Cotswolds & Forest of Dean - Britain's Rural Capital of Culture » stroud

Stroud Pharma’s Market

Culture Vulture — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:49:13 +0000

Pharma’s Market is a flower and produce show by Cleo Mussi at The Museum in the Park Gallery, Stroud. The culmination of a two-year research project exploring the contrasting imagery of historical and contemporary farming, the exhibition connects traditional ideas about food, agriculture and animal husbandry with modern developments in stem cell research and genetic modification.

‘Pharma’s Market’ is a mosaic installation exploring the contrasting imagery of historical and contemporary farming. Although the setting of the exhibition is a traditional agricultural fair, visitors will experience an exhibition with a distinctly contemporary twist. Cleo Mussi has an engaging story to tell, and her characters, from life-sized ‘robo-rabbits’ to ‘space scientists’ and ‘bucolic farmers’, all jostle for their part in the plot. Her mosaics are made from recycled china, and her stories are derived from the real world of science and medicine, albeit reconstructed through the process of her own particular visual imagination and surreal sense of humour.

Illustrated Talk by Cleo Mussi - Saturday 10th July at 2.30pm – tickets £4

‘Meet the Artist’ (Cleo Mussi) drop in event for families on Sunday 11th July, 2pm – 4pm

To book call: 01453 763394 www.museuminthepark.org.uk

As I Walked Out…

Culture Vulture — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:12:27 +0000

‘As I Walked Out’ is an eight week journey with four donkeys, chickens, carts, children, young people and nationally commissioned artists and writers travelling on foot across the six districts of Gloucestershire.

Along the way there will be six public weekend events, one in each district. At each site there will be art workshops, guided walks, donkey grooming, and opportunities to camp.

We’d love you to join us for one or more of these activities or go the whole hog and volunteer to walk a leg of the journey with us.

Weekend Dates:

Stroud

Westley Farm, Chalford GL6 8HP. 26th – 27th June 2010

Cotswolds

Cotswold Forest School, Spine Road East, Cotswold Water Park. 3rd – 4th July 2010

Cheltenham

Cheltenham Race Course GL50 4SH. 17th – 18th July 2010

(Priority Booking for disabled young people and their families)

Tewkesbury

Nature in Art, Twigworth GL2 9PA. 23rd – 24th July 2010

Gloucester

Over Farm, Gloucester GL2 8DB. 30th – 31st July 2010

Forest of Dean

Millers Farm, Blakeney GL15 4AP. 14th – 15th August 2010

‘As I Walked Out’ is part of Gloucestershire’s cultural Olympiad programme of events, sponsored by Gloucestershire County and District Councils. For more details see www.asiwalkedout.com.

Be enchanted…

Culture Vulture — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:35:48 +0000

Enter an enchanted world of dance with veils and candle dances with The Haziz Egyptian Belly Dancers at Gloucester Guildhall & The Cotswold Playhouse. Egyptian belly-dancing features, but also displays of classical and traditional styles from the Middle-East, including folk dances from Tunisia and Upper Egypt, Persian dance, a cheeky Melaya dance from Alexandria, Khaleegy from the Arabian Gulf, an amazing group veil dance, a mesmerising group candle dance, Isis wings, Burlesque, Whirling meditative, Algerian Scarf dance, Transylvanian Gipsy dance, Cuban style, plus many other fabulous group and solo dances. From classical to cabaret, the show is breathtakingly choreographed.

The show will be performed at Gloucester Guildhall on Saturday 24th April and then for 2 nights at The Cotswold Playhouse, Stroud on Friday 25th & 26th June 2010.

Make Do & Mend

Culture Vulture — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:03:32 +0000

‘Make Do & Mend’

An interactive textile installation presented by Studio Seven textile artists

Showing until 28 February 2010 at The Museum in the Park, Stroud

Presented by the Studio Seven textile artists, ‘Make Do and Mend’ first appeared at Stroud Valleys Artspace in 2008. It has now been carefully brought out of storage, dusted off and re-invented to delight visitors once again.

The installation focuses on the themes of weavers and weaving, woollen mills, the use of Stroud Scarlet cloth for military uniforms, women working during wartime, and the ethos of ‘make do and mend’. These threads are brought together by the seven artists into an atmospheric world of images and ideas which the audience is invited to explore.

Enter an Alice in Wonderland-like rabbit hole world of ‘eat me, drink me’ instructions; of objects out of scale and out of place; of looms and pulleys, fragments and whispers; of animated dummies and mechanical garments; or warp and weft weaving and unravelling across a textile landscape.

Admission £3 on the door (£2 concessions and free re-admission with badge). Open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4pm.

The Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stroud GL5 4AF

Tel: 01453 763394

www.museuminthepark.org.uk

The seven artists are: Liz Lippiatt, Kathryn Clarke, Jenny Bicât, Anne Rogers, Sarah Cant, Sarah Cooke, Corinne Hockley.

www.studio-seven.net

In the Making

Culture Vulture — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:13:32 +0000

Stroud International Textiles in partnership with the Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stroud GL5 4AF

Linking the past to the present and the future

Stroud International Textiles will be unveiled an exciting new project on January 5^th 2010 at the Museum in the Park.

‘In the Making’ will showcase contemporary designer craft from leading nationally acclaimed craft makers in a Museum setting.

One discipline will be exhibited at a time and reflect the innovation and high quality of British craftsmanship and will cover the broad range of disciplines that make up contemporary crafts today.

The work selected by Stroud International Textiles will be from established makers as well as new emerging makers.

We hope to offer opportunities to visitors of all ages who may not see leading contemporary work and to encourage debate and fresh observation for crafts and design.

Alongside this there will be talks and opportunities for people of all ages to engage with the work and be drawn to a greater understanding of contemporary crafts today.

Stroud International Textiles in partnership with the Museum in the Park’s Learning Officer will be organising school visits and encouraging young people to engage with contemporary craft and to take that learning and understanding back into the classroom.

There will be teaching notes and information on each discipline available for young people and visitors.

5 January – 21 February Cast Glass from Sally Fawkes, Richard Jackson & Monette Larsen

23 February -17 April Willow from Mary Butcher and Dail Behennah

1 May – 30 May Textiles with Needle felt artist Annie Hutchinson (part of the annual festival)

You will discover ‘In the Making’ in the foyer of the Museum.

Entrance Free

Opening Times:

January – March Tuesday – Friday 10 am- 4 pm Saturdays & Sundays 11 – 4 pm

April – June Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm Saturday & Sunday 11 – 5 pm

Contact: Stroud International 01453 808076 & Museum in the Park 01453 763394

www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk

www.museuminthepark.org.uk

Tony Meeuwissen retrospective…

Culture Vulture — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:55:39 +0000

Inventive and intensely-detailed book covers, prints and postage stamps, not to mention a sleeve for the Rolling Stones, make up just a small part of illustrator Tony Meeuwissen’s creative work since the 1960s. Next month, an exhibition in Stroud Subscription Rooms displays a selection of highlights from his career, click here for more..

Gallery Pangolin

Culture Vulture — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:51:08 +0000

Gallery Pangolin opened in 1990, tucked away in the village of Chalford, near Stroud, on the slopes of the Cotswold escarpment. The gallery specialises in modern and contemporary bronze sculpture and sculptors’ drawings.

A changing selection of sculpture is always on show, including themed, group and solo exhibitions. The gallery revives the traditional association between foundry and gallery, selecting the best of contemporary sculpture cast in the workshops of leading art foundry Pangolin Editions.

The gallery works with a wide range of sculptors and is ideally placed to co-ordinate a broad spectrum of commissions in all sizes from monumental to intimate, for public bodies, private and corporate clients. More details can be found at www.gallery-pangolin.com.

OperaXposed

Culture Vulture — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:42:12 +0000

The Subscription Rooms are delighted to welcome two of the most respected opera performers in the country to Stroud on Friday 23 October at 8.00pm.

Between them, Welsh baritone Mark Evans and soprano Elizabeth Donovan have sung at all the major Opera Houses and concert venues in the UK (including 75,000 people at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff), Europe, The Far East and the United States. Having sung with the likes of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Placido Domingo, with the English National Opera, the Welsh National Opera and at the Royal Opera House, the two are firmly established on the international stage.

In this new show ‘OperaXposed’ Welsh baritone Mark Evans and soprano Elizabeth Donovan brings the highest calibre performers in the operatic world into the local community to give you an evening of your favourite operatic and musical moments from Bizet to Andrew Lloyd Webber. Told and performed in a passionate, charming and humorous way that cannot fail to convert anyone to the magical world of opera.

Tickets: £14.00 (£12.00 concessions) on door from the Box Office on 01453 760900 or online from www.stroud.gov.uk/subrooms.

Textiles-led Dance Performances by Studio Seven

Culture Vulture — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:57:57 +0000

The Studio-Seven textile design group, known for its combined arts events, will be presenting a performance of CUT 2 ON FOLD at Woodchester Mansion on the 5th September at 7pm. In collaboration with Louise Flexen, Steve Skinley and Rick Morton, this innovative cross arts project was launched at this year’s Stroud International Textile Festival in May. This is the last opportunity for the public to view this visual art /dance piece.
Studio Seven will continue to show their versatility when CUT 2 ON FOLD animates the amazing unfinished Victorian Gothic interior of Woodchester Mansion. Tickets are £15 from Stroud Tourist Information Office – 01453 760960. Go to www.studio-seven.net for more information.

Food & Drink Festival puts on weight…

Culture Vulture — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:45:13 +0000

…almost doubling in size in one year!

The launch of Stroud’s very own VegeBurger, the first Stroud Sausage Festival, a beer trail with a difference, and the much-requested return of one restaurant’s Pudding Evening.

These are just some of the highlights unveiled by organisers of Stroud’s second Food and Drink Festival. With 40 events and promotions spread across two weeks in September, the Festival aims to promote the diverse array of food and drink, grown, served and sold in the town.

Visitors will be spoilt for choice, as the Stroud Walking Festival, the annual Stroud Fringe Festival and the Open Eco Homes event will also be held at the same time. Dubbed Stroud Festival Fortnight, more than a hundred events will be spread across 17 days between 4^th and 20^th September.

The Food and Drink Festival was only intended as a one-off event last year. However traders overwhelmingly voted it a success, with two restaurants enjoying their busiest-ever evenings. Thanks to funding from Stroud Town and Stroud District Councils, organisers were persuaded to do it all again.

Most of the events have limited places and so early booking is advised. A 36-page Festival brochure is available from tourist offices and all participants and full details are available online at www.stroudfestivalfortnight.com