Category Archives: Learning

Last weekend, staff from The Courtauld were thrilled to join colleagues at Ulster Museum to run a variety of activities themed around our current exhibition Bloomsbury: A Collective.

Over two jam-packed days, there were interactive sessions for volunteers, guided tours of the exhibition for members of the public, and a drop-in family day.

Volunteers from across National Museums NI sites, spent a full day with Fran Herrick from The Courtauld’s education team, finding out more about Art History and the Bloomsbury exhibition, and having a go at getting creative themselves with some drawing and printing based on the collections of Ulster Museum and The Courtauld.

On Saturday, younger visitors made all kinds of fantastic stamps inspired by Omega workshop and Bloomsbury designs, and printed them into their own Omega books, much like the book of woodblock prints featured in the exhibition.

Upcoming events include an audio described informal visit for anyone experiencing sight loss, and a series of online discussions featuring experts and artists inspired by the Bloomsbury Group.

Bloomsbury: A Collective is open at Ulster Museum until 16th October 2022. You can find out more on the Ulster Museum website.

Omega Now! Competition Winners’ Products Now On Sale

21st July 2022

Katherine

Blog articles Exhibition Learning Schools Textiles No Comments

Earlier this year, in collaboration with Ulster Museum, we ran a joint competition for students aged 14-18 to create a surface design inspired by the designs of the Omega Workshops and received over 40 entries from schools across Northern Ireland and England. The winning designs are now on sale to celebrate the Bloomsbury: A Collective exhibition, open in Belfast until October, which features designs by Omega Workshop artists.

It was an all-Northern Ireland shortlist, with the winning entry by Lily Stuart from Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, Knock. Runners-up were Molly O’Grady and Faye Gardiner from, Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, Knock and Lurgan College, respectively. Lily’s design features on a tote bag, while Molly’s and Faye’s designs feature on note pads – all of which are currently on sale at the Ulster Museum and The Courtauld gift shops.

Kathryn Thomson, Chief Executive at National Museums NI said: “I want to congratulate Lily, Molly, Faye and all the young people who entered this competition. The vast range of entries demonstrates the incredible talent and artistic flair of our young people, and I hope exhibitions such as Bloomsbury: A Collective, and museums in general, continue to inspire them, and like minded people, in sparking their creativity.

“I am delighted that we are able to continue this valued partnership with The Courtauld by delivering projects that allow our audiences to engage with us in diverse and immersive ways.”

Take a look at the products in The Courtauld’s online shop.

Omega Now! New competition for young people

28th February 2022

Katherine

Learning Schools No Comments

We are thrilled to announce that our new competition for young people aged 14-18 is now open! In partnership with Ulster Museum we are running a competition inspired by the wonderful Omega Workshops designs in our collection, and we are asking for new ideas inspired by the Omega style and values, which will be manufactured onto card or textiles products and featured for sale in our gift shops..

The winners will have the chance to work with our retail teams to see their design made into a product and sold in Belfast and London, and the opportunity to see it in the store.

The Omega Workshops created a range of bold and colourful objects for the home, including rugs, ceramics, furniture and clothing, examples are on display in The Courtauld Gallery’s Bloomsbury Room.

A toolkit of inspiration and details of how to take part are available on the Omega Now! webpage.

Volunteering Experiences – Courtaulds Carrickfergus

16th February 2022

Katherine

Guest blog History Learning Research Textiles Uncategorised Volunteers No Comments

We are sharing the experiences of some of our volunteers in a series of blogs by the team behind the Memories from Carrickfergus exhibition and film. This week Joanne White tells us her story;

The opportunity to become involved as a volunteer for this project came out of the blue and at a strange time, in the middle of a global pandemic. I received an unexpected email from National Museums NI in November 2020 seeking volunteers for ‘an exciting project’ to carry out research into Courtaulds Ltd, a UK based manufacturer of fabric and clothing, who had a site in Carrickfergus. I was vaguely aware of the factory building having worked in the local area, but I knew very little of its history or that of Courtaulds, other than it had an art gallery in London.

My first task as a volunteer was researching the history of the Courtaulds factory at Carrickfergus. This included locating local news stories, film archive footage and the products made at the factory. For the newspaper stories, I was asked to concentrate on the 1970s-1980s. It became apparent that I was reading about the steady decline of a factory and industry during this period. The confidence that the Carrickfergus factory had when it first opened in 1950 was gradually overtaken by job losses, competition from overseas markets and ongoing trading difficulties.

Once our research was completed, we decided to focus on producing a film about the factory at Carrickfergus consisting of interviews with former workers and their relatives. This was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the project. I was fortunate to be able to meet with Bill, Dot, Robert and Brendan. Although the factory had been closed for forty years, I was struck by the affection they retained in working for Courtaulds. A repeated phrase during the interviews was ‘factory family’ and former employees highlighted the opportunities which they had been given such as to live locally, earn a decent salary, gain qualifications or apply for promotions.

To accompany the film, I participated with the other volunteers in writing a booklet entitled ‘We are Courtaulds’. The title was inspired by the people we had interviewed for the purposes of making the film. We decided early on that we wanted the design of the booklet to have a 1950s style to it which was inspired by the adverts for Courtaulds’ clothing from the period. These adverts were distinctive in their use of bold primary colours. I was also interested in their use of contrasting images set alongside each other such as the evening dress and car tyre (both produced from Courtaulds’ factory materials). On content, we all agreed that the booklet would concentrate on three main themes: place, people and product.

For me, listening to the stories of the people who made Courtaulds’ products, getting a glimpse into their lives at the factory and the friendships they made, was the most interesting part of the project. Whilst the remnants of the factory might not be around forever, I hope that the film, booklet and online exhibition all contribute towards telling the history of Courtaulds Ltd at Carrickfergus.

Call-out to former employees of Courtaulds Ltd in Northern Ireland

5th May 2021

Katherine

Blog articles History Learning Research Textiles Volunteers No Comments

National Museums NI has released a Northern Ireland-wide call-out to former employees of Courtaulds Ltd. factories once based in Carrickfergus, Markethill, Irvinestown, Limavady, Cookstown and Plumbridge, to get in touch. It plans to collect memories and memorabilia as well as first-hand accounts from past employees of the textiles manufacturer.

As part of the Courtauld National Partners Programme, National Museums NI is working with a network of volunteers to encourage the public to come forward and share their accounts. The plan is to collect and record the available information and create a celebration of Courtaulds Ltd. and the impact it had here in Northern Ireland.

Former employees can share their experiences and stories by emailing courtaulds@nmni.com to get involved.

Renoir Exhibition Inspires Young Feminists

21st April 2021

Katherine

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The portrayal of women, and how women portray themselves, was a major theme in the Renoir and the New Era exhibition. Taking this theme as a jumping off point the curator Anna Liesching invited artist and activist Emma Campbell to run a two week reading group as part of the Reimagine, Remake, Replay initiative. RRR is National Museums NI’s youth engagement programme which aims to connect young people and museum collections in meaningful ways through creative media and the latest technologies.

Participants were provided with a selection of readings that looked at women’s freedom in public space at the time of the Impressionists, reflected on women artists and the feminist art movement. Over two online evening sessions the group discussed the readings, looking at Renoir’s a Loge and the prints by Berthe Morisot in the exhibition while making their own reflections, all facilitated by Emma. The online event lead to some insightful and personal topics of conversation, possibly more explorative than they would have been in a formal gallery environment. Many participants said the event was personally important to them, and timely, because of recent events concerning women’s space in the world. They were then asked to respond to the sessions in whichever medium they chose.

You can find the responses, including zines, blogs, poems and artworks, on the Reimagine, Remake, Replay website.

New Activity Packs Get People Drawing

8th October 2020

Katherine

Exhibition Guest blog Learning Uncategorised No Comments

As galleries across the UK look at how to operate within new social distancing guidelines, The Harris has taken a new approach to encouraging visitors to make their own drawings inspired by The Artful Line exhibition. In this guest blog, Holly Nesbitt tells us more about how and why they had to change their plans.

The Artful Line is an exhibition that explores drawing in all its forms. We have a wide range of drawings on display, including four loans from The Courtauld Gallery and rarely seen works from our own collection.

We were very keen on involving visitors with drawing in the gallery. So we had a table with lots of drawing materials (including sketchbooks, paper, different drawing pencils and coloured pencils) and some drawing activities to do in the space, as well as ones to take home. Visitors could also send their drawings to us via email, social media or they could hand them to a member of staff and they would be put on a tv gallery in the space. This was really popular with visitors, especially families during the half-term holidays.

Just before the building closed due to Covid-19, all of the materials were removed from the space. When we reopened in July, the current guidance meant that we couldn’t have the materials back in the space. In spite of this, we still wanted to involve visitors with drawing.

To do this we created art packs that people could take home from the gallery. They include some different coloured sugar paper, different shade pencils, a rubber and an activity created by Gavin Renshaw and The Courtauld Gallery Learning Team. This was completed during lockdown and was released as a part of the online exhibition for the Artful Line. Gavin Renshaw was one of the artists commissioned to create a drawing for the exhibition, he created four drawings entitled Caliban, which he refers to in the activity.

Also in the packs is a sheet telling people where to find other resources. During the Artful Line online exhibition, we commissioned other artists to create drawing activities and resources for people to do at home. One of these was done by Kathryn Poole, another of the artists commissioned to create a drawing for the exhibition, and another resource was created by Oxheys, an independent artist collective, who created the activities that were in the gallery before Covid-19. For the online exhibition they created video versions of the activities. All of this can be find on our Artful Line exhibition page, which the sheet details. Visitors still have a chance to have their drawings featured on the tv gallery if they send their drawing to us.

Find out more:

An online tour of the exhibition, learning activities and details about how to visit The Harris in person can be found on The Artful Line webpage.

New Resources for Schools

18th June 2020

Katherine

Blog articles Exhibition Guest blog Learning No Comments

In a guest blog, Alice Hellard from the Courtauld Gallery gives us a behind the scenes look at the production of our new resources for schools and young people.

When the exhibitions at the Harris Art Gallery, Museum and Library and Braintree Museum moved online in May a great opportunity opened up to create some focused learning resources that captured some of the learning work we had planned to deliver in schools.

In March, artist educator Nadine Mahoney and I delivered a number of sessions at Braintree Museum for both primary and secondary schools. Focusing on Paul Gauguin’s four woodcut prints on display at the Museum, the sessions aimed to develop students’ understanding of Gauguin’s printmaking techniques and ideas around myth making. In the learning resources we again wanted to encourage close looking, interpretation and technique, this time focusing on two of the prints, Te Po and Manao Tupapau (1893-94).

In Preston, I was due to run school workshops in April and May with artist and Illustrator Gavin Renshaw. In January 2020 Gavin was commissioned by the Harris (alongside artists Anita George and Kathryn Poole) to create a work in response to aspects of Courtaulds Ltd heritage. Researching the brief, Gavin discovered the story of Caliban, a Courtaulds Ltd steam engine, and made a series of drawings that capture aspects of its renovation. For the online exhibition at the Harris it seemed natural to develop a practical drawing resource for secondary students that explores drawing as an approach to capturing narrative, and to talk to Gavin in more detail about his approach to drawing and heritage.

I was also delighted to have been able to reprint (with kind permission from Courtauld alumna Alma Zevi) a fascinating interview with Frank Auerbach as part of the Harris’ online programme. Auerbach’s drawing Study for an Oxford Street building site (1958-59) is in The Artful Line exhibition, and the interview gives some fascinating insights into the role of drawing to his process.

Find out more:

All of the resources are available to download from our Schools and Colleges Page

Take a look at the virtual exhibition tours and other activities on our partner museum websites
The Artful Line
Courtaulds: Origins, Innovation and Family

Just Announced – Open Courtauld Hour!

27th April 2020

Katherine

Events Learning Research No Comments

For those of you missing the Courtauld’s excellent event programme – or those of you that are keen to get involved from the comfort of your own home – Open Courtauld has put together a brilliant package of talks, discussions and performances as part of their Open Courtauld Hour series. This weekly event will take place from wherever you are from Thursday the 30th of April, 20.05 – 21.00. Visit the website to see the full programme and reserve your free tickets: https://courtauld.ac.uk/research/research-forum/events

Week 1 – Art in Isolation: Lockdown has been transformational in how artists, galleries and museums are adapting to an online world to continue showcasing and making art. Join Alixe Bovey (Head of Research at The Courtauld Institute of Art) on Thursday 30th of April, 20.05 – 21.00, in exploring the importance of creative practice and artistic consumption in a time of isolation.Alixe will examine this issue through discussions with Courtauld’s own Barnaby Wright (Deputy Head of The Courtauld Gallery), the National Gallery’s Caroline Campbell (Curator of Italian Paintings) and Underpinning’s Lorraine Smith (Co-founder). The hour will include a one-off poetic reinterpretation of Paul Cezanne’s ‘Montagne Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine’ by award winning poet Shagufta K Iqbal.

Week 2 – Art and Wellbeing: Over recent years, there has been a growing understanding of the power that taking part in the arts can have on health and wellbeing. In our second session on Thursday 7th of May, 20.05 – 21.00, we will investigate the supplementation of arts alongside medicine and care to foster an environment that improves the health of people — within and without a healthcare setting. Join Rebecca Chamberlain (Lecturer in Psychology at Goldsmiths University), Sir Leszek Borysiewicz (Chair of Cancer Research UK and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge), Michaela Ross (Curator, Bethlem Gallery) and Jasmine Cooray (poet and counsellor) in discussions and performances exploring access to the arts in healthcare environments, the power of ‘Slow Art’ within galleries and museums and to be engaged in learning and debate on the subject of mental and physical health and artistic practice.

Week 3 – The Future of Art: In this session on Thursday 14th of May, 20.05 – 21.00, our experts discuss the Courtauld’s ever-changing approach to the online publication of its extensive photographic collection (via the development of an ambitious digitisation project encompassing 3.3 million prints and negatives), the implementation of scientific techniques of conservation and the challenges/opportunities this pandemic may provide those working in the field. In light of the changing landscape of art history, we will be joined by Aviva Burnstock (Professor and Head of the Department of Conservation and Technology at the Courtauld Institute of Art), Theo Gordon (Sackler Postdoctoral Fellow 2019-20 at the Courtauld Institute of Art), Tom Bilson (Head of Digital Media at the Courtauld Institute of Art) and artist and poet Muneera Pilgrim.

Week 4 – Women Artists: Our fourth Open Courtauld Hour will focus on Women Artists, addressing gender imbalance in the art world, expanding on notions of public and private and reinserting women of all backgrounds back into the canon of art history. Hosting the evening will be Katy Hessel of @thegreatwomenartists — an account and podcast series which celebrates women on a daily basis. She will be joined by Jo Applin (The Courtauld Institute of Art) who will chat with Katy more about their podcast episode on Louise Bourgeois, Ketty Gottardo (Martin Halusa Curator of Drawings at the Courtauld Institute of Art) who will be virtually opening up our object study room and allowing the audience to see, close-up, a number of works by Helen Saunders and other academics and curators focusing on women artists. Stuart Hall Foundation Scholarship Jade Montserrat. Jade will be reclaiming women’s narrative through a one-off poetic take on Paul Gauguin’s Te Rerioa.

GCSE History students investigate Courtaulds Ltd sources

16th January 2020

Katherine

Learning Schools No Comments

In November and December 2019 we worked with Greenfield Valley Heritage Centre to deliver two day-long workshops with year 10 and year 11 students at Ysgol Treffynnon in Holywell, Flintshire. The sessions were designed to develop students’ skills in analysing historical sources and communicating and presenting their ideas to others. Investigating a handling collection of Courtaulds Ltd artefacts and photographs, as well as oral history recordings from people who worked in the local Courtaulds Ltd factories and images of works from The Courtauld Collection, students made some relevant and creative connections and prepared some very informative and well-planned presentations. Students from Ysgol Treffynnon are now looking forward to visiting London to experience works from the Collection first hand in the Spring term.

“Very useful! Really good use of sources, consideration of inference, reliability and different mediums. We do actually study aspects of mid-19th Century industry and economy.” – Head of Humanities, Ysgol Treffynnon

“I learned the way that different sources are collected and used to create new ideas about the past and what certain things were using the evidence from the sources” – year 11 student

“I learnt how to analyse sources better and analyse objects by linking them to their history” – year 11 student