National Museums Liverpool Blog - Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Here's one for all you philatelists (that's stamp collectors to you and me) out there.

Bhutan, a beautiful Himalayan kingdom, is this year celebrating 100 years of monarchy. To celebrate Bhutan has just launched the first CD-Rom postage stamp.

You might be wondering how NML fits in to all this? Well, it just so happens that we have a really important collection of objects and photographs from Bhutan acquired by early 20th century Brtitish explorers and Political Officers based in the area. In this collection we have a rare photograph of the 2nd King of Bhutan, Jigme Wangchuk and his wife that you can see here.

The Bhutanese Government asked if they could use the image in their new stamp collection and we were more than happy to see an item from the NML collections virtually returning to Bhutan.

Time to introduce the next few The Beat Goes On Top Ten tracks. Surely at least one of these Merseyside gems is worthy of your vote?

Strawhouses. Who lives in a house like this?  Peering through the keyhole you might possibly find Thom Yorke from Radiohead, very early U2 (like ‘Boy’ and ‘October’ era) or the reincarnation of Jeff Buckley. This is soaring, majestic, indie pop, like they used to make when I was a lass. But if you are too young to remember the good old days then Coldplay might be a safer comparison. You can catch them as part of Streetwaves festival.

Jessica’s Ghost brings a brooding, melodic ballad to the proceedings. Soulful vocals are underpinned by a sweeping cello and piano chords, but there is a folky edge to their overall sound. If these tuneful Corr-alikes are your thing, their TBGO track 'New Shoes' will be the B-Side to their single, ‘Breakdown’, to be released on iTunes on 5th July.

What can we say about The Trestles? This jangly, feelgood, leap-around-with-your-mates type of shenanigan is just the sort of thing you expect from a bunch of lovely Liverpool lads with guitars. God bless ‘em, everyone. I hear they will be playing Oxjam tomorrow (12 June) at 3345 Parr Street.

Have a listen – be amazed – don’t forget to VOTE!

Michelle O'Callaghan, our Youth Arts Officer, writes about a recent Youth Theatre event.

---

"May half-term saw National Museums Liverpool’s Youth Theatre take part in an outstanding two days of devising, creating and performing as part of Merseyside Youth Theatre Development Forum’s ‘Big Event’. Bringing together over a hundred young people from Youth Theatres all over Merseyside, the young participants aged 13 to 21 worked for two days with professional artists in disciplines such as Musical Theatre, Stage Combat, Stand-Up Comedy and Physical Theatre.

Day one culminated in ‘The Big Sketch’, a chance to showcase their work. Our Youth Theatre took to the stage for their debut of a section of a performance we have been working on to tie in with the forthcoming Beat Goes On exhibition. This stylised, physical theatre piece tells our interpretation of The Coral’s song ‘Liezah’, set in Liverpool Lime Street Station.

Day two was brought to a spectacular climax by ‘The Big Show’, a chance for the young people to share and show off the work they had been creating over the two days. The standard of performance and the creativity behind the work which was created in just two days was outstanding and the range of talent on show was remarkable!

DJ’s from JuiceFM rounded off a magnificent two days with a ‘Big Party’ celebration for all involved and I think it’s fair to say a fabulous time was had by all!"

There's just a few days left to submit your application for one of the 10 Creative Apprenticeships on offer. A number of Merseyside-based cultural organisations, including National Museums Liverpool, are involved in a project to foster emerging talent and give young hopefuls a solid grounding in the arts and culture industry.

By the end of the year-long apprenticeship you'll have earned a Level 2 Certificate in Creative and Cultural Practice, and a Level 2 National Award in Community Arts Management, but perhaps more importantly you'll have developed the skills and contacts you'll need for a career in the industry.

More details are available on the Creative Partnerships Liverpool website.

Hello there

As usual I have had a very interesting and varied past couple of weeks. I attended the 'Closing of the Slave Trades: Transatlantic Perspectives' conference at Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland , co-sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. It was attended by museum professionals, public historians, and scholars from a variety of disciplines and institutions.  My talk focused on Phase 2 of the International Slavery Museum and the opening of the Research and Resource centre.

Even though Belfast City Centre is like many other lively European capital cities, with its grand historic buildings and trendy high street shops it is still a deeply divided city in many respects. This was highlighted when we went on a taxi tour of some of the political murals near the Falls Road, which is a largely nationalist and Catholic area. One of the murals depicted the great African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass. I, like many people from the UK, was brought up on news of the ‘Troubles’ and was happy to see the Northern Ireland peace process progress. But the remembrance gardens, the tone of the murals and most shocking for me, the imposing corrugated iron wall, often called the Peace Line, that divides large swathes of Protestant and Catholic Belfast shows there is still a long way to go before the city is free from sectarianism and intolerance.

There is also a big link, in fact a Titanic one (I could not resist!), between Belfast and Liverpool.  The Titanic was built at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast and even though she never berthed at Liverpool she was owned by White Star Line of Liverpool. Visit the Titanic, Lusitania and the Forgotten Empress gallery at the Merseyside Maritime Museum for more information.

Another important aspect of my job is that of supporting local organizations in various campaigns against forms of injustice, inequality and indeed intolerance.  Along with a colleague I attended the Anthony Walker Foundation Festival 2008 event at Hope University. The International Slavery Museum had a stand there with information about the museum.  It was a lively and indeed poignant event. I watched a number of rappers perform very loud (do I sound old?) but meaningful performances. The aim of the event was to bring young people together from all backgrounds and to focus on positive messages. I only have the utmost respect for the Walker family, who out of the tragic loss of a son and brother has managed to start a movement which promotes togetherness rather than division.  Truly admirable.

Watch this space.

Here's some news from antiquities curator Carolyn Routledge, who has temporarily left her desk at World Museum Liverpool to work at an excavation in Egypt.

---

"My time so far in Egypt has been fantastic! We flew into Cairo on 26 May very early in the morning and then set out by car on 28 May for the excavation. It was a 10 hour trip through the desert. It felt like a very long journey as taking the desert road meant the scenery didn't change much. Luckily we had air conditioning in the car. We don't have such luxuries where we are living at Abydos. We are staying in the American dig house set back in the desert along the ancient road that led to the tombs of the First Dynasty kings. The weather is very hot, reaching the low 40s Celsius.  Thank goodness we have fans!

We finally arrived at the dig house very late at night and very tired. The next day it was right to work setting up our desks and getting the objects organised to draw. I am working on the South Abydos project directed by Josef Wegner of the University of Pennsylvania. He is excavating the earliest known hidden subterranean royal tomb, which belonged to the pharaoh Senwosret III of the Middle Kingdom (approx 1850 BC).  Jen Wegner and I are drawing the objects that come from the tomb and the surrounding area.

It is early days yet, so not much has come from the tomb itself. This week we are drawing the mud sealings that were found near the entrance.  These are very small and can be very hard to read. The ancient Egyptians liked to 'lock' their things by tying them up and putting mud on cords marked with a seal, often a scarab seal. This is a lot like sealing a letter with sealing wax. On Thursday we went out to the tomb. I overcame slight feelings of claustrophobia to go down in the tomb and was able to go all the way to the burial chamber.  It was exhilarating to be sitting beside the sarcophagus of the king. 

The other reason it is great being here is that a number of the objects we are preparing for the new Egypt gallery opening in September come from Abydos. I can look out my window and see the area where John Garstang had his house and played golf among the dunes that hide the many ancient Egyptian tombs where he found some of our objects."

Claire Olson summarises National Volunteers Week, and thanks all the willing souls who help out here.

---

Last week the Volunteers Team were out and about at different venues and events in the North West promoting volunteering opportunities at NML.

During the week we met with lots of people who are keen ‘volunteers in the making’ and eager to find out more. We also received lots of positive feedback about our museums, with many families telling us how much they enjoyed visiting! We also welcomed the launch of Mersey v’s; our new Young Persons' Steering Group, who will be championing volunteering across NML.

National Volunteers Week may only come once a year, but we would like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers for all their support and hard work throughout the whole year – their positive involvement is much appreciated – as acknowledged by our director, Dr David Fleming:

“I have nothing but praise for volunteers, who devote their own time to helping make museums more popular and accessible. Volunteer effort is often overlooked, but without volunteers most museums would provide an immeasurably poorer public service.”

If you wish to find out more about becoming a volunteer at NML please contact the Volunteer Team on 0151 478 4775 or volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk and keep an eye on the blog for more volunteer updates coming soon!

Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, dropped into World Museum Liverpool recently to announce funding for Find Your Talent, a new Government initiative encouraging children to experience five hours of culture each week.

While he was here Andy caught a rehearsal by members of our youth theatre who are preparing a performance for our next big exhibition The Beat Goes On. The group have created a physical theatre piece that follows the story of Liezah, a character from a song by Wirral band The Coral.

Admitting he was a Coral fan himself, Andy seemed very impressed by the performance and spent a while talking to the young people to find out what they thought of taking part in more cultural activities.

Liverpool city region, led by National Museums Liverpool and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, is one of ten areas around the country to pilot the Government scheme. The programme has been developed in partnership with The Bluecoat, FACT, Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Tate Liverpool and the Unity Theatre. Principal partners include Liverpool Culture Company, Creative Partnerships Merseyside, Liverpool City Council, Knowsley MBC and St Helens MBC.

The Beat Goes On runs at World Museum Liverpool from 12 July 2008 and the youth theatre will be performing Liezah and other short pieces throughout the run of the exhibition.

The answer to last week's Name That Object competition was Salem by Sidney Curnow Vosper which hangs in the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Coincidentally, this year sees the centenary of the painting, and this weekend S4C is showing a programme on the painting. It will be broadcast at 8.30pm on Sunday 15 June (in Welsh with English subtitles).

If you don't know the painting it's really quite a strange piece but one which, I'm told, has hung in many a Welsh home after Lord Leverhulme bought the original and then gave away prints with his soap. It's said to show the Devil's face in the folds of the shawl of the central character, Siân Owen. There's more on the programme on the icWales website.

Few things can rival the bliss of enjoying a pint of tea first thing in the morning – real tea, not tea bags, so you get the full taste of the brew.

The recent disastrous fire which badly damaged the legendary Cutty Sark has highlighted the role played by tea clippers in maritime history.

Designed to carry China tea quickly and efficiently, the glamorous era of these fast, slender sailing ships only lasted between 1850 and 1870 but the clippers left an indelible mark on the history of seafaring.

Pioneered by the Americans, the first true clipper was the Rainbow launched in 1845. She completed the journey from New York to Canton in 102 days – clipping more than two weeks off the previous record for that trip.

This may have been how the ships got their name although the word clipper was originally applied to a fast horse, so this may have been the origin.

American and British ships competed to be fastest in the tea trade and this is how international races started from 1852 when British Challenger beat the US clipper Challenge.

New ports opening in China to feed the tea trade fuelled the races. A winning ship’s cargo of tea could earn a premium of sixpence (two and a half pence) per pound weight.

The most famous clipper race was in 1866 when 10 clippers set out for London from Foochow. They were so equally matched that they were often in sight of each other as they sped across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and north across the Atlantic.

The race was declared a dead heat between Taeping and Ariel – one of the most famous clippers - which both came into the Thames estuary neck-and-neck.

At Merseyside Maritime Museum there is a superb model of a typical tea clipper from about 1865, showing the cross section of the hull. The 1:48 scale model depicts a 186 ft-long three-masted wooden ship, with metal fastenings, similar in size and construction to the Ariel built in Greenock.

By the 1860s iron was increasingly being used to strengthen wooden ships so that they could be built to greater lengths.

There is a painting of the Maiden Queen by an unknown Chinese artist. Owned by T & J Brocklebank and employed in the tea trade, she is shown off the coast of China.

A number of Chinese artists worked in Far Eastern ports producing ship portraits for European captains.

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo.

Working on The Beat Goes On MySpace page has been an absolute joy for me, being someone who lives and breaths music – music of any kind, so long as it’s good. What a talented lot you are! Take a bow, Liverpool.

The good news is that inaugural Top Ten for The Beat Goes On is now online so you can share some of the fantastic music Liverpool has to offer, and vote for your favourite.  Yippee!

The winner each month will be added to the digital jukebox in the exhibition at World Museum Liverpool. Over the next week or so I'll give each artist or band a shout-out. Of course, these are purely my ramblings and TBGO will remain completely impartial.

First up is the refreshingly-talented Little Name whose gentle and breezy lounge-pop has a heart-warming summer melancholy about it. Think sunshiny Morrissey (possibly on a sun-lounger with a cocktail), sprinkled with a smidgen of Magic Numbers and Super Furry Animals. (Thanks for the blog, Leebo).

Still in the lounge vein, we welcome Walter Cheapskate, whose retro psychedelia is off-set by super-smiley Scouse rhymes – he’ll have you grooving all day long. I love this rather cheeky vid on XFM.

Finally, there’s the chirpy Joel Morton. His MySpace profile classifies his music as zouk – grime – shoegaze. Personally I’m getting The La’s or Lenny Kravitz’s Mr Cab Driver with a rockabilly lilt. With influences ranging from Elvis Costello to Napalm Death, it is probably best to make your own mind up – whatever it is, he makes it sound effortless.

Anyway – happy listening you lucky people – and don’t forget to vote!

(NB. Please remember these are just my humble opinons, not those of TBGO or National Museums Liverpool, and that we are not responsible for content on other people’s web pages / MySpace pages and / or their songs).

In this week's final post Amina tells us why she enjoys her volunteer role in assisting our Trading staff on the information desk at World Museum Liverpool. Amina is one of our vinvolved youth volunteers - she may even have welcomed you to the museum on your visit!

---

Day 5: Amina

Hi, my name is Amina. I am a volunteer at World Museum Liverpool. I have been taking part for over a month now. I love working here because I learn new skills and enjoy working together with the staff. They are friendly, helpful and kind. They always have a smile that lifts up my day.

I would recommend everyone to get involved, you will love it! I know I have and it has changed my life.

If you want to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers Team: volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775

Or for more news on youth volunteering opportunities (aged 16 – 25), please contact vinvolved@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4017.

For more information about ‘v, the youth volunteering charity’ and for local volunteering opportunities to match your interests and passions, visit www.vinspired.com

In today's volunteer's tale, Margaret describes the various volunteer opportunities she has enjoyed during her 3 years with NML.

---

Day 4: Margaret

I became a volunteer with NML nearly three years ago, when I started my degree course in History of Art and Museum Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, and I love it! To begin with I worked in the staff library, tidying and sorting books and journals, cataloguing and generally looking after the library. After a while I also started helping the Manager of the National Conservation Centre in the office – admin duties such as answering emails and phone queries, using a database to log work, ordering stationery, filing and so on. Every week there is something new and interesting to deal with, from assisting with the delivery of exotic items to be quarantined in the Conservation Centre freezers, to helping design a poster to advertise a series of Sunday dances in the Conservation Centre café.

I found that the volunteering experience was very relevant and beneficial to my degree course and it enhanced an internship module which was part of my second year.  I’m now also helping the art handling team with the John Moores 25 Exhibition which is really exciting. Apart from the pleasure of seeing the competition entries close up I am learning how to handle and transport paintings, which again will give me invaluable practical experience.

Volunteering at NML is a great way to find out more about how galleries and museums really work and what goes on behind the scenes. 

If you want to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers Team: volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775

Today, as part of National Volunteers week, Adam explains his volunteer role within the Weston Discovery Centre at World Museum Liverpool. Adam originally contacted the Volunteer Team to arrange a work placement for his university course, however he has enjoyed his time here so much he has stayed on as a volunteer.

Day 3: Adam
I started volunteering at National Museums Liverpool in January 2008. As a student at John Moores University, I completed a work placement in the Weston Discovery Centre in World Museum Liverpool. After finishing my placement I really wanted to continue to volunteer my time in the Discovery Centre. Since working in the museum I have discovered a love for Palaeoanthroplogy and in particular human evolution. I have been able to develop my own ideas and at the moment I am developing a Key Stage 4 school session in human evolution. In order to do this I have spent time researching the topic and working with museum curators. My background is in Art History and Museums Studies but since volunteering in the museum and finding a new passion I have now decided to work towards a Masters degree in Archaeology.

If you want to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers Team: volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775

Each day this week to celebrate National Volunteers Week we will be handing the blog over to our fabulous volunteers, as they tell us about their different volunteer roles at NML. Today, Gerard tells us about his volunteer role within our Office Services department.

---

Day 2: Gerard

My name is Gerard and I have been working at NML for four weeks on a volunteer work placement. I am working in the Typing and Office Services department and also in the post room. I have learned many new skills and tasks and have met a lot of new colleagues. Everyone has made me feel very welcome and I hope to set a good example for future volunteers.

If you want to find out more about volunteering at National Museums Liverpool, please contact the Volunteers Team: volunteerenquiries@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or 0151 478 4775

Hello there
As I said in my previous blog I recently attended the Commonwealth Association of Museums conference in Guyana where I was fortunate enough to meet a number of museum professionals from Africa and the Caribbean.   One of them, Terry Nyambe, Assistant Keeper of Ichthyology at the Livingstone Museum in Zambia sent me the attached picture.   Terry was constantly telling us all how beautiful Zambia was and looking at the following website I agree:  http://www.zambiatourism.com/travel/places/museum.htm.

The picture also proves two things.  One that I did actually visit the rainforest and two that I am a Leeds United fan!   Not something that everyone normally brags about but to me it is more than just shouting at a group of overpaid men running around a field.  No, it is about passion, belonging and indeed heritage.  You might think these are bold statements but let me expand.  

My family history is something I am both interested in and proud.   My Guyanese and Yorkshire parents, my friends, my hometown and the environment I grew up in have shaped to a great degree my view of the world. My brother and most of my friends were Leeds fans, so it was natural for me to follow in their footsteps; it made me feel part of a larger group with a shared passion.  But Leeds United’s ground, Elland Road, in the early 80s in particular was a haven of racist abuse and bigotry, often aimed at opposing Black and Asian players and fans: http://www.kickitout.org/.  

Sometimes I would feel very uncomfortable when hundreds of people all chanted something racist but at the same time I refused to leave or walk away.   I am a firm believer that there is no place that Black and minority ethnic individuals should not be.  There are no enclaves which we should not share.   I am proud to be a Yorkshireman, and even though we were rubbish in the recent League One play offs at Wembley, I am a loyal Leeds fan.   It is part of my very rich and diverse heritage.  

It has also been very satisfying that at the very core of Leeds United teams in the past few years have been a number of Black players.  For instance, the South African player Lucas Radebe is still idolized at Leeds even though he stopped playing several years ago.   Interestingly he used to play for a team called Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa, a name I am sure is well known by many music aficionados (the band really are Leeds United supporters!). What is an uncomfortable juxtaposition though is how some people chant his name but might also come out with a racist comment.   I have not yet quite managed to get to grips with this concept.

The International Slavery Museum looks to show how people of the African Diaspora, including footballers, have shaped the world and achieved in all sorts of fields and disciplines: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/black_achievers_wall.asp. 

For me, however illogical and infuriating it can be, watching a game of football and feeling like I have as much right to be there as anyone else, is part of that.   

Watch this space.