soup, which is an extremely cruel and wasteful practice. Sharks which have just had there fins cut off are then thrown overboard still alive and left to die slowly. 

In Europe alone, thousands of tonnes of sharks are landed each year accounting for 27 percent of the slaughter world wide.  This is an appalling example set by the EU, which other nations may look to for guidance and influence.  They are also fished commercially for their meat and liver oil used in lamps, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and vitamin supplements.  Harvesting these animals is unsustainable as sharks and rays grow slowly and have few offspring, making it impossible for them to recover from such exploitation.  As sharks in particular usually receive negative media coverage, due to rare attacks on humans, it is very hard to lobby support for this group of animals than it is for other groups of endangered animals. 

This is why Shark Week is so important in raising awareness and bringing these issues to the forefront of public imagination. These animals have been around for 400 million years - that's 200 million years before the dinosaurs - and they deserve better than this.

We hope to see you there so you can find out more about these incredible animals!

I was lucky enough to get to photograph Bridget Riley this week, while she was here for the opening of a major exhibition of her work at the Walker. She was pretty in demand so I didn't get to talk to her, but Press Officer Laura Johnson got chatting with Bridget who told her how pleased she was with the look of the exhibition. (You can see the final adjustments made to the displays by the handling team on our Moving Stories Flickr set.)

Bridget also talked a little about how she creates her work, describing how she doesn't always know what her work will end up looking like and that letting accidents happen often takes her in new directions.

You can get more of an insight into the inspiration behind her work in a short video clip on our exhibition page. In the clip Bridget describes how even brief moments when she sees light in a certain way, can be a form of inspiration:

'I remember one very hot summer, it was in the South of France and I was climbing a hillside of broken shale and the light was so strong that it dazzled. It seemed to come at me from all directions, it was beating down from above and beating back into my eyes at the same time. One lost all sense of focus. Everything seemed to disintegrate in light, the landscape dissolved - it was like standing in a field of pure energy.'

Her paintings are certainly dazzling as a result. Looking at 'Ecclesia', it is almost a dizzying experience, but definitely a pleasant one all the same. You can also see some of Bridget's early sketches that have many annotations around them and show the development of some of her paintings.

See more photos from the exhibition in our 'Bridget Riley Flashback' Flickr set and experience these stunning paintings and drawings for yourself, until 13 December 2009.

Ever wondered what it's like to handle ancient artefacts, care for unusual creatures or produce an exhibition of wonderful artworks?

If you have a question about our museums, galleries or collections then take part in Ask the curator, which gives you the chance to ask our featured curator anything you like.

Next in line to answer your questions is Aquarium Curator, Rachel Ball. Rachel looks after the collections in the World Museum's aquarium, which is teeming with fish and other sea life from Australia to Anglesey.

She also leads important projects outside of the museum for the conservation of species that are in decline, such as Thornback Rays.

Send in your questions by midnight on Sunday 4 October and we'll choose the best ones to ask Rachel in a video interview, which we'll put on the site soon.

You can ask the curator a question using this online form.

You may think that retro fashion right now is all about shoulder pads, pink lippy and the influence of the 1980s. But some designers have shown that for the end of 2009, they are finding their inspiration in an era that is much more retro – try going back another 200 years to the 1780s!

Elle magazine has picked up on this trend, which they say is inspired by the paintings of the ‘Old Masters’ and did a whole spread on it in their September issue. Dolce & Gabbana have practically based their whole new collection around it, with sumptuous devoré velvet skirts, silk corsets in deep jewel colours and long flowing gowns with prints from paintings. We have several pieces of costume from the 18th century in our collections, one of which you can see here, which definitely has similarities to this D&G outfit and also this one!

Elle reckons the ‘muse’ for this trend is the ‘porcelain-skinned creature in a heavily gilded painting in the National Portrait Gallery’.  But you don’t need to go all the way to London to find paintings to inspire you! You can come and look at a painting from this period by Joshua Reynolds of ‘Miss Elizabeth Ingram' at the Walker Art Gallery (pictured).  Wonder at her pale skin, opulent blue silky dress, corset and that dash of hand-on-the-hip insouciance that wouldn’t be out of place on the catwalk.

Reynolds created paintings that imitated the style of the Old Masters. He believed that by imitating the Old Masters he would help to ‘educate’ the British public, as he thought their taste was quite limited. You can also see works by these ‘Old Masters’ in our collections, such as Nicholas Poussin, Rembrandt van Rijn and Peter Paul Rubens.

But if all this expensive fashion seems out of step with the current economic climate, then have no fear. I read in one magazine that a ‘recessionista’ way of getting the look would be to borrow the tassled tie-backs from your parents’ curtains! Not too sure about that.

Bug House Demonstrator, Rebekah Beresford, is back again to tell us about her latest project in the Bug House at World Museum Liverpool. This time she has been giving the Hermit Crabs' vivarium a make-over! You can see the photos from each stage of the project on our Bug House Flickr set.

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After the success of the Indian Ground Beetles display earlier this year it was decided that some of our other vivariums could also do with a revamp! The Bug House hasn’t kept any mantids for over a year now and they’re incredibly popular with the visitors - so the next vivarium on the list was their display.

The new vivarium arrived from Exo Terra and was made by leading experts in the world of exotics. We got to work on siliconing in a glass partition, a third of the way along the tank to create a fresh water pool. Hermit crabs require fresh water so that they can mix it with salt water. The crabs then pull up into their shells their own preferred salinity reservoir from which they can breathe through. The fresh water pool in this vivarium will house a variety of aquatic invertebrates such as apple snails and gammarus (shrimp-like amphipods). The pool will also be useful for maintaining the humidity in the tank.

Coming from the Caribbean, these Hermit Crabs require humidity of around 70%. Hermit Crabs are avid climbers so it was important to factor this in to the design. A polystyrene wall made to look like rock work was ideal. It was easy to cut and wedged into place perfectly down one side of the vivarium. With some plants and bark attached the crabs would have plenty to climb and perch on.

Once the silicone had dried we tested it for leaks and luckily there weren't any! The pool was filled with gravel and the waterfall was set in place. The waterfall runs with a small pump set inside it. It’ll make the finished vivarium look quite impressive.

Hermit Crabs are renowned for being boisterous and particularly clumsy, so it was necessary to silicone some bark along the rim of the glass partition. This would prevent substrate from being kicked into the pool and also to allow leverage for the crabs to pull themselves out.

Whilst this was setting I had time to add the substrate to the land area. Hermit crabs dig themselves under ground for protection whilst moulting. Being invertebrates their skeleton is on the outside and moulting their skin to grow is a big deal. In the wild predatory birds could snatch them above ground level so they are forced under ground to do this. Even though hermit crabs are social creatures they are still opportunistic feeders. They would happily eat a moulting crab which would be soft and vulnerable and unable to protect itself, so it was important to factor in plenty of space to avoid this.

The next thing was to rehydrate the coco fibre to mix with the sand. Coco fibre comes from the husk of coconuts and is widely used in vivariums to provide sound air content and moisture in the substrate. The coco fibre was then added to the land area creating a gradient. This could then be mixed together lightly but the crabs would do a good enough job mixing it together themselves.

One of the last requirements for the vivarium was to add the climbing material. Drift wood is perfect for this because it’s so robust. I used smaller pieces along the climbing wall in steps for the hermits to climb over. Before it goes out on display I’ll add some bamboo and extra foliage.

Thanks to Phil from the aquarium, I was able to acquire a rainforest creeper called Devil’s Ivy. It’s commonly seen for sale in garden centres as house plants but its native to Asia. The plant was trained around the drift wood through to the fresh water pool. It’s a climbing plant and clings onto tree bark using its aerial roots. It’s also very hardy so will re-root itself quickly if the hermit crabs dig it up several times.

The Hermit Crab vivarium is now on display in the Bug House so come along and see them in their new home!

Earlier this month I was lucky enough to be allowed to tag along on a shoot of a video interview with internationally acclaimed artist, Emma Rodgers.

I went with our audio visual team to her house on the Wirral, where she has her studio. They needed to film Emma because her work is going to be included in our forthcoming exhibition ‘The Rise of Women Artists’ , which will be at the Walker Art Gallery from 23 October 2009 - 14 March 2010. This video would be used to create one of the interactive displays for visitors to explore in the gallery and also to make video clips for our website.

The team filmed her working on some of her sculptures, while she answered questions about her inspirations, early career and what it means for her to be a female artist.

It was really interesting to hear about the processes that Emma goes through when creating a sculpture, whether this is of animals or humans. Sketches form the foundation of her work, sometimes from observations at Chester Zoo and also during animal autopsies at Leahurst on the Wirral. Through her work, Emma also travels abroad regularly. This also helps her study of animal’s bodies as she is sometimes lucky enough to hold animals like monkeys. She said she had been able to get to know the character traits of different primates, which also influences the way she depicts them in her sculptures. Emma clearly loves animals as well as finding them inspiring – we even met her pet hare, Mr. Redfern, who she said has helped her think about joints and bone structures in her work.

Emma has also spent time observing and sketching dancers and said she is fascinated by their muscle structures and how their bodies become altered through dancing. As she was answering questions from curator, Robin Emerson, she was building up a sculpture of a woman’s body, piece by piece.

You’ll have to wait until the exhibition opens on 23 October 2009 to see the video clips and find out how that sculpture turned out! In the mean time you can find out more about Emma's work on her website or browse through our Emma Rodgers Flickr set.

Here at the Walker Art Gallery, in partnership with the University of Liverpool, we are launching an exciting new programme of adult and family events inspired by Ben Johnson’s 'Liverpool Cityscape.'

Join us for cultural walks around the city or bring your little artists to Big Art and try out making collages inspired by this impressive panorama. Like all our events and exhibitions, it is all free!

We'd also like to hear about your memories, views and opinions of Liverpool past and present in our event; 'We Love Liverpool' taking place at the Walker.  All of the comments we get from you will be recorded to form a living history of the Liverpool.

If you can't make it to the gallery you can still submit your memories by adding a blog comment below. So let us know what you think...

Rain or shine, getting out on the River Mersey is always a fun trip and Curator of Botany, Geraldine Reid, has taken part in one of this year's Mersey Ferry Discovery Cruises. Here she is to tell us more about them...

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Last Friday, with staff from the Clore Natural History Centre and aquarium, I took part in my first Mersey Ferry Discovery Cruise. It was with some trepidation of what to expect on the high seas of the Mersey that I ventured out. The day started over at Seacombe with us getting the plankton nets out and throwing them over the side of the ferry (attached to a long line) to get samples of the water so that we could demonstrate why the estuary is such a haven for birds. These are very fine nets which we pull through the water to catch the microscopic animals (zooplankton) and plants (phytoplankton) that it contains. These tiny organisms are indicators of the health of the estuary. Plankton essentially is anything that cannot swim against the current.

As the ferry headed over to the pier head to pick up the next passengers we got the microscopes set up. We got out specimens from the  World Museum's collection of marine life that had been washed ashore along the shore of the Mersey. These included dolphin and porpoise skulls, a bone from a whale, seaweed, shells and lots more.  The deck also had colourful displays from the RSPB and the Environment Agency. The water samples we’d collected earlier were a great hit, they where teeming with life all brought to light by the video link on the microscope to a computer-screen. The water was full with lots of beautiful plankton - diatoms floating in chains past our eyes with the sudden excitement of barnacle naupli and copepods dashing past the screen followed by the gentle pulsating of sea-gooseberries gliding past.  

In our spare moments we saw a whole array of birds from a peregrine falcon to arctic skua and a whole variety of gulls. There was also a running commentary by the RSBC spotter on what to look out for and in which direction. We even saw a cheeky seal having a nap on a sandbank. The view from the ferry gave you a really unique view of the shoreline along the Mersey out to Formby. It was a great day out for all the family young and old.

The next cruise takes place on Tuesday 18 August 2009 and looks to be another action packed day.

The cruise will pick up passengers from; Seacombe at 11am, Pier Head (Liverpool) at 11.10am and Woodside at 11.20am. The trip will last about three hours. Tickets cost £10 for adults, £5 for children.

For more details, or to book, contact Mersey Ferries on 0151 330 1444 or visit their website.

The momentum is really building now for the International Slavery Museum and our bid to win Best Heritage Project in the National Lottery Awards - which we still need your votes for! This week the head of the museum, Richard Benjamin, was interviewed on BBC Radio Merseyside about why the museum should win the award and also talking about the latest exhibition; 'Black Brittania'.

You can hear Richard's interview on the Claire Hamilton show here - listen from the 6pm mark onwards!

Angelica Vanasse is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in MRes Art & Design (Curatorial Practice) at Liverpool John Moores University.  Angelica recently lead a drawing workshop at the Walker Art Gallery and is here to tell us how it went. You can see more photos of the group and their work on Flickr.

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My research involves looking at the role of participants in art galleries, using the gallery as an immersive space for experiencing and interpreting artwork. Using the Walker Art Gallery’s sculpture collection as inspiration, I lead sculpture drawing workshops to explore this concept.

At one session, I gave the group a variety of tools and techniques that they could use during the workshop.  With pencil, graphite, charcoal, conte crayon and a variety of papers, the group spread out in the gallery to begin their creative investigation.  It was fascinating to see the varied ways in which all of the participants were negotiating their drawings. 

I worked with them on a one-on-one basis to help with their drawings, which included mapping out the drawings, investigating proportions and creating shading.  To help with breaking away from rigid focus, we also spent some time on gesture drawings with quick poses. 

I’ve discovered that using drawing as a way to interpret artwork encourages participants to look more carefully at the work around them and think about how it is made, as a way to create their own work. The session went really well - here are some of the comments from the group:

“I’d always thought sculpture was quite static and peaceful, but using different techniques - especially fast ones - creates an energy.  It must be similar to what a sculptor can visualize in a block of stone.”

“It made me look at items in more detail and appreciate form, light, lines, etc.  I enjoyed trying something semi-abstract.  I would love to come to another one!”

A huge thanks to the education team and gallery staff at the Walker Art Gallery for assisting in making this possible, as well as the wonderful participants who attended!

We like a bit of TV glamour here at National Museums Liverpool, so we're pretty excited that one of our paintings is going to be featured on a new BBC program!

'Desperate Romantics' looks at the lives of the self-titled 'Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood', which was made up of the artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Millais. We have paintings by all three artists in our collections - one of my personal favourites is 'Dante's Dream' by Rossetti, which is at the Walker Art Gallery.

You get all the juicy details of their rise to fame, with episode one following them on their search for a muse. One of our paintings was mentioned in this episode, when art critic John Ruskin compliments a youthful Millais on his painting, 'Isabella', which is also at the Walker. 

Each episode features a different painting by the artists and 'The Scapegoat' by Holman Hunt, from the Lady Lever Art Gallery will appear in episode four. So look out for it!

You can see a zoomable version of the painting with expert commentary on the BBC's 'Desperate Romantics' website.

Bug House Demonstrator, Rebekah Beresford, tells us about the latest addition to the Bug House...

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Well, this is my first post to the blog and through my future blog posts I hope to highlight some of the exciting things we do in the Bug House. My name is Rebekah, although I seem to have adopted the title ‘Beckie Bughouse’ somehow, and I’m the Bug House Demonstrator. I’ve been working for National Museums Liverpool for almost a year now and basically I love and wholly respect invertebrates of every kind.

So, may I present to you the Wandering Violin Mantis or Gongylus gonglodes. This awesome looking insect is our newest addition to the Bug House. We have eight of these funky little creatures and they’re one of the most bizarre looking out of all the mantids.

These insects are part of the order Mantodea and are characterized by their slender limbs and stocky upper body. As suggested by the name, this mantis looks somewhat like a violin with leaf like appendages protruding from the legs to aid camouflage and a leaf like head. They’re from Southern India and Sri Lanka and come in a variety of different shades of brown.

The wandering violin mantis is more of a ‘sit and wait’ species rather than a hunter but that’s not to say that they’re picky. These mantids are confident, ravenous feeders and will snatch a variety of flies and moths from the air, if the dare to fly close enough. Most mantids are solitary and have to be kept individually but these are unusually social. Given plenty of space they can be housed together in small groups of 8-10 and pose no threat to each other. 

So, keep your eyes peeled for them in the Bug House! I’ll be putting them out on display in the next few weeks in a mixed exhibit with the hermit crabs and fresh water shrimps. Also keep an eye on the blog for my next posts on how I set up their new vivarium.

Planetarium Operator, John Moran, gives us his thoughts on one of the most important anniversaries of the year...

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On 20 July 2009 we will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of arguably the most momentous occasion in history, the moon landing by the crew of Apollo 11.

We are marking this occasion at World Museum Liverpool with the launch (no pun intended) of a brand new show in the Planetarium about the moon called 'Magnificent Desolation'. The title of this new show was taken from the words of Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, one of the Apollo 11 astronauts, as he set foot on the moon after Neil Armstrong. When he surveyed the landscape he described it as "magnificent desolation".

The rocket they used to push them to the moon is still the most powerful rocket ever created. It was the 363ft, three stage, Saturn V, 95% of which was filled with fuel and would be jettisoned once the fuel had burned up. It was also the most advanced machine of its time.  

When I think about what it must have been like for these men I can't help but wonder where they got their courage from. They were sitting atop the biggest firework of all time travelling at a speed of 25,000 mph and although men had been into space quite a few times at that point, the testing of rockets had been rushed to say the least. We can assume that because it was a 'bragging rights' competition between America and Russia that was fuelling (again no pun intended) this space race, there must have been a lot of corners cut just to get it ready. Also this mission was going a lot further than most; 238,857 miles to be exact, so these guys were going to be spending about three days just getting to the moon. That is a long time to spend twiddling your thumbs and imagining what could go wrong. 

Once the command module reached lunar orbit (piloted by the often forgotten Michael Collins) Armstrong and Aldrin would then make their way down in the lunar module called Eagle. This was probably the most unlikely looking flying machine of all time. It was so flimsy that it couldn't be flown anywhere else but in the vacuum of space because a fierce wind on Earth would have probably blown it apart; however, weather is not an issue in space. In fact, whilst practicing flying a machine similar to the lunar module here on Earth, Neil Armstrong came close to losing his life when he lost control and had to eject. Because there is only one sixth of Earth's gravity trying to pull you down on the moon, the lunar module would be much easier to control and manoeuvre. 

Mission control had picked out what they thought to be the perfect landing spot in the Sea of Tranquillity. However, when Armstrong and Aldrin headed for this spot they realized that it was nothing more than a huge crater filled with rocks and boulders. This is where Armstrong’s cool, unflappable mind came into its own. He had to fly around and find a suitable landing site or the whole mission would be a failure. So with the fuel gauge reading only twelve seconds of fuel left, alarms going off on the instrument panel and mission control telling him to abort, the message the world had been holding its breath for came back: "Houston, Tranquillity base here, the Eagle has landed".  

Later, leaving behind their back-packs, tools, boots and other needless weight - so they could bring back some moon rock - they successfully blasted off and met up with the waiting command module. After safely making their way back through the Earth's atmosphere and making a perfect slash-down in the ocean, the celebrations could begin.  

Imagine what the feeling must have been like for these guys knowing that you had just written your name into the history books for all time. I guess this is how they were able to overcome their fears; the national celebrations, the ticker-tape parades and the endless affection that was going to be felt by the whole world.

They truly must have felt over the moon (and that pun was definitely intended!)

Across the National Museums Liverpool website, we have loads of great games, e-cards, online-only exhibitions, videos, interactives and podcasts for you to enjoy. And we've just launched our new VIP Zone as a hub for all these cool features that really bring our collections and exhibitions to life.

You can watch a video of a Pharaoh talking about life in ancient Egypt or download a talk by curator Pauline Rushton and photographer Francesco Mellina about our Sound and Vision exhibition - photographs of Liverpool music and fashion from 1978-82.

This multi-media stuff gives people from around the world the chance to get a better experience of what we have in our venues, even if they can't come along in real life.

You can also find all our social networking sites in the VIP Zone. So if you want to follow the new Museum of Liverpool on Twitter or join the Walker Facebook group then you can find links to our social sites there too.

Here's one of the latest videos we've put online featuring George Holt, the former owner of Sudley House, in the dining room. He talks about dinner parties, his plans for improving the city of Liverpool and describes some of the paintings in the room.

She might ignite controversy wherever she goes, but Tracey Emin's artwork - particularly her sewn work - has an amazing skill that often seems to be overlooked. I checked out her latest exhibition 'Those who suffer Love' at the White Cube in London , which showed a range of neons, drawings and several sewn pieces.

Even if you don't 'get' what she is trying to say, I think you'd have to try pretty hard to not appreciate the skill involved in sewing what looks like a sketched drawing on a six-foot piece of cloth. You get up close and there are hundreds of small and precise stitches which create something that appears to be quite devil-may-care. One of the tiniest pieces of cloth seemed to hold the most emotion - a sewn 'sketch' of a kneeling figure, with the words 'no, no, no, no' stitched above it. 

I guess a lot of people find her work hard to relate to as it's so personal and she is always wearing her heart on her sleeve. But I think the things she shares seem quite universal; love, lust, loss, pain - they're all things most adults have experienced. I don't think you have to try too hard to find these emotions in her work either - what you see is more or less what you get. It's explicit (sometimes in both senses of the word!), simple, sometimes ugly and sometimes beautiful.

I'm biased of course because as you will see from one of my previous posts, I am really into her anyway. But if you're in London in the next few days (it finishes on Sunday 5 July) I say go, give it a try and make up your own mind, rather than listening to the critics!

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We'll be looking at the rich variety of work produced by well-known and lesser known female artists in our forthcoming exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery; 'The Rise of Women Artists'. You can see it from 23 October 2009 - 14 March 2010.

It is a dream situation to be in the same room as Mick Jagger and Marilyn Monroe and although that's never going to happen for real (Mick won't return my calls) I felt at least a little closer to that dream in the Cecil Beaton: Portraits exhibition. Beaton was well-known for charming his subjects to get the best out of them and it certainly shows.

What's interesting is the way he seems to use the style of the portrait to reflect the persona of the subject he's photographing. Audrey Hepburn is photographed in a very minimal and striking pose, which seems to echo her elegant and chic image. Marilyn Monroe is pictured sprawled on a hotel bed holding a flower - almost like a lover's snapshot - showing her as carefree and sexy. I always prefer these less styled photos of Marilyn, rather than the done-up pouting images that you see most of the time.

The photographs offer an insight into Beaton's career through the decades, from the glamour of his work with Vogue to his grittier work as an official war photographer.

You can check out this free exhibition from today, at the Walker Art Gallery.

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Inspired by the exhibition we're also running an 'Iconic Portraits' competition - enter to be in with a chance to be styled as one of four icons from the exhibition and be photographed by professional photographer, Zoe Richards, at the Knowsley Hall estate! 

We were very excited this morning as staff returned triumphant from The Mersey Partnership’s Annual Tourism Awards with some great news.

National Museums Liverpool won Tourism Experience of the Year and Marketing Project of the Year - both for the fantastic Art in the Age of Steam exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery last summer.

We were also pleased that the Lady Lever Art Gallery shop was 'highly commended' for Tourism Retailer of the year. 

More than 520 guests joined the celebrations to recognise and reward the best of the best during a black tie dinner at the BT Convention Centre on Liverpool's UNESCO world heritage waterfront.

You can see Marketing Officer Sam Vaux (above) with the award for Marketing Project of the Year, which was presented to her by Ranvir Singh from BBC North West Tonight.

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Update: As Art in the Age of Steam at the Walker won ‘Tourism Experience of the Year’, this means we're now automatically finalists in the England’s Northwest Tourism Awards that will be held in September at Blackpool Tower. If we're successful there, we could be entered for the Enjoy England Excellence Awards!

From an early age I was interested in vintage clothes, fashion and customising. I liked nothing better than rummaging in my Mum's (cool) friend's cast-offs and cutting big holes in tops so that I could look punky - or something close! (I was obsessed with the cartoon Jem and the Holograms).

So it's no surprise that for the first Ask the curator feature I asked Pauline Rushton, curator of costume and textiles, to be in the hot seat.

If you have a question about the fantastic range of costumes in our collections (from Edwardian frocks to Vivian Westwood suits) then take part in Ask the curator, which gives you the chance to ask our featured curator anything you like.

Send in your questions to Pauline by midnight on Sunday 21 June and we'll choose the best ones to ask her in a video interview, which we'll put on the site.

Although curators do gallery tours at the museums and galleries, most of their time is spent working hard behind the scenes. So we are lucky to have Pauline for this short period of time for you to ask her questions.

The video of Pauline's interview will be up from Monday 6 July so come back and check it out. You'll be able to find out her answers and listen to her talking about one of her favourite objects from the collections.

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Have a listen to Pauline and I talking to Claire Hamilton about Ask the curator, on BBC Radio Merseyside. (Interview starts at 50 minutes into the program.)

We're very pleased that the tearoom at Sudley House has now reopened! After its recent refurbishment there is now an extensive new menu, an extra seating area and free wi-fi.

The new menu includes sandwiches, soups and 'posh pies' such as cod and chorizo, steak or spring veg hot pot. For afters you can try homemade cakes, munch on muffins or pastries and enjoy a hazelnut or vanilla latte.

Where else could you eat yummy food in a relaxed Georgian setting, before exploring the work of Turner and Rossetti in a gallery?

The tearoom is open daily from 10am - 4.45pm and you can look at our sample menu to get a taste of what's on offer.

Press Officer Ed Casson has been getting up close to a new installation at the Walker - read on to find out what he's been up to...

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Visitors to the Walker Art Gallery are being encouraged to take a seat to enjoy art. Six unusually-designed chairs have been placed in Room 15 for people to sit on and admire, and I was one of the first to try them out. The installation is titled ‘Sitting On Art’ and the chairs can be freely moved around the room.

Designs include Harry Bertoias’ uncomfortable-looking wire diamond chair (cushions definitely needed for any sustained sitting), Verner Panton’s 1960 blue plastic chair (the first design for a plastic chair that could be made by injection moulding in a single piece) and the 1988 Dr Glob chair by Philippe Starck (which simply has front and back legs of different sizes).

Each design is famous and unique in its own right, reflecting the designers breaking free of the past and using up-to-date techniques and materials, such as tubular steel, plywood and plastics. The chairs are not the date of their design, but quite new. Some are reproductions, others have never gone out of production. That is why they are art you can sit on.

My personal favourite is the blue plastic chair, although I wouldn’t advise any adults to take a seat on its little brother (I foolishly did) which is also on display and clearly designed for children.

Sitting on art is one thing, breaking it is definitely another.

Yesterday I was able to witness a ceremony to mark the returning of Australian indigenous human remains that had been in our collections since 1948. The remains are being returned as they have strong cultural, spiritual and religious significance to Australian indigenous communities. You can see more photos of the ceremony on our Returning to Australia Flickr set.

Representatives from The Ngarrindjeri (meaning The People) had come over from Australia to perform the ceremony. Seeing them with their fantastically painted faces was a pretty amazing experience in itself. Their presence definitely caused a stir outside the World Museum, with a large crowd gathering to see what was happening! The ceremony began with Mr Major Sumner burning eucalyptus branches, which he carried around the crowd and fanned with a large feather. He then raised three boomarangs into the air and touched them to the ground while speaking in his native dialect. Using the boomerangs he also performed a dance involving hitting them together while singing.

Mr Sumner also spoke to the crowd, saying that he was thinking of his ancestors and that we should also think about ours, whose "spirits are in this land". He also said how it was fitting that he was taking the remains from this "land by the water" to his land, which was also by the water. The Ngarrindjeri is a group of 18 clans or lakinyeri who speak similar dialects and have family connections around the lower Murray River, western Fleurieu Peninsula and Coorong, South Australia.

This is the first of the remains of three individuals being returned to Australia. The remains will be kept in a keeping place at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra and will be given the culturally-appropriate care needed. Eventually they may be buried if returned to their original communities.

Swishing and searching for cool vintage clothes is very popular right now, but who would have thought that celebrated poet Roger McGough would be into recycling clothes!

Last week Roger, who is himself part of Liverpool’s musical heritage, lent the World Museum a unique item to adorn the walls of our massive music exhibition, The Beat Goes On. This unusual item is in fact a pair of trousers; but not just any trousers! They once belonged to Roger’s fellow Scaffold member Mike McCartney’s brother Paul, a member of another little-known band from Liverpool; The Beatles. (You may have heard of them, they were around a bit in the 60s.)

Roger told us how he came to be the proud owner of the trousers:

“I was friends with Mike McCartney at a time when I began teaching in local schools. It was obvious that I needed to smarten up and make an effort at work in order to set an example to the pupils, and Mike suggested I have some of his brother’s cast offs."

"I’m pleased they are going to be displayed somewhere for all to enjoy and The Beat Goes On is the perfect setting. It’s strange to think that when I used to wear them, the thought never crossed my mind that my mate’s brother’s trousers would one day be hung on the wall of a museum!”

They were also the inspiration behind a poem entitled 'To Macca’s Trousers', which is also on display alongside the trousers. The poem describes how Roger went from wearing the trousers on nights out in the 60s, to finding them packed up in a suitcase of old clothes in his attic years later. Here's the first verse for you:

You were part of a suit that Paul handed down to his brother.
High-buttoned Italian style, circa ‘Please Please Me’
The jacket fitted but you were too short in the leg
so Michael passed you on to me.
On Saturday night we went to the disco
and although we looked cool on the dance-floor
it didn’t seem right. Greater things you were meant for.
So I hung you in the wardrobe and awaited the call
‘Hello mate, can I have me trousers back? It’s Paul’

'To Macca’s Trousers' is also part of a new collection of Roger’s poetry being published this June by Penguin Books, entitled 'That Awkward Age'. The collection is a powerful testament to the miraculous in the everyday, describing one-off chance encounters, embarrassing questions and small wonders, as Roger resolves – and fails – to live every day as if it were his last. 

We hope Paul won't be asking for the trousers back too soon!

Update 15/5/2009: Please note that this object will temporarily be removed from display from 22 May until early June.

When choosing an outfit for a sunny day (though it is raining right now) you can't go wrong with navy and white. In particular, I'm very into the nautical stuff that is around at the moment. On a recent trip to Beyond Retro in Shoreditch I had to be talked out of purchasing a vintage sailor bib top, possibly taken from a real sailor in the mists of time (that's an actual era you know.)

In 1910, fashion fanatic and philanthropist Mrs. Emily Tinne would have been right on trend for this summer with her quirky sailor inspired espadrilles, which are now on show as part of A Sweet Life at Sudley House until Spring 2010.

Everywhere you look on the high street right now there are beachy espadrilles and sailor-style pumps, but none that combine the two things quite as well as Mrs.Tinne's little beauties. They are made of white linen and have a cool anchor design that has been hand-embroidered onto the toe with red wool.

Even über-model Agyness Deyn is a fan of the nautical trend - who would have thought Mrs.Tinne and Aggy would have something in common!

Liverpool street fashion has always been an inspiration for professional and budding photographers alike. In 2006 we held the Street Life exhibition at the National Conservation Centre, which celebrated the unique styles of the residents of Liverpool no matter what their age. Our current Fashion V Sport exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery has inspired Creative and Media Diploma students from Liverpool Community College to create some striking images that explore current fashion trends among young people today. These images have been brought together to form Street Fashion, an exhibition in two parts; photographs by Level 2 students are currently on display until 29 April and Level 3 students will show from 1-31 May.

Also inspired by Fashion V Sport is our style-spotting competition! We are offering fashionistas the chance to win a £50 voucher for All Saints, Nike or Urban Outfitters or you could win tickets to see Pink or  Blur.  To be in with a chance of winning, come along to the gallery on Saturday 18 April when style-spotters from the Radio City Ground Crew will be at the exhibition. If you dress to impress then they might choose you to be a winner…

Press officer, Ed Casson, tells us about a fascinating soundtrack that has been created to accompany one of our most popular paintings...

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If someone asked you to describe a painting, how would you go about it – would you be objective or subjective? For visually-impaired artist Alison Jones that was the key to her project 'Arts, Lies and Audio Tapes' – to explore issues of interpretation and censorship. 

Aigburth-born Alison invited visitors to the Walker Art Gallery to give descriptions of the famous William Yeames painting 'And When Did You Last See Your Father?' While some people were happy to give brief explanations of what they saw, others spent up to an hour outlining each precise detail of the piece. Alison edited these together to create a soundtrack, which was then played in front of an imprecise line drawing of the painting at a Liverpool DaDafest exhibition.

This fascinating recording has now been added to the 'And When Did You Last See Your Father?' page on our website where you can also see the painting, which shows a Royalist house under occupation by Parliamentarians and a young boy being interrogated as to the whereabouts of the master of the house.

Alison – the arts manager for Liverpool DaDa (Disability and Deaf Arts) – has recorded an interview with Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour about the project, which will be broadcast later this year.

This week I got to look around the entomology lab at World Museum Liverpool, at one of the creepy crawly tours that are available to visitors during school holidays. Zoology curator, Guy Knight, took us around the lab so we could see some of the thousands of mounted specimens housed in the back of the museum.

He showed us a case full of crickets that were found in Liverpool after they hitch-hiked here on some bananas. Then there were questions from some of the eager smaller visitors on the tour – my favourite being; ‘What happens if they come back to life after you’ve killed them?’ Maybe they had been to the Ancient Egypt gallery beforehand and had learned about the afterlife! Bees were next on the agenda – we have around 10,000 bees in our collections apparently. We learned that there are 250 different kinds of bees, but wild bumblebees are getting rarer due to the countryside changing and there being less wild areas for bees to live in.

In other bug news, you can now come and see a new ‘living display’ in the bug house gallery featuring the Indian Ground Beetle (Anthia sexguttata). The beetles’ new home has been created using a special sand and cement mix, which will allow them to dig burrows to lay their eggs.  Indian Ground Beetles are a large predatory beetle, which actively hunt down their insect prey and this species has never been bred in captivity. They can also spray an acidic liquid accurately into the eyes of their enemies if they feel threatened. Unbee-lievable!

At the end of March, we held a launch party to celebrate the release of 'Something Wild… at the Walker Art Gallery' - the very first storybook that National Museums Liverpool has published. Public Programmes Officer Nicky Fawcett can tell us what went on at the launch...

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We wanted to hold a launch party to thank everyone who had helped create the book and to encourage Liverpool primary schools to take up their entitlement to a free copy of Something Wild… All the children from St Pascal Baylon and St Columbas Out of school clubs were invited as they had worked with Kate Pankhurst to help draw the illustrations for the book.  The Mayor also came to the launch and gave out free copies of the book and a goody bag to everyone that took part. He congratulated the young illustrators on all of their hard work in bringing the book to life.

The launch was lots of fun as we had organised plenty of activities that families could take part in. The storytelling sessions proved most popular and 'Jenny the Artist', one of the characters from the book, led an exciting tour of the gallery to find all of the paintings and objects featured in the book.  We also had a mask making workshop and afterwards many of the children were wearing the horse, pig or bird masks they had made around the gallery!

The launch was a huge success and it was great to see just how much everyone enjoyed the night and most importantly the book itself.  We’re all looking forward to seeing families and schools having fun using the book at the gallery.

If you are a teacher in a Liverpool primary school, you can are entitled to a free copy of the book. If you are a parent who would like a copy to use with your children, you can buy a copy from the Walker (or any of our venues) or by mail order.

Ah what can you say to describe the amazing PJ Harvey? Rock star. Legend. Fan of Nick Cave. Player of Gibson Firebird guitars. The most glamorous person to come from Dorset...and now a lover of bouncy castles! Let me explain. 

PJ Harvey has been recording with her long-time collaborator John Parish and the first single from their forthcoming album will be out on 13 April. The video for this single, 'Black Hearted Love', has been made by British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman who we were pleased to have on the jury for the recent John Moores 25 Contemporary Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery.

The video is pretty cool I think, spooky yet graceful is what I'd say. Here's what the Chapman brothers said about it: "We decided 'Black Hearted Love' deserved something haunting and enigmatic - yet brazen and colourful. Hence, a collision between an ominous forest and a garish bouncy castle seemed entirely appropriate..." (Quote from NME.com)

Have a look and see what you think...

In these grim economic times and rainy days, we could do worse than remind ourselves that there is usually a light at the end of the tunnel! Forty years ago this week, John Lennon and Yoko Ono set about bringing a message of peace to the world from their bed in the Amsterdam Hilton hotel. They vowed to stay in bed for a whole week (24 - 31 March, 1969) in what they called a "bed-in for peace". It certainly drew alot of media attention to their message of peace and in particular their stance against the war in Vietnam, which can only be a good thing.  While this might not be everyone's idea of a great honeymoon, I can't think of a better place to stage a peace protest than a nice comfy bed. I took part in an anti-war demo in Manchester once and by heck it was freezing!

This wasn't their last bed-in though. A few months later on 26 May 1969, John and Yoko checked into Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel to start their next peace protest, to continue the momentum of the first one. For another week the couple, along with Ono's five-year-old daughter Kyoko, entertained guests including U.S. black civil rights advocate Dick Gregory, Quebec separatist Jacques Larue-Langlois and American cartoonist Al Capp. It was at the end of this bed-in that a historic and spontaneous performance of 'Give Peace a Chance' was recorded.

Here at the museums, we're very proud to hold a piece of this moment in history. In our collections we have an 'All You Need is Love' beadspread that was handmade by the local Montreal Hare Krishna Chapter and given to John and Yoko for the protest. 

Currently you can see the bedspread from the Montreal bed-in for peace in The Beat Goes On exhibition at World Museum Liverpool. Peace out.

 

Following the fashion theme from Dawn's previous post, today it was Liverpool One's turn to host a series of fashion shows as part of Liverpool Fashion Week. Performing arts students from LIPA worked the catwalk (with plenty of attitude) wearing sports and casual wear from brands such as Blue Ink, Henleys and Fred Perry. Trainers were a big feature, with models carrying them around their necks while walking barefoot! Neon colours featured heavily, perhaps a hangover from the recent nu-rave trend, giving the whole show a bright, spring-like feel. It think my favourite t-shirt from the show was the Mr Men one from Blue Ink with the slogan 'I left Mr Grumpy at home', very cool.

If you are mad about sports/casual wear then take a few photos of your favourite tops or trainers and join our Metro V Retro Flickr group. Or drop in to see our Fashion V Sport exhibition and drool over the funky customised trainers.

To celebrate the opening of our new Fashion V Sport exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, I've put together a Flickr gallery of some of the cool and stylish outfits worn by some of our private view guests.

Part of the exhibition examines street style and the variety of styles I saw in one evening was certainly varied and creative. Damian Quinn, the man responsible for the gold topped ‘Onthamike’ trainers from the 'Play' section, was wearing a similar pair on the night from his Supremebeing brand. On the other end of the scale, self-confessed trainer obsessive 'Mookie' told me about her Nike Air Force 1 trainers that she had customised using multi-coloured paint spatters. She had worn them on her Duke of Edinburgh hike, before giving them a new lease of life with her own design! Mookie is a creative apprentice at the moment so who knows, she might be a Footwear Director like Damian one day.

Some of my favourite outfits of the evening included; Olivia's bowler hat, shoe-boot and vintage satchel ensemble and Amina's Camden/Indian mash-up including a sports top, shawl and gold belt. Have a look through the slideshow and pick your favourite fashionistas!

At the end of February, Earth will receive a visitor named Lulin. This is not an alien, but a comet that astronomers say may have never visited this corner of the solar system before and should be visible to the naked eye. Our resident expert in all things celestial, Planetarium Operator John Moran, is here to tell us how to spot it…

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If you were to scoop up a handful of snow, shape it into a rough spherical shape and add some dirt to it, you would basically be holding in your hand the ingredients that make up a comet. These mountain-sized dirty snowballs are some of the most intriguing objects there are in space. That's why during February and beyond, millions of eyes will be eagerly looking towards the constellation Leo to try and catch a glimpse of Comet Lulin.

From roughly the 16th of the month, not only will we be able to see Comet Lulin with the naked eye but also within two degrees of it you will find the ringed planet Saturn. This should be a beautiful sight through binoculars, all you need to do is find it. Look for the constellation Ursa Major, often called The Plough, which most people are familiar with, then find the two pointers which show us the way to the Pole star. If you follow the pointers in the opposite direction of Polaris and continue until you come to the first big constellation, this will be Leo, identified by the back-to-front question mark. Look down and slightly to the left for the brightest object in this constellation, which at the moment is Saturn, and just below this will be Comet Lulin. As the days pass so the comet will start moving upwards and to the right.
 
Comets originate in a vast region of space which borders our solar system called the Oort Cloud. As they swirl around, some smash into each other and like snooker balls on a table get fired off in a different direction and this starts their long cold journey into our solar system. As they near the sun the ice starts to melt and gas and vapour start streaming out through evaporation; this is how the tail forms, which clearly identifies a comet.

Most Comets that enter our solar system get caught by the gravitational pull of the sun and end up making the same journey back into space. Eventually they come back some time in the future, like the most famous of them all; Halley's Comet, which makes this journey every 76 years. But some comets just fly straight through our system and are never seen again. Comet Lulin looks like it may well be one of these comets.

So if we are fortunate to have clear skies at the end of February, try and catch a glimpse of one of mother nature’s most remarkable phenomena.

Did we get a visit from Darwin himself today? Our Treasure House Theatre Coordinator, Jo Connor, gave us all the details to clear up the mystery...

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You may have been forgiven for thinking you’d travelled back in time if you had been at the World Museum Liverpool atrium this morning, as you would have bumped into Mr Charles Darwin, aka Treasure House Theatre Demonstrator Paul Netterfield.

Paul was in role as the great naturalist complete with costume and beard to highlight the museum’s upcoming events to commemorate Darwin’s centenary year.

Our Mr Darwin greeted the press and visitors as they entered and pointed out his own specimen (now in our collections), an Oven Bird from the Straits of Magellan. The specimen is complete with hand written tags and is now in the Hidden Treasures Case in the museum’s atrium.

To celebrate all things Darwin this year, you will find discovery trails, performances, exhibits, poetry readings and further events at the museum. Visit our Darwin200 page for more information.

This may be the closest I will get to a piece of Chanel clothing, but our curators of decorative arts are used to getting their hands on clothes from big names such as Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney in their everyday work!

Curator of Costume and Textiles, Pauline Rushton, has been working on our forthcoming 'Fashion V Sport' exhibition organised by the V&A, London, which opens on Friday 13 February at the Walker Art Gallery. You can see Pauline (below) unpacking some trainers from a huge collection featured in the exhibition, all belonging to an obsessive collector called Kish.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a curator, as I discovered, it's a very varied job! Pauline works on the styling and interpretation of touring exhibitions like this, dressing the mannequins, taking care of the clothes throughout the exhibition and also giving tailored gallery tours. She has dealt with the display of many pieces of historic costume in the past, which can involve carefully putting delicate outfits onto custom made mannequins. Luckily most of the clothes in 'Fashion V Sport' are far more sturdy and durable due to being sportswear.

The 'Play' section gives you a taste of the creative street-style of customised sportswear. I particularly like the slightly scary Ronald McDonald themed outfit (above), designed by Walter van Beirendonck, with its stars and stripes trousers. Slightly political perhaps?!

If you want to get a more in-depth look at some of the highlights of 'Fashion V Sport', you can go on one of the free guided tours with Pauline, happening throughout the exhibition. Check our what's on listings for all Fashion V Sport related events and activities.

Volunteer Tom Hawley came along with me to a talk by our Antiquities Curator, Carolyn Routledge, and has written this blog to tell you all about it. You also can see the photos of Carolyn's trip to the 'Sacred City of Abydos' on Flickr, including her exciting journey into a tomb.

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The most recent talk by Dr. Carolyn Routledge at the Treasure House Theatre, World Museum Liverpool, was filled with tales of gore and splendour. The talk was accompanied by photographs of Dr. Routledge herself, exploring ancient tombs in the Egyptian desert.

During her time on the archaeological site in Upper Egypt, Dr. Routledge worked alongside different institutions, mainly from the United States. Dr. Routledge took us on a historical tour of some of the oldest tombs in Egypt, located in the ancient city of Abydos, about six miles west of the River Nile.

Many of the larger knives on display in the Ancient Egypt gallery and the World Museum, were thought to have been used for ritual killings. One of the bodies found in Abydos is believed to have been a male servant. It was the favourite servants who were ritually killed, buried alongside their pharaoh and taken with him to the afterlife. Some compliment indeed! The name found with this dead servant was ‘Nefer’, who also happened to be a dwarf. There is evidence to suggest that dwarves were very highly respected in ancient Egypt, holding important responsibilities. In fact, the name Nefer translates into English as beautiful, or good.

Another exhibit on display at the Ancient Egypt gallery is a red necklace, moulded from metal into the shape of an oyster shell. Dr. Routledge told us that the necklace could be made of electrum (a naturally occurring combination of gold and silver) that has corroded to a red colour, or it could be made of a gold alloy containing some copper, which is a rare ‘red gold’. They hope to find out in the future whether it is made from red gold, which would make this necklace a rare treasure!

It was interesting to discover the stories behind some of the museum’s exhibits. They’re not just beautiful, but they have remarkable tales attached to them. Make sure you check out World Museum Liverpool's events and activities page for future and upcoming events. And don’t forget… they’re all free!

As David Bowie would say; "fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion" - it's a funny old thing. For spring/summer 2009 newspapers and magazines are saying 'there are no trends this season, anything goes.' Isn't that just called individuality?! Anyway, while Yves Saint Laurent goes about trying to convince us that his new 'cage boot' is somehow beautiful (it's not) and wearable (I doubt it) I had a couple of thoughts of my own about new items which I reckon are pretty cool right now.

Firstly, and perhaps most controversially, are 'geek specs'. I've gone for a fetching pair of tortoiseshell Ray-Ban style ones from ebay. Admittedly, I am waiting to wear them on a night out where I won't meet anyone I know, in case they exclaim; "I didn't know you wore glasses!" and I have to sheepishly admit that I don't and it's just a so-called fashion thing. Maybe I'll try them at a club-night in Bolton?

Secondly, following on from the end of 2008, I like knotted scarves. Avoiding looking like Dot Cotton is of course a consideration, but I think rolling a small one up and tying it with a knot sitting on top of your head kind of works. You feel a bit like a 1940s land girl. Sort of.

Lastly, my most recent addition is a slouchy longer-length blazer with an embroidered emblem on the pocket. Elle magazine seem to be mentioning this kind of thing as a good item to get your hands on - though I bet the version they featured is much more expensive than mine, which I got for a fiver from an ace vintage shop.

Also on the subject of fashion, check back here soon for regular blogs about the upcoming 'Fashion V Sport' exhibition that will open on Friday 13 February at the Walker Art Gallery. Expect a sequinned Chanel 'wetsuit', Stella McCartney sportswear and lots of trainers!

Now, if I could just fit some 'party feet' gel pads into those YSL cage boots, I'm sure they'd be really comfy?

It's new year's eve tomorrow and we've got a host of new stars to look forward to in January 2009. No, I don't mean the start of Celebrity Big Brother, I'm talking about the night sky and its numerous stars to spot over the next few weeks. Although, reading the mythological stories behind the constellations, you could be forgiven for thinking that they had come out of a celebrity gossip mag - plenty of betrayals and lost love. The Brad/Angelina/Jennifer debacle is nothing compared to this lot!

Our Planetarium Co-ordinator and resident night sky expert, John Moran, has brought us January's Nightwatch report about Orion the Hunter and Perseus the great Greek hero...

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The true winter constellations are on show in January with the Hunter Orion dominating the mythological cast of characters. Orion was a boastful hunter who claimed he could hunt and kill any animal, but met his match with a lowly scorpion as he couldn’t penetrate its armour. Orion fled into the sea and as he was swimming away, Apollo tricked his sister Artemis, who was in love with Orion, into firing an arrow at the far away object swimming in the sea. The arrow hit its mark and when Artemis found out what she had done, she begged Zeus to place Orion among the stars for all eternity and placed the scorpion on the opposite side of the sky.

Another constellation on show this month is Perseus named after the handsome Greek hero who saved the life of Andromeda by defeating the evil sea monster Cetus. Perseus had just slain the Gorgon Medusa and was carrying her head back as a trophy, because even in death Medusa’s head was still capable of turning any creature that looked upon her into stone and this is how he defeated Cetus.

On the 4th of the month look out for the first meteor shower of 2009, the Quantadrids, which have a high rate of 60 meteors per hour. Look out also for the ringed planet Saturn, which you will find in the constellation Leo around 9pm onwards. Don’t forget that 2009 is the international year of astronomy, so there should be plenty of interesting things to do and see to keep your imagination fired over the coming year.   

Yes everyone, it's that time again! The end of the year and time to vote on which exhibition you think was the best from our venues in 2008. Cast your minds back to the dramatic shots of the city from 'Metropolis - capturing modern Liverpool', or maybe your favourite was the 'John Moores 25 Contemporary Painting Prize' exhibition with it's cutting edge contemporary paintings? Here is a selection of some of our exhibitions from 2008 for you to vote on....

If you'd like to find out about our main exhibitions for 2009, then check out the listings page for more details.

If you want to hear an Egyptian Pharaoh telling you about his new fiancé or get the gossip about a runaway Egyptian servant, then check out these videos taken from the new Ancient Egypt gallery. They really bring to life some of the  types of people who would have lived and worked in Egypt at the time. Apparently, the runaway servant in question didn't want to clean his master's smelly clothes anymore, but I won't spoil the story for you!

For more videos including those of an Egyptian priest and a chantress, visit the main Egypt  videos page, where there are also links to transcripts of all the videos.

To view the video subtitles, please select the full-screen option, shown by the four arrows icon. A transcript of this video can be found here.

We've been following the progress of Kensington Youth Inclusion Project on the blog, from when they first started working on ideas based on the John Moores 25 exhibition, to doing paintings of their own with artist Keiron Finnetty, right up to now, with the final display of their paintings in the gallery at the weekend. The group have even tried their hand at Haiku and rhyming couplet poems inspired by the exhibition! We recorded their readings of these poems and they'll be available to download as a podcast on the website soon.  Here is Learning Officer Lauren Gould's final words on the work of these budding artists:

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After a lot of hard work by our young group of artists from the Kensington Youth Inclusion Project, their masterpieces were finally unveiled at the Walker Art Gallery on Saturday 7 December. 

Be sure to make a trip down to the Walker to see these unique takes on paintings in the John Moores 25 exhibition before the show closes on 4 January 2009; a great way to walk off those extra Christmas calories!

The people in the house behind mine have already put up a Santa and sleigh made of flashing lights, blue icicles on every bit of guttering and a large grinning snowman - I shudder to think what the carbon footprint of all that is! But for all this bah-humbug-ness of mine, it is nearly Christmas and at the weekend the Walker got it's decorations up on the tree in style. Press Assistant Alison Cornmell was there to join in the fun:

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At the weekend children gathered around our giant Christmas tree outside the Walker Art Gallery, making this Christmas one they won’t forget. Chairman Phil Redmond invited local schools to design and make Christmas decorations that were hung on the giant tree by a stilt-walking Jack Frost. Jack had to brave the elements to make it to the Walker, but eventually he made it and the tree decorating was underway by the afternoon.

Schools including Belle Vale Catholic Primary School, Our Lady of Assumption Primary School, Blackmoor Park Junior School, Pleasant Street Primary School, Notre Dame Catholic College, Holly Lodge Girls College, West Derby Comprehensive School and Gateacre Comprehensive School all got involved in the festive spirit.

Outside, children and families gathered to watch Jack Frost decorate the tree and inside the Christmas activities continued. Visitors were invited to join in Christmas themed activities and workshops including Christmas storytelling, lantern making and a musical performance. 

Not only has the Walker Art Gallery been taken over by the Christmas spirit, so has the website. Online you can send Christmas e-cards and open the virtual windows on our advent calender.

As you will have seen from the many posts on this blog, the new Ancient Egypt gallery at the World Museum opened to the public today. Last night some visitors were invited along to the preview opening and were greeted by the Ya Raqs Dance Troupe, who performed traditional Egyptian dances in truly glamorous costumes. The red velvet number was a particular favourite of mine. 

I spoke to 'Aziza' who said she had been dancing for about three years. The dancers were from Chester and the Wirral - I had no idea that these were such exotic places!

The gallery itself has a good spooky atmosphere now that the lighting is low, in particular the 'Realm of Osiris', which has several mummies in it. I also had a go at one of the interactives and found out what my adopted Egyptian name ('Fire Spirit Goddess' in case you were wondering!) would be in hieroglypics. You can check out more photos from the opening event on our Egyptian gallery Flickr set.

Our venues were going Viking crazy in November, with several Viking themed events to link in with the Nordic International Cultural Events (NICE) festival. There was the opportunity to meet a Viking warrior and his wife at the World Museum and a free conference at the Maritime Museum discussing Viking finds in the North West, such as the Huxley Hoard. At the Lady Lever Art Gallery, visitors were treated to a concert by Icelandic musicians and Learning Officer Lauren Gould has all the details from this unqiue event:

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As part of the NICE 08 festival, visitors to the Lady Lever Art Gallery were delighted with beautiful music provided by soprano, Bjorg Thorhallsdottir and harpist, Elisabet Waage. Both musicians travelled over from Iceland to perform at the gallery on 26 November, after appearing on BBC Radio Merseyside the night before.

The recital was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy two acclaimed Icelandic musicians performing Icelandic music, English folk songs and variety of church music. Icelandic art songs were premiered as well as new arrangements of traditional folk songs for soprano and harp.

The acoustics and setting of the gallery was a stunning backdrop for the performance, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. They’ve promised to return next year and Bjorg has said she will sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ for us then; there are some Liverpool FC fans in her family!

It takes a lot of guts to get up in front of an audience and talk confidently - anyone who's ever had to do a presentation will know all about this! At the Lady Lever Art Gallery, they've been training up groups of young people from all over the Wirral to be junior guides, enabling them to talk about the paintings in the gallery to visitors. Learning officer Lauren Gould can tell us more about it all:

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Over the past six weeks, young people from Bebington High Sports College, The Oldershaw School, and Neston High School have been training as junior guides at the Lady Lever Art Gallery.  They have been learning from staff as well as their five mentors, who trained as junior guides in 2007.  In addition to learning about the gallery and its collection, they’ve also developed their confidence, leadership, and presentation skills,

On Tuesday 25 November they delivered their first tour to Rock Ferry Primary School and received a round of applause for their efforts!  After providing four more tours for primary schools in the run up to Christmas we’ll be looking to keep this group of committed young people involved as volunteers while they complete their Arts Council England Youth Arts Award Bronze and Silver.

The public have spoken! After several weeks of voting, you have chosen Julian Brain's painting, 'Special Relativity', as the worthy winner of the Visitors' Choice Award. Julian was also chosen by this year's jurors as one of four runners up in the main John Moores 25 competition and is the only self-taught artist in the entire exhibition. 

He was at the Walker Art Gallery this morning to collect his prize. Alex Richmond from Rathbone Investment Management presented him with a cheque for £2008 to celebrate the 2008 Capital of Culture year. Julian was also given a bottle of champagne - though he said it was a bit early in the day for him to open it!

So the prices of new potatoes and i-pods are going up and we're being told to be prepared for a measly Christmas. But what does this mean for fashion? Will we be wearing polyester smocks for spring/summer 2009? Well one theory is that hemlines rise and fall with the stock market, so maybe we can expect ankle-skimming skirts to be everywhere. Though a recent article in the Guardian argues that this rule doesn't really work as; 'During the wartime years, arguably the period of greatest privation in modern history, hemlines were shorter than before or after the war.'

I think the tenacious fashion world will be ok as it's been through harder times than this and still made it to the other side with great style. Times are of course not as tough as during the second world war, when people had to 'make do and mend' while also facing the rationing of clothes and the introduction of 'utility' wear.  And this didn't mean combat trousers from Gap!

One of our curators, Alyson Pollard, will be giving an insight into these hard times for fashion, in a talk about our 1950s dresses display at the Walker Art Gallery.

She explains; 'From 1939 women had learnt how to cope with the shortages caused by the war. However, in June 1941 the shortage of material for clothing was so severe that the government introduced clothing rationing. Clothing could only be purchased by giving up a fixed number of coupons from a very limited quota. Each person was given 60 coupons for the year; a skirt was seven coupons, a short jacket  was 11 and shoes were five coupons. Buying enough clothing for a whole year was a struggle.'

Though despite these restrictions on clothes, the '1940s look' is still one that remains extremely popular - remember Kate Moss and her tea-dresses from this summer? After the war ended, gradually the fashion world got back on its feet and was able to celebrate the end of rationing by designing dresses using acres of fabric - the classic fifties look was born! Our object of the month, a stunning evening dress by the designer Jean Dessès, is a great example of this.

If you want to find out more about the dresses of this period, then come along to Alyson's gallery talk on Wednesday 26 November at 1pm at the Walker. And the best thing is that like all our talks, it's absolutley free. So beat the credit crunch and come along!

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There are two new exhibitions for 2009 that explore different aspects of fashion; 'Fashion V Sport' at the Walker and a Francesco Mellina photographic exhibition at the National Conservation Centre. Check our forthcoming exhibition listings for more information.

As promised in an earlier post, here's an update on the work of Kensington Youth Inclusion Group who have recently been creating their own versions of paintings from the John Moores 25 exhibition. Their interpretation of 'Black Bile' is certainly a refreshing new take on the painting, using an attractive candy pink! Here's Learning Officer Lauren Gould to tell us more...

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Over four after-school sessions at the Kensington Youth Inclusion Project centre, we have created some fabulous works.  Local artist Keiron Finnetty help each of the two groups to create a large work based on some of their favourite paintings from the John Moores exhibition.

They collectively worked on a re-interpretation of 'Fontana' by Peter McDonald and 'Black Bile' by Alex Gene Morrison.  I highly recommend making a visit to the Walker Art Gallery once these unique works go on show at the beginning of December!

Each young artist then created a painting of their own, based on sketching done during their visit to the John Moores 25 exhibition in October.  This coming Saturday they will make their final visit to the Walker to write poems responding to the paintings that inspired them most. 

I found myself, for a few fleeting seconds, feeling quite intellectual during my last trip to the cinema. This was quite an achievement considering I had gone to see a romantic comedy about a dentist called Bertram who gains the ability to communicate with ghosts after a near death experience during a colonoscopy. I know - but it was good!

I was watching Ricky Gervais' new film, 'Ghost Town', while munching on some Revels (by the way, I'm not loving the new 'mystery sweet', I won't spoil it for you by saying what it is, but I say bring back the coffee one). In the film, Gervais' love interest is an Egyptologist and they bond over a fascination with the dental hygiene of a mummy (of course!)

They were discussing the mummy's internal organs and it was at this point in the film that I threw down my Revels and sat up excitedly, prodding my friend, as I realised I knew an Egyptian fact! I had been reading about some of the collection items from our new Egypt gallery and so I was able to say; “Look, look, those are canopic jars!”

My bewildered companion nodded and was not as impressed as I'd hoped, but I was quite pleased with myself anyway. There on the screen were indeed some canopic jars, very similar to the ones that will be on display here. These jars were used to store a mummy's organs, before being placed inside a canopic chest and buried in the tomb with the mummy. So if you go to see the film, you too can try to impress your friends with this cool Egyptian factoid. Enjoy!

You can read more about the new Egypt gallery, opening on Friday 5 December 2008 at World Museum Liverpool, on our museum developments page.

I'm good at making spaghetti bolognese, I'm not bad on bass guitar, but I am no good at drawing! I'm envious of anyone who's good with a pencil and we've been lucky enough to have some budding artists at the Walker Art Gallery recently, from Kensington Youth Inclusion Group. Here's Learning Officer Lauren Gould to explain what the group have been up to...

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You may remember that some fantastic young artists took part in completing the 'Superfiveadaybanana' that was in the Walker Art Gallery as part of 'Go Superlambananas' over the summer.  Once again, these young people are participating in a project that will bring their work into the gallery for a unique display. 

Eleven young people from Kensington Youth Inclusion Group visited the John Moores 25 exhibition during the October half term.  They explored the exhibition looking at texture, colour, pattern and light as well as discerning the difference between abstract and figurative art.  The group focused on 'Fontana' by Peter McDonald, 'Sometimes We Sense the Doubt Together' by Roland Hicks and 'Special Relativity' by Julian Brain and explored the themes of; artists at work, everyday objects and home. Each young person did a drawing that they are going to develop into their own painting with local artist Keiron Finnetty.

Watch this space for images of their work progressing on the blog and for their paintings, which will be up in the resource area in the John Moores 25 exhibition at the end of November.

Sunday 2 November will be your last chance to vote on who you think deserves the Visitors' Choice award, from the John Moores 25 Contemporary Painting Prize exhibition. You can get a voting card at the Walker Art Gallery and have your say about who should win the prize of £2008.

Take a look at my earlier post about the Visitors' Choice award, and watch a video with some of this year's judges talking about a selection of paintings from the exhibition.

Get inspired and get voting!

I'd seen the preview photos of the new 'unfolding' exhibition at Sudley House, but seeing the sculptures in reality was still quite a surprise! The sheer size of each piece was much bigger than I had imagined, which gave them real impact. Seeing them in situ at the house allowed you to see how they fit in with the building and its rooms. Each sculpture has subtle details that link them to each room - whether this is its furnishings or the original use of the room. At the same time, each piece has been designed to represent different aspects of the mind. 

Below is the 'Shell' sculpture that is in the morning room (also known as the study), which you can see has a floral pattern on the inside. This is inspired by the wallpaper that is in this room.

The red pointy creations seen below are laid out on the dining room table of the house.You can see that the darkest shades match the red upholstery on the chairs.

It is as if the sculptures are almost chameleon-like, taking on a feature of the room but still standing out as they are so contemporary in comparison.

It makes you wonder what the Holt family might have thought if they came downstairs for breakfast and saw these sculptures on their dining room table!

It was Saturday. I had just finished watching ace band, Long Finger Bandits (painted faces, blues guitar, trumpets) at the Atelier Bow Wow Rockscape, when I saw these pavement artists at work. Taking over the whole of Ropewalks Square (that bit between Bold St and FACT) they were using pastels to create colourful masterpieces, despite the rather rubbish weather.

It turns out that this was part of something called the Carling Pavement Art Competition, named after a 19th century pavement artist called James William Carling. He used to 'screeve' chalks and pastels onto the pavements of Liverpool to earn money.

There were quite a range of artworks, from contemporary to more classic styles. One artist was doing an interpretation of 'Portrait of Mrs Catherine Smith Gill and two of her children', byTissot, (pictured here) which we have here at the Walker Art Gallery.

Yes, today is National Poetry Day and the theme this year is work! Not too sure how inspiring that is as a subject, however, the aim of this day is to get poems into places you may not normally expect to find them. This might be; on toilet doors, on trains, on tablecloths in cafés and anywhere else that a poem will fit!

Here at the Walker Art Gallery, we have a free poetry workshop today from 2-4pm, with local writer Gladys Mary Coles. She will be taking a group of visitors around the gallery to hopefully get some inspiration from the paintings and then assist the group in writing some poetry. To book, call 0151 478 4178.

The Bluecoat's first Chapter & Verse Literature Festival also kicks off today and you can go to free workshops and cool performance nights there for the next ten days. The final night of the festival, on Sunday 19 October, will be taken over by Heart Beats Poetry Night. This night will feature three exciting young poets, a band and free cake.

You can also send a free e-card, featuring poems from well-known writers if you want to spread some poetry love today. Just go to the National Poetry Day website.

Or if all this seems like a bit too much effort, why not just pick up some poetry and have a read at home with a cuppa? Sounds good to me.

Wow. What a great feeling it is to give rather than to receive, yes?! Well you have the power to help decide who will get the grand sum of £2008! All you have to do is get voting in our Visitors' Choice award for the painting you like best in the John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery.

Take a good look through the exhibition and think about which painting deserves your vote. Which one jumps out at you? Which one leaves a lasting impression? Is there one that really gets under your skin?

Once you've made your decision, just cast your vote while you're in the gallery by filling in a Visitors' Choice card by Sunday 2 November 2008.

To get you thinking, here is a video with some of our judges;  Sacha Craddock, Paul Morrison and Graham Crowley, talking about some of their favourites:

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Further to my earlier Mandy Mandala Superlambanana post, I've now been told that Mandy is such a superstar that she even has her own website! You can check out pics showing how she was made and read more about the artist that created her...

Want to help with a project about how drawing helps us relate to the world around us? Then come along to the Lady Lever Art Gallery this month and you can assist PhD student Pippa Sherriff from the University of Leicester, who is researching this very subject for her thesis. Pippa is inviting visitors to get involved in drawing activities at the gallery and to talk to her about their experiences to help with her research. Read on for more details from Pippa herself...

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My name is Pippa Sherriff and I am a Research Student in the Museum Studies Department at the University of Leicester. My doctorial project explores the experience that adult visitors have when they are encouraged to draw in Museums and Art Galleries of Art and Design. I am interested in how the process of drawing encourages a closer engagement with the world around us and may enhance the understanding and appreciation of the object(s) encountered. 

I am inviting adults to come and participate in a drawing activity at Lady Lever Art Gallery, Monday to Friday from now until the end of September 2008. I have in situ a good supply of drawing materials or people may prefer to bring their own. Following the activity I am seeking people to talk to me (approx 10 minutes) about the experience and so contribute to my research findings.

In essence this is an opportunity for people to express their feelings about the drawing process itself and engagement with the object(s) encountered. The conversation will be conducted in a quiet space, audio recorded and then transcribed at a later date. There are no written questionnaires to complete and any confidential or sensitive information is neither expected nor required. Participants may also withdraw at any time if they so wish. 

My final thesis will include descriptions and quotations of the experiences related by drawing participants. However, importantly, each will decide how their individual contribution is attributed. A research consent form will detail this information. If anyone is also interested in being kept informed about the progress of my research I am willing to establish email contact.

Contact the Lady Lever Art Gallery for more details on: 0151 478 4136

Having not been to the Mathew Street Festival for several years (due to the high proliforation of Swedish Rolling Stones cover bands and 'highlights' being performers called Robbing Williams) I was persuaded to go along on Monday to check it out once more. I was pleased that they at least now have a new bands stage, but I wonder if the bands were getting paid as much as the fake rockers? Anyway it was worth it as I got to see local band, ASBOS, who I've seen before and are always deliciously weird. Great songs and cool vocals that remind me of The Pixies. It was good to see them up on a big stage, singing their classics; 'That's Not Mum' and 'Weird Dream' while getting screamed at, Take That-style, by a group of teenies wearing leopard print leggings and angel wings.

Later on I headed back into town to see one of the bands in the new 'Mathew Street Fringe Festival', which is basically all the proper bands, like ASBOS, from the Liverpool music scene and beyond. It was Be Your Own Pet's (Nashville, USA) penultimate gig before they split up. FOREVER. I saw them at Leeds Festival two years ago and wanted to see them in a small venue, which is always best. A shame they're splitting up as they really are a great band live. They didn't disappoint, with their singer Jemina ripping into every song and their bassist stage-diving over the crowd and writhing about on the floor at my feet! I spoke to him later and he seemed to have recovered, apart from a large lump on his forehead. That's real rock'n'roll for you.

This week saw the unveiling of the mysterious 'Arbores Laetae' or 'Joyful Trees' which started spinning near the Cains Brewery in Liverpool, to herald the run up to this year's Liverpool Biennial.  It all kicks off on 20 September, with the announcement of the winner of the John Moores 25 Contemporary Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery.

The creation of artists Diller Scofidio + Renfro, these spinning trees are certainly a bit spooky, but also not great if a dog decides to spend a penny nearby I think. Here is a video so you can check it out for yourself:

I was very inspired after going along to the launch of Liverpool Reads at The Bluecoat recently. It was an event that was made even better as we were the first public to see the new gallery before it opened to the masses!

2008 is the National Year of Reading and Mal Peet is this year's Liverpool Reads author.The books chosen are 'Keeper' and 'Tamar', which are being given away for free all over the city right now, in libraries and other outlets.

'Keeper' tells the story of El Gato - the Cat - the world's greatest goalkeeper - and how he, a poor South American logger's son, learns to become a World Cup-winning goalkeeper so good he is almost unbeatable. 'Tamar' is a story of espionage, love, jealousy, and tragedy set in Nazi-occupied Holland and appeals to all ages.

Liverpool Reads are also hoping to bring groups of young people to Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Pier Master's House, so they can learn more about people's experiences in the Second World War, that they will have read about in 'Tamar'.

Mal talked about how important he thought it was for parents to read to their children, to inspire imagination and to create a bond. It was great to hear someone speak so passionately about the power of books.

National Museums Liverpool will be on put on the map during Liverpool's first annual Open Culture Easter Egg Hunt. You can join in and explore the city's cultural hotspots in pursuit of hidden treasures around ten locations, inlcuding some of our venues.

Submit your completed form to Open Culture when you have solved all the clues for a chance to win the grand prize - a silver egg worth £1000!

Registration for your treasure map is on a first come first served basis and there are limited numbers, so email info@culture.org.uk for more information or go to the Open Culture website.

Make sure you check out 'The Pool' show with Dave Monks on BBC Radio Merseyside, from 8pm this Sunday 2 March! I'm going to be on choosing my top three favourite Liverpool tracks of the moment and talking about 'The Beat Goes On'.

So tune in to hear my choices...a bit of eighties, a bit of punk and some wooly-hat-wearing-Velvet-Underground- meets-psychedelic sounds. I once did a similar thing choosing some tracks on the fantastic Halton FM a few years ago (yes, the dizzy heights of stardom) but at the BBC you get free coffee and the microphones are bigger.

If you miss the show you can also listen online for a week after it has aired by going to the BBC Liverpool website.

BBC Radio Merseyside – 'The Pool'

Every Sunday evening from 8-10pm

BBC Radio Merseyside 95.8 FM, 1485 AM and on digital

If like me you grew up on a diet of Big Ted, Little Ted and Jemima the rag doll then you might be interested to know that the multi-talented legend that is Dr Floella Benjamin, will be coming to the International Slavery Museum! To celebrate International Women’s Day, Floella, who is Chancellor of the University of Exeter as well as being an actress, writer and children’s campaigner, will give an inspirational talk introduced by Dorothy Kuya.

This special free event will take place on Saturday 8 March 2008 at 7pm. Please contact Lizzy Rodgers to reserve a place on 0151 478 4543 or online here.  

Just to let you know that Merseyside bands will get the chance to be part of the massive music exhibition, 'The Beat Goes On', if they join our new Myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/thebeatgoesonliverpool !

It doesn't matter what kind of music you're into, just join us as a friend and you will be in with a chance to become part of the exhibition, alongside bands such as The Zutons, The Wombats, Echo and The Bunnymen and OMD.

'The Beat Goes On' exhibition will start this summer at the World Museum and will celebrate the city’s music venues, bands and creativity. 

On the Myspace page each month, we will choose ten tracks from bands on the friends list. These tracks will be featured on the Myspace page as a monthly top ten chart, where the public will be able to vote for their favourite online.

Top ten bands will have their band and track name displayed on a wall in the exhibition to show the top ten for each month. The number one track at the end of each month will be added to a ‘digital jukebox’ in the exhibition and will become part of 'The Beat Goes On', giving bands great exposure for their music and the chance to reach a larger audience.

Voting will begin at the start of June when the first top ten chart will be displayed on the exhibition’s Myspace page.

If you’re not in band, but you love Liverpool music, you can still join The Beat Goes On as a Myspace friend to get the latest updates from regular news bulletins.

So what are you waiting for? There's already some tracks up on the site to keep your ears occupied until the voting starts, so check out some new music today!

I’ve just recently got slightly obsessed with Tracey Emin. It started when I picked up her diary-style book, ‘Strangeland’ from my local second-hand bookshop (Amorous Cat Bookshop, really cool). It has crept up on me, to the point where I now buy the Independent every Friday to read her column and look at the accompanying artwork. And then recycle the rest of the paper. Ignoring the celebrity element, she is pretty fascinating and now I want to find out more about her actual work. Luckily my obsession has not gone un-noticed and I was given another book about her for Christmas, so I can start to read more about what she has produced. From what I already know, her work seems to be intensely personal and her sketches are appealingly messy and haphazard looking. I’ve started taking some polaroids which are mostly blurry, messy and definitely haphazard (because I’m not very good), so maybe I’ll carry on trying with that technique!

 I also found out that Tracey also has strong links with Liverpool, having co-judged John Moores 24 and created the ‘bird on a pole’ bronze sculpture, which was placed outside the Anglican Cathedral in 2005. She was even immortalised in Lego form in ‘Art Craziest Nation’ by The Little Artists (John Cake and Darren Neave) in an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery! Her latest venture in Liverpool will be a neon installation, which is due to go on display in September 2008 at the Anglican Cathedral. She is now sober and has a growing interest in religion, so I can’t wait to see what that will be like…

Wow what a mammoth painting! Like Angela (below) I came along to jostle with the local paparazzi (well, Jayne Barrett from North West Tonight, pictured above) and national press, to catch the first glimpse of Ben Johnson’s Liverpool Cityscape. Taking a closer look, I could see that a few essential bits are still missing…where are the Liver Birds? And the burning question – why have the hands on the clock of the Liver Buildings not been added in yet? Is Ben waiting until the last minute to add them, showing the exact time he finishes? That’s my theory anyway. Ben is also asking for your opinion on your favourite building in The Liverpool Cityscape. You can vote for your favourite by filling in a voting card in room 15 of the Walker and dropping it in the box that’s there. If you submit your entry before 11 February, you will be entered into a draw to win a signed print of your favourite building by Ben Johnson. A pretty unique prize!

Now it’s coming to the end of the year. Your reindeer antlers are drooping after the office Christmas party, the sequins on your party dress are fading and you’re wondering what happened to that pile of sprouts you hid behind the piano to avoid eating them (and avoid upsetting your host). So while you consider if you can stomach another mince pie, why not have a think about your favourite National Museums Liverpool exhibition from 2007 and vote in our online poll!

Did ‘Doves and Dreams’ inspire you way back in Spring of this year? Or did you enjoy getting an intimate glimpse of The Beatles with Michael Peto’s revealing photography exhibition? Have your say and come back to find out the results in January. Once you’ve voted, you can also check out our program of events for 2008 here…

Note: Now These Days Are Gone, Victorian Visions, Magical History Tour and Merchant Palaces are continuing into 2008.

I was in Paris last weekend and went to a cool exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, an amazing glass fronted building near Montparnasse cemetery (I had just been to visit the graves of Samuel Beckett, Serge Gainsbourg and Charles Baudelaire). The exhibition was 'Rock'n'Roll 39-59', which looked at the birth and evolution of rock'n'roll in the USA from its blues, jazz and gospel roots, right up to the late '50's.

I really liked the huge screen with comfy bean-bags you could lie on while watching footage of stars like Chuck Berry and of course Elvis, in a film that told the whole story of rock'n'roll. It made you realise just how crazy singers like Jerry Lee Lewis were and how shocking he probably was in his time. Of course Little Richard seems pretty odd now, so imagine his impact on audiences in the 1950's! Though where were the female performers? I like Wanda Jackson and she wasn't in the film, though she was in the music pods that we listened to later on. We also saw some priceless objects, such as the actual guitar that Elvis used during his first recordings at Sun Records! 

It actually got me thinking about the forthcoming exhibition at World Museum Liverpool, 'The Beat Goes On', which will show from 2 July 2008 – 1 Nov 2009. It will look at the history of Merseyside's music scene and celebrate the creativity of the city. Keep an eye out for more details on what you can expect to see in this exhibition...

No it's not another tragic episode of Celebrity Big Brother - I found these well-known 'personalities' side by side during my latest visit to the Magical History Tour exhibition at Merseyside Maritime Museum.

The lively 'L Factor' audio-visual display celebrates many of the sportspersons, actors, musicians and other famous faces who originate from the city of Liverpool, through film clips and a wall of fame. Pete Burns was almost unrecognisable from the footage of his eighties hey day while Cherie Blair (her Father, the actor Tony Booth was from Liverpool) stared calmly out from her photo on the surrounding wall. The wall also includes the likes of Kathy Tyson, Kim CattralI, Levi Tafari and even Cheggers!

I will admit to having a bit of a dance to the footage of Echo and the Bunnymen (much to the embarrassment of my companion). I was surprised to see the likes of Jason Isaacs – aka Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter - on the wall of fame. I had no idea he was a scouser!

Perhaps Courtney Love should be given an honorary place on the wall, as she lived in Liverpool for a while in the eighties. She stayed with Julian Cope from Liverpool band, The Teardrop Explodes, at his flat on Devonshire Road and she was apparently very inspired by the city.

Have a look and see if you agree with the choice of famous faces in the exhibition - who else do you think deserves a place there?

I was pleased to be able to go along to the Slavery Remembrance Day events yesterday at Otterspool Prom. Thank goodness for the great weather! It was a busy afternoon with delicious Caribbean food followed by the libation ceremony and a mixture of live performances. The libation ceremony was a unique experience - it is a solemn African traditional ceremony, which remembers, acknowledges and honours African ancestors, elders and leaders. Chief Angus Chukuemeka commended the work of National Museums Liverpool and its staff, in producing a museum which he said touched deep seated emotions.

After the ceremony I met Helen Renner (pictured) a resident of Birkenhead, originally from Ghana. I wanted to talk to her because she was wearing amazing traditional dress! She explained that it was made from the commemorative cloth of her school, whose patterns symbolised different aspects of the school and Ghanaian culture. You can see it has a pattern of fish scales and cocoa pods, to represent the importance of the fishing and cocoa industries and is decorated with images of people from the Achimota School that it commemorates. Helen had been around the slavery museum and was planning to go back to have more time to take it all in.

My favourite part of the live performances that followed were the two dancers who performed fantastically energetic routines to traditional African music by the River Niger Orchestra. It was quite moving when they performed a dance to show how the slaves were forced to dance on the ships and how they were whipped as they did so. Everyone enjoyed the poetry performance by Levi Tafari who was met with cheers and got people on their feet. A day of great variety that I enjoyed being part of.

There is a buzz of excitement here at National Museums Liverpool as the momentum builds towards the opening of the International Slavery Museum. You may have heard already, that the Freedom Schooner Amistad, that set sail from Haven, Connecticut, USA on 21st June,  arrived on UK shores yesterday and will be docking in Liverpool on Sunday 19th August, in time for the opening of the International Slavery Museum. Amistad is a replica of the original ship that was commandeered by African captives in 1839, which is why the arrival in Liverpool has been planned to coincide with UNESCO Slavery Remembrance Day and the opening of the new museum. 

The crew is made up of students from countries around the Atlantic Basin including Michael Simon, from Toxteth, Liverpool. The ship will have a new crew member for the arrival into Liverpool however, as it will be steered into Albert Dock by former Deputy Prime Minister and seaman John Prescott.

I was lucky enough to be able to see the mandala destruction ceremony at the World Museum Liverpool on Saturday morning and I thought I would share my experience with you in this blog! There were so many people there that I had to stand on tip-toes to be able to see, but it was great to see that so many people from Liverpool (and visitors from outside of the UK) wanted to be part of this unique and moving event.  After several minutes of hypnotic chanting the monks approached the mandala, ready to being its destruction. 

You could sense the anticipation in the room as all eyes where fixed on the brightly coloured coloured artwork and the monks in their striking robes and head-dress. After scoring the sand into four sections, the monks then took some of the sand into a container and began to sweep the sand into the centre of the board, creating rainbow patterns. The ceremony came to an end as the monks began a parade out into the street, with the surrounding crowd following, all the way to the Steble Fountain outside the Walker Art Gallery.

There were many stunned faces in the street as this unusual procession passed by! Some of the monks had already reached the fountain as our procession approached and they called out to us using large, thundering wind instruments. The monks circled the fountain before stopping to empty some grains of sand from the mandala, into the water...

You can read about the creation of the mandala in an earlier post, and see more photographs on Flickr. Watch our video of the monks creating the mandala using small tubes, funnels, and scrapers  and then view the chanting and desctruction ceremony from Saturday morning.

 

Hello, I'd like to introduce myself! I'm Lisa Jones and I'm filling in for Dawn Carroll as E-PR Officer for National Museums Liverpool, while she is away on leave. This is my first blog post and I am bringing you an update about the entomology fieldwork at Smardale Gill, from Curator of Entomology, Guy Knight. There are lots of great photos of the team at work on Flickr and you can read on to find out more about his team's latest findings...

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Because of the awful weather during the past month, the visit to Smardale Gill NNR we had scheduled for June threatened to be a fairly miserable affair. Luckily the rain did hold off for most of the time and we even got a few sunny spells! This time we were accompanied by Tom Mawdsley, retired Curator of Diptera (flies) at National Museums Liverpool and Dr Jennifer Newton the county spider recorder for Cumbria. Much of the day was spent servicing and repairing traps which had been damaged by the weather and livestock but it was also a good opportunity to see some of the rare plants and butterflies already known from the reserve. Meanwhile, some specimens from the samples are being prepared for our collections, allowing us to make accurate identifications and providing a lasting record of the presence of these insects at the site for future researchers.