Coming soon...
Coming soon...
What's New for Friends of the Whitworth?
Coming soon...
Coming soon...
What's New for Friends of the Whitworth?
Since its inception-and we are 85 years old next year!- the Friends of the Whitworth has been an enthusiastic innovator when it comes to providing services for its members and supporting the Whitworth Art Gallery.
Even in its earliest days, the Friends was keen to find new ways of bringing its members and the Gallery together and of raising money to support the Gallery’s activities and its Collections. In 1936, for instance, the Friends of the Whitworth Society, as it was then called, arranged that the “Friends should have the privilege of visiting the Gallery on Sunday afternoons during the winter on presentation of their membership cards.” Three years later, at its AGM, “It was suggested…that interest in the Society might be stimulated by means of visits to private collections or to houses of architectural or historic note.” Of course, not all suggestions could be taken up. The minutes for 1939 also recorded that “The arrangement of musical evening was also considered but owing to the war it has not yet been possible to carry out these suggestions.”
We like to think that our current programme of events, which includes many visits as well as our wonderful Sunday concerts, fulfils the commitments of these earlier pioneers. We are pleased to say that, whilst continuing our traditional activities, we will be offering, however, new activities as the Friends moves on through the 21st Century.
So what’s new?
If you follow our programme of events, you will have noticed that we have now introduced a series of practical workshops in the Gallery’s Clore Studio. So far these have included Screen Printing with Sally Gifford from Islington Mill, Chinese Brush Painting with Kathleen Hsuan and Water Colours with Juliet Jones. In our future programmes, you will find a session on patchwork with Isabel Dibden Wright, former lecturer in textile art at Manchester Metropolitan University and, in the New Year, Christine Tomkinson will show us how to make and work with felt. These are all “taster sessions” and no experience is necessary. Come and have a go in a friendly environment and get inspired by the Whitworth’s own collection at the same time. In particular Isabel’s patchwork session (bring your pins, all other materials provided!) will include a visit to the Study Centre where some of the treasures of the Whitworth will be on display, specially chosen by Isabel to inspire us.
We are also keeping up with the times!
In the early days of the Friends, when the “minimum subscription” was 5 shillings (“larger sums are welcomed’!), half that amount, or half a crown, was recorded as a Junior Membership. We continue to welcome Friends of all ages, of course, and hope that our varied programme offers something for everyone-if there is something missing that you think we can provide, please let us know. This year, however, we will introduce a new category, our Student Friends. We have been working with the Art History Department at Manchester University to set up this pilot scheme, led by an intern from the department, to encourage students to get to know the Gallery and its Collections. Cultivating the next generation of Friends is high on our list of new priorities and we also hope to learn from a new generation of art lovers.
Not least, we want to have more adventures!
The Friends of the Whitworth Study Tours overseas have been a very popular feature of our programmes over the years and Friends have travelled far and wide, including Germany, Iran, South Africa, and, most recently, Kosovo and Montenegro. InJune 2019, a group of Friends will be heading off to the Cote D’Azur, with our guide, Nirvana Romell, to find out what it was about this beautiful region which inspired, and continues to inspire, so many artists and collectors. You can find more about this visit in our events section on this website. As we begin to communicate through email, however, we want to respond to new opportunities. After our autumn programme was compiled, we heard that, to mark the 450th anniversary of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the Kuntshistorisches Museum in Vienna is dedicating the world’s first major monograph exhibition to the artist. So, over the weekend of December 1st and 2nd, we will be flying out of Manchester for a weekend in the Austrian capital with a guided visit to the exhibition-and plenty of time to take in other Galleries in the city, as well as its Christmas Market. Please keep a lookout on our website and in your email inbox for more on this and other Friends of the Whitworth activities. You would be very welcome to join us!
Since its inception-and we are 85 years old next year!- the Friends of the Whitworth has been an enthusiastic innovator when it comes to providing services for its members and supporting the Whitworth Art Gallery.
Even in its earliest days, the Friends was keen to find new ways of bringing its members and the Gallery together and of raising money to support the Gallery’s activities and its Collections. In 1936, for instance, the Friends of the Whitworth Society, as it was then called, arranged that the “Friends should have the privilege of visiting the Gallery on Sunday afternoons during the winter on presentation of their membership cards.” Three years later, at its AGM, “It was suggested…that interest in the Society might be stimulated by means of visits to private collections or to houses of architectural or historic note.” Of course, not all suggestions could be taken up. The minutes for 1939 also recorded that “The arrangement of musical evening was also considered but owing to the war it has not yet been possible to carry out these suggestions.”
We like to think that our current programme of events, which includes many visits as well as our wonderful Sunday concerts, fulfils the commitments of these earlier pioneers. We are pleased to say that, whilst continuing our traditional activities, we will be offering, however, new activities as the Friends moves on through the 21st Century.
So what’s new?
If you follow our programme of events, you will have noticed that we have now introduced a series of practical workshops in the Gallery’s Clore Studio. So far these have included Screen Printing with Sally Gifford from Islington Mill, Chinese Brush Painting with Kathleen Hsuan and Water Colours with Juliet Jones. In our future programmes, you will find a session on patchwork with Isabel Dibden Wright, former lecturer in textile art at Manchester Metropolitan University and, in the New Year, Christine Tomkinson will show us how to make and work with felt. These are all “taster sessions” and no experience is necessary. Come and have a go in a friendly environment and get inspired by the Whitworth’s own collection at the same time. In particular Isabel’s patchwork session (bring your pins, all other materials provided!) will include a visit to the Study Centre where some of the treasures of the Whitworth will be on display, specially chosen by Isabel to inspire us.
We are also keeping up with the times!
In the early days of the Friends, when the “minimum subscription” was 5 shillings (“larger sums are welcomed’!), half that amount, or half a crown, was recorded as a Junior Membership. We continue to welcome Friends of all ages, of course, and hope that our varied programme offers something for everyone-if there is something missing that you think we can provide, please let us know. This year, however, we will introduce a new category, our Student Friends. We have been working with the Art History Department at Manchester University to set up this pilot scheme, led by an intern from the department, to encourage students to get to know the Gallery and its Collections. Cultivating the next generation of Friends is high on our list of new priorities and we also hope to learn from a new generation of art lovers.
Not least, we want to have more adventures!
The Friends of the Whitworth Study Tours overseas have been a very popular feature of our programmes over the years and Friends have travelled far and wide, including Germany, Iran, South Africa, and, most recently, Kosovo and Montenegro. InJune 2019, a group of Friends will be heading off to the Cote D’Azur, with our guide, Nirvana Romell, to find out what it was about this beautiful region which inspired, and continues to inspire, so many artists and collectors. You can find more about this visit in our events section on this website. As we begin to communicate through email, however, we want to respond to new opportunities. After our autumn programme was compiled, we heard that, to mark the 450th anniversary of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the Kuntshistorisches Museum in Vienna is dedicating the world’s first major monograph exhibition to the artist. So, over the weekend of December 1st and 2nd, we will be flying out of Manchester for a weekend in the Austrian capital with a guided visit to the exhibition-and plenty of time to take in other Galleries in the city, as well as its Christmas Market. Please keep a lookout on our website and in your email inbox for more on this and other Friends of the Whitworth activities. You would be very welcome to join us!
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