text:
This Week in London – The British Museum gets arty; music festivals in Georgian Britain; the story of Tangerine Dream; and, migration at Dulwich…
• Artworks by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Lucian Freud, Bridget Riley, David Hockney and Visa Celmins are on show in a new exhibition at the British Museum. Reflecting artistic developments in the past 100 years of modern art, Living with art: Picasso to Celmins features 30 prints and drawings. It showcases highlights from the wide-ranging collection of Alexander Walker (1930–2003), a longstanding film critic for London's Evening Standard newspaper, which was bequeathed to the British Museum in 2004. The exhibition can be seen at the museum until 5th March before heading off on tour. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org. PICTURE: David Hockney (b. 1937), 'Jungle Boy' (1964) Etching and aquatint in black and red on mould-made paper © David Hockney Photo Credit: Richard Schmidt.
• Music festivals in Georgian Britain – from the Handel Commemoration of 1784 to the Crystal Palace concerts of the late 19th century – are explored in a new exhibition at the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury. Music Festivals in Georgian Britain looks at the logistics behind the organisation of the concerts which followed on in the tradition of benefit concerts for charities as well as the expectations of audiences. Runs until 14th September. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk.
• The "extraordinary story" of German band Tangerine Dream is told in a new exhibition opening at the City of London's Barbican Music Library today. Tangerine Dream: Zeitraffer features photographs, previously unpublished articles, video clips, and original synthesizers as it tells the story of the band – credited with laying the foundation for the Ambient and Trance music styles – from its founding in 1967 and the release of its first album, Electronic Meditation, in 1970 through to the latest album, Recurring Dreams, last year. The band, which has released more than 160 albums, has also composed the scores for more than 60 Hollywood films including Michael Mann's Risky Business and Ridley Scott's Legend as well as Firestarter, based on the Stephen King novel. In 2013, they also wrote the score for the record-breaking video game, Grand Theft Auto V, and their music has appeared in recent Netflix series, Stranger Things, Black Mirror and Mr Robot. Runs until 2nd May. Admission is free.
• The stories of six "community curators" – each of whom has personal experience of migration – are at the centre of a new display at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Journeys, which explores themes of identity, belonging, migration and London's multiculturalism, examines the contemporary relevance of works by the likes of Poussin, Rubens, Canaletto and Van Dyck against the backdrop of the life stories of the curators who, aged between 29 and 69, have a combined heritage spanning eight countries including Yemen, Sri Lanka, Italy, Pakistan and Ireland. Opens next Tuesday (21st January) and runs until 24th June with a special free late opening on 19th June during the final week which coincides with Refugee Week. For more, see www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk.
Posted in Bloomsbury, City, Dulwich, Galleries, Museums, Music heritage, News | Tagged Barbican Music Library, British Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Foundling Museum, Journeys, Living with art: Picasso to Celmins, Modern art, Music Festivals in Georgian Britain, Tangerine Dream, Tangerine Dream: Zeitraffer | Leave a Comment »
This (Year) in London – Five exhibitions you won't want to miss in 2020…
It's our first 'This Week in London' for 2020 so instead of our usual programming, we thought we'd briefly look at five key exhibitions that you won't want to miss this year…
1. Thomas Becket at the British Museum. Marking the 850th anniversary of the murder of the medieval Archbishop of Canterbury on 29th December, 1170, the museum will host the first ever major exhibition on the life, death and legacy of the archbishop as part of a year-long programme of events which also includes performances, pageants, talks, film screenings and religious services. The exhibition will run from 15th October to 14th February, 2021. PICTURE: Alabaster sculpture, c 1450–1550, England. Here, Becket is shown kneeling at an altar, his eyes closed and his hands clasped in prayer, all the while four knights draw their swords behind him. To Becket's right is the monk Edward Grim, whose arm was injured by one of the knight's swords. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
2. Elizabeth and Mary at the British Library. This exhibition draws on original historic documents to take a fresh look at what's described as the "extraordinary and fascinating story of two powerful queens, both with a right to the English throne: Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots". Letters and other 16th century documents will show how their struggle for supremacy in the isles played out. Runs from 23rd October to 21st February, 2021.
3. Tudors to Windsors at the National Maritime Museum. This major exhibition promises to give visitors "the opportunity to come face-to-face with the kings, queens and their heirs who have shaped British history and were so central to Greenwich". Including more than 150 works covering five royal dynasties, it will consider the development of royal portraiture over a period spanning 500 years and how they were impacted by the personalities of individual monarchs as well as wider historical changes. Will be held from April.
4. Gold and Glory: Henry VIII and the French King at Hampton Court Palace. Marking the 500th anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold – King Henry VIII's landmark meeting with his great rival, the French King François I, the exhibition will feature a treasure trove of precious objects from the English and French courts as well as a never-before-seen tapestry, manufactured in the 1520s, which depicts a bout of wrestling at the meeting presided over by François and which also shows a black trumpeter among the many musicians depicted. Opens on 10th April. The palace will also play host this year to Henry VIII vs François I: The Rematch, a nine day festival of jousting, wrestling and foot combat complete with feasting, drinking and courtly entertainment. Runs from 23rd to 31st May.
5. Faces of a Queen: The Armada Portraits of Elizabeth I at the Queen's House in Greenwich. This display brings together, for the first time, the three surviving versions of the iconic 'Armada Portrait' of Elizabeth I. The portrait commemorates the Spanish Armada's failed attempt to invade England and the display will include the Royal Museums Greenwich's own version of the painting along with that from the National Portrait Gallery and that which normally hangs in Woburn Abbey. Runs from 13th February to 31st August.
We'll feature more details in stories throughout the coming year. But, of course, this is just a sample of what's coming up this year – keep an eye on Exploring London for more…
Posted in 850th anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket, Bloomsbury, Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth I, Elizabethan, Galleries, Georgian, Greenwich, Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII, King's Cross, Museums, News, Tudor, Victoria | Tagged 2020 exhibitions in London, 500th anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold, British Library, British Museum, Elizabeth and Mary, Faces of a Queen: The Armada Portraits of Elizabeth I, Gold and Glory: Henry VIII and the French King, Hampton Court Palace, The Queen's House, Thomas Becket 850th | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – Saint Agatha returns to Osterley; Lucian Freud's self-portraits; and, the collection of Sir Stamford Raffles…
• A painting of early Christian martyr Saint Agatha by 17th century Italian artist Carlo Dolci is the highlight of a new exhibition opening at Osterley House in London's west on Monday. The painting, which has been acquired by the National Trust for the house thanks to an Art Fund grant and other donations, is at the heart of Treasures of Osterley – Rise of a Banking Family which explores the rise to fame and fortune of the Child family. Sir Robert Child had originally purchased the picture at the start of the 18th century but it was later sold with other family heirlooms in the 1930s. The painting depicts the miraculous moment with St Peter appeared to St Agatha in a vision and healed her wounds. The exhibition can be seen until 23rd February. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nationaltrust.org.uk/osterley-park-and-house.
• The first exhibition to focus on the "visceral and unflinching" self-portraits of artist Lucian Freud (1922-2011) has opened at the Royal Academy in Piccadilly. Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits features about 50 works that chart his artistic development from early graphic works to the fleshy, painterly style of his later work. The display is organised into six sections, starting with first major self-portrait, Man with a Feather (1943), which is juxtaposed with his late work, Self-portrait, Reflection (2000). It ends with two self-portraits he painted in 2002 and 2003. The exhibition can be seen in The Jillian and Arthur M Sackler Wing of Galleries until 26th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk. PICTURE: Reflection (Self-portrait), 1985 Oil on canvas, 55.9 x 55.3 cm Private collection, on loan to the Irish Museum of Modern Art © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images
• On Now: Sir Stamford Raffles: collecting in Southeast Asia 1811-1824. Controversial figure Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles spent most of his career as an official with the East India Company in South-East Asia during which he was an avid collector of objects from the region. His collection, one of the first large collections from the region, was eventually donated to the British Museum. This display at the museum showcases an important selection of 130 objects from that collection including Hindu-Buddhist antiquities, different types of theatrical puppets, masks, musical instruments and stone and metal sculpture. A collaboration with Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, the exhibition can be seen until 12th January in Room 91. It's free to enter. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
Send all items for inclusion to exploringlondon@gmail.com
Posted in Bloomsbury, Galleries, Historic Homes, Museums, News, Piccadilly, West London | Tagged British Museum, Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits, Osterley House, Royal Academy, Saint Agatha, Sir Robert Child, Sir Stamford Raffles: collecting in Southeast Asia 1811-1824, Treasures of Osterley - Rise of a Banking Family | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – A rare surviving piece of Queen Elizabeth's dress on show?; Inside Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, and, Islamic influences on art…
• An altar cloth which may have once been part of a dress worn by Queen Elizabeth I goes on show at Hampton Court Palace (pictured) this Saturday. The Bacton Altar Cloth, which was discovered in a church in Bacton in rural Hertfordshire, has undergone two years of conservation work and will be displayed alongside a portrait of the "Virgin Queen" featuring a dress of similar design. The altar cloth has long been associated with Bacton-born Blanche Parry, one of Queen Elizabeth's servants who became her Chief Gentlewoman of the Bedchamber. Records show the Queen regularly gave her discarded clothing to Parry and for years there has been speculation that the altar cloth was part of one such discarded item. Historic Royal Palaces curator Eleri Lynn, an expert in Tudor court dress, was able to identify previously unseen features and studied the seams of the fabric to show it had once been part of a skirt. Further research – including an examination of the dyes used in the item – have added weight to the theory it was once part of a dress. The altar cloth, on loan from St Faith's Church in Bacton, can be seen until 23rd February. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk. PICTURE: David Adams.
• A photographic exhibition of the first 'golden' decade of Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club – featuring images of legendary British and American jazz singers – opens at the Barbican Music Library on Saturday. Ronnie Scott's 1959-1969: Photographs by Freddy Warren, which marks the club's 60th anniversary, features Warren's photographs of the likes of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Zoot Sims, Cleo Laine and Tony Bennett. Warren was the in-house photographer at the Soho club from the opening night in 1959, when it was based in Gerrard Street, and documented the construction of the new site in Frith Street in the mid-1960s along with the arrival in London of big American stars. The exhibition includes rare vintage prints – some which were salvaged from the walls when the club was renovated in 2006, Freddy Warren's original contact sheets, and previously unseen prints specially produced from the original negatives. The exhibition is free. Runs until 4th January. For more, see www.barbican.org.uk/your-visit/during-your-visit/library.
• An exhibition exploring how western artists have been inspired by the Islamic world opens at the British Museum today. Inspired by the east: how the Islamic world influenced western art features paintings by leading 'Orientalists' including Eugène Delacroix, John Frederick Lewis and Frederick Arthur Bridgman as well as less well-known pieces like British artist Edmund Dulac's original illustrations for a 1907 edition of the Arabian Nights, and ceramics by Frenchman Théodore Deck, who in the late 19th century created a range of pieces directly inspired by Islamic originals. The display also includes contemporary reactions to the imagery of Orientalism by Middle Eastern and North African female artists such as Lalla Essaydi's Women of Morocco triptych and Inci Eviner's 2009 video work Harem. The display can be seen in The Sir Joseph Hotung Exhibition Gallery until 26th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Elizabeth I, Elizabethan, Events, Galleries, Hampton Court Palace, Museums, Music heritage, News, Soho, Twentieth century, Victorian, West London | Tagged Bacton Altar Cloth, Barbican Music Library, British Museum, Hampton Court Palace, Inspired by the east: how the Islamic world influenced western art, Orientalism, Queen Elizabeth I, Ronnie Scott's 1959-1969: Photographs by Freddy Warren | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – Celebrating Rembrandt's relationship with light; Paul Gauguin's portraits; and, sacred Japanese images…
• Rembrandt's mastery of light is the subject of a new exhibition opening at the Dulwich Picture Gallery on Friday to mark 350 years since the Dutch artist's death. Rembrandt's Light includes 35 of his greatest paintings, etchings and drawings including international loans The Pilgrims at Emmaus (1648) and – shown for the first time in the UK – Philemon and Baucis, (1658), Tobit and Anna with the Kid (1645) and The Dream of Joseph (1645). The works have been arranged thematically and show how he used light and shadow for dramatic effect, focusing on his work during the middle period of his career – 1639-1658 – while he was living in his "dream house" on Breestraat in Amsterdam where the large windows provided ideal access to light. The display will employ a new LED Bluetooth lighting system installed at the gallery while cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, famed for his work on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back; The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Mars Attacks!, has worked with the curators to create what the gallery promises will be an "atmospheric visitor experience". Admission charge applies. Runs to 2nd February. PICTURE: Rembrandt van Reign, Philemon and Baucis (1658), oil on panel transferred to panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
• The first ever exhibition devoted to the portraits of Paul Gauguin opens at the National Gallery on Monday. The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Gauguin Portraits shows how the French artist, who was famed for his paintings of French Polynesia, revolutionised the portrait to express himself and his ideas about art. It features more than 50 works including paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings – many of which have rarely been seen together. They include Madame Mette Gauguin in Evening Dress (1884), Young Breton Girl (1889), Tehura (Teha'amana) (1891-93), Young Christian Girl (1894), Père Paillard (1902) and the last self-portrait he ever completed, made in 1903, probably shortly before the end of his life at the age of 55. Runs until 26th January in the Sainsbury Wing. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.
• Fifteen Buddhist and Shinto sacred images from the Nara Prefecture have gone on show at the British Museum. The works, which include five Japanese National Treasures, date from between 600 and 1300 AD and are displayed with related important Japanese and Chinese paintings from the museum's collection. The objects include a gilt bronze sculpture, Bodhisattva of Compassion, a gilt-bronze libation dish featuring the birth of the Buddha and a pair of imposing wooden sculptures, Heavenly Kings, all of which date from the 700s. Nara: sacred images from early Japan can be seen in Room 3 (the Asahi Shimbun Displays) and the Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries (Room 93). Runs until 24th November. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Dulwich, Galleries, Museums, News, Trafalgar Square, Twentieth century | Tagged British Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Nara: sacred images from early Japan, National Gallery, Rembrandt, Rembrandt's Light, The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Gauguin Portraits | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace; royal etchings; and, Ed Ruscha at Tate Modern…
• The impact of Queen Victoria on Buckingham Palace, transforming what was empty residence into "the most glittering court in Europe", is a special focus of this year's summer opening of Buckingham Palace. Marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Queen, the exhibition Queen Victoria's Palace recreates the music, dancing and entertaining that characterised the early part of the Queen's reign using special effects and displays. Highlights include the Queen's costume (pictured) for the Stuart Ball of 13th July, 1851, where attendees dressed in the style of King Charles II's court. There's also a recreation of a ball held in the palace's newly completed Ballroom and Ball Supper Room on 17th June, 1856, to mark the end of the Crimean War and honour returning soldiers which uses a Victorian illusion technique known as Pepper's Ghost to bring to life Louis Haghe's watercolour, The Ball of 1856. The table in the State Dining Room, meanwhile, has been dressed with items from the 'Victoria' pattern dessert service, purchased by the Queen at the 1851 Great Exhibition, and the room also features the Alhambra table fountain, a silver-gilt and enamel centrepiece commissioned by Victoria and Albert in the same year, and silver-gilt pieces from the Grand Service, commissioned by the Queen's uncle, King George IV, on which sit replica desserts based on a design by Queen Victoria's chief cook, Charles Elme Francatelli. The summer opening runs until 29th September. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.rct.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace. PICTURE: Royal Collection Trust/ © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019
• The Victorian reign is also the subject of a new exhibition at the British Museum where rare etchings by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert have gone on display. At home: Royal etchings by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert features 20 artworks that they created during the early years of their marriage and depict scenes of their domestic lives at Windsor Castle and Claremont including images of their children and pets. The display includes three works donated to the museum by King George V, Queen Victoria's grandson, in 1926, and it's the first time they've gone on public display. Prince Albert introduced the Queen to the practice of etching soon after their wedding and under the guidance of Sir George Hayter they made their first works on 28th August, 1840. They would go on to collaborate on numerous works together. The display can be seen in Room 90a until mid-September. Admission is free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org. PICTURE: The Princess Royal and Prince of Wales, 1843, by Albert, Prince Consort (after Queen Victoria) © The Trustees of the British Museum.
• American artist Ed Ruscha is the subject of the latest "Artist Rooms" annual free display in the Tate Modern's Blavatnik building on South Bank. The display features works spanning Ruscha's six-decade career, including large, text-based paintings and his iconic photographic series. There is also a display of Ruscha's artist's books – including Various Small Fires 1964 and Every Building on the Sunset Strip 1966 – as well as some 40 works on paper gifted to Tate by the artist. Highlights include his series of photographs of LA's swimming pools and parking lots, paintings inspired by classic Hollywood cinema, and works such as DANCE? (1973), Pay Nothing Until April (2003) and Our Flag (2017). Runs until spring 2020. Admission is free. For more, see www.tate.org.uk.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Buckingham Palace, Charles II, Galleries, George IV, George V, Museums, News, Prince Albert, South Bank, Twentieth century, Victoria, Victorian | Tagged Artist Rooms, At home: Royal etchings by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Buckingham Palace summer opening, Ed Ruscha, London events, Tate Modern | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – City of London's biggest rooftop viewing platform opens; Rembrandt at the British Museum; and, Franz West at the Tate…
• The City of London's largest rooftop viewing space – The Garden at 120 – has opened atop the newly opened Fen Court office building in Fenchurch Street. The viewing platform – located 15 storeys above the street – offers 360 degree views of the City and features a pergola planted with fruit trees and Italian wisteria, a water feature and coffee hut. Entry is free and access is between 10am and 6.30pm weekdays until 31st March (5pm on weekends) and between 10am and 9pm from 1st April to 30th September. For more, see www.thegardenat120.com. PICTURE: diamond geezer (licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0)
• Rembrandt's drawing and prints are the subject of a new free exhibition at the British Museum. Marking 350 years since the death of Rembrandt van Rijn in 1669, Rembrandt: thinking on paper features more than 60 of the Dutch artist's works ranging from quick sketches to fully realised compositions with subject matter including self-portraits, landscapes and Biblical scenes. Works include Young woman sleeping (Hendrickje Stoffels?) (c1654), his printing plate for Reclining female nude (1658), the pen-and-ink Sketches of an old man and child (c1639-40), Self-portrait, bareheaded, bust in frontal view (1629), Self-portrait drawing at a window (1648), the Raising of Lazarus (c1632) and his late, large drypoints the Three Crosses (1653) and Ecce Homo (1655). Runs until 4th August in Room 90. Entry is free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
• The first posthumous retrospective of the work of Franz West (1947-2012) ever staged in the UK has opened at the Tate Modern. Franz West spans the artist's career over four decades and includes examples from his series of early abstract small sculptures like Passstücke (Adaptives), furniture work first displayed in the artist's pivotal 1989 exhibition at the Haus Lange Museum, as well as later, large-scale installations such as Auditorium (1992) and Epiphany on Chairs (2011). The artist's works in papier-mâché – Legitimate Sculptures – are also featured and there's a room devoted to Redundanz (1986), a three-part ensemble accompanied by text that stresses "the difference between language and art as ways of understanding the world". The display finishes with an array of West's dramatic aluminum works and a collection of maquettes for the artist's outdoor sculptures, five of which are installed in the South Landscape. Runs until 2nd June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.tate.org.uk.
Posted in 21st century, Bloomsbury, City, Galleries, Gardens, Museums, News, South Bank, Twentieth century | Tagged British Museum, City of London, Fenchurch Street, Franz West, Rembrandt: thinking on paper, Tate Modern, The Garden at 120 | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – Good grief, Charlie Brown!; Captain Cook and the Pacific; and the Kindertransport remembered…
• Eighty original comic strips hand-drawn by Charles M Schulz, of Peanuts fame, are on show at Somerset House on the Strand along with many of his personal effects and interactive installations in an exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the creation of iconic character Charlie Brown. Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Celebrating Snoopy and the Enduring Power of Peanuts looks at the impact of the comics on the cultural landscape, from 1950 to now, and, alongside works by Schultz, features responses to them by 20 figures from the worlds of art, fashion and music. The comic strips are showcased in their original state and size – complete with inky thumbprints and correction marks – and sit alongside vintage Peanuts products and publications as well as correspondence between Schultz and people such as Billie Jean King and Hillary Rodham (now Clinton). Along with interactive displays including a real-life re-imagination of Lucy's Psychiatric Help booth, light boxes where people can learn to draw the Peanuts characters and a Snoopy Cinema, here are also three large-scale lights installations illuminating the entrance to the exhibition. This landmark exhibition can be seen until 3rd March. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.somerset.org.uk.
• Newly acquired contemporary artworks by Pacific Island artists are at the centre of an exhibition re-examining the relationship between Captain James Cook and the peoples of the Pacific Ocean which is running at the British Museum. Reimagining Captain Cook: Pacific Perspectives also features historic artefacts including Cook's personal possessions and the British Museum's oldest example of a Hawaiian shirt (pictured). Among the 14 contemporary artworks are eight specially acquired for the exhibition and all are in some way a response to Cook's voyages to places including Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Hawaii, Vanuatu and Tahiti. They include Maori artist Steve Gibbs' Name Changer – an attempt to restore awareness of the traditional Maori names for the region around Gisborne in New Zealand, and a work by the Aboriginal photographer and artist Michael Cook, Civilised #12, which reflects on the legacy of William Dampier, the first Briton to visit Australia (before Cook). The display can be seen in Room 91 until 4th August. Admission is free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org. PICTURE: 'Hawaiian' style vintage cotton shirt, decorated with designs from drawings done on Captain Cook's voyages, Hawaii, 1970-1980. © Image The Trustees of the British Museum.
• An exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport is running at the Jewish Museum London in Camden. Remembering the Kindertransport: 80 Years On tells the story of how in 1938-39, the British Government allowed 10,000 Jewish and other 'non-Aryan' children from Nazi-occupied Europe to come to Britain in a rescue operation which became known as the 'Kindertransport'. It features the children, now in their 80s and 90s, telling their stories on film as well as personal objects and artefacts they brought with them from their homelands. Also on show is a photographic exhibition – Still in Our Hands: Kinder Life Portraits – featuring archival photographs and portraits of former Kindertransportees and another – My Home and Me – which, held in partnership with the British Red Cross, explores the journey of young refugees arriving in Britain today. The exhibition, which is being accompanied by a series of events, runs until 10th February. Admission is free. For more, see www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/kindertransport.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Camden, Galleries, Museums, News, Twentieth century, West End | Tagged British Museum, Captain Cook, Good Grief Charlie Brown! Celebrating Snoopy the Enduring Power of Peanuts, Jewish Museum London, Peanuts, Reimagining Captain Cook: Pacific Perspectives, Remembering the Kindertransport: 80 Years On, Somerset House | 1 Comment »
This Week in London – Lorenzo Lotto portraits; Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in depth; and, Klimt/Schiele drawings…
• The portraits of Italian Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto, known for their rich symbolism, have gone on show at The National Gallery. Highlights of Lorenzo Lotto Portraits include masterpieces as the Bishop Bernardo de' Rossi (1505) and the monumental altarpiece of The Alms of Saint Antoninus of Florence (1540–2) brought to the UK from Venice for the first time as well as the Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Anthony Abbot and Louis of Toulouse (1506), The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with Niccolò Bonghi (1523 – pictured), the Portrait of a Young Man with a Lizard (1528–30), and the Portrait of a Man with a Felt Hat (1541?). The display, which is arranged over four rooms, also includes objects relating to the portraits including a carpet, sculpture, jewellery, clothing and books. Runs until 10th February. Admission is free. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk. PICTURE: Lorenzo Lotto, 'Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine with Donor Niccolò Bonghi', 1523, Oil on canvas, 172 x 143cm, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, © Fondazione Accademia Carrara, Bergamo.
• The first exhibition to take a detailed look at the life of Assyrian King Ashurbanipal has opened at the British Museum. I am Ashurbanipal: king of the world, king of Assyria focuses on the 7th century BC when Ashurbanipal was the most powerful person on earth, ruling a vast and diverse empire from his capital of Babylon. More than 200 objects from the museum's collection and other collections across the world feature in the display including massive stone sculptures, carved reliefs, carved ivories and metalwork, and ornate chariot fittings and weaponry. And in a contemporary twist, the final section of the exhibition looks at the challenges faced in protecting Iraqi cultural heritage in recent times. Runs until 24th February in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
• A joint exhibition of works by Austrian artists Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) and Egon Schiele (1890-1918) has opened at the Royal Academy to mark the centenary of their deaths. Klimt / Schiele: Drawings from the Albertina Museum, Vienna is the first UK exhibition to focus on the fundamental importance of drawing to both artists and traces their use of the technique from their academic training days through to their later unconventional explorations of the human figure. About 100 works on paper feature in the display including studies for allegorical paintings, portraits and self-portraits, landscapes, erotic nudes and a sketchbook as well as carefully selected examples of lithographs, photographs and original publications. Runs in The Sackler Wing of Galleries until 3rd February. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Galleries, Museums, News, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square | Tagged British Museum, Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, I am Ashurbanipal: king of the world, Klimt / Schiele: Drawings from the Albertina Museum Vienna, Lorenzo Lotto Portraits, Royal Academy, The National Gallery | 1 Comment »
This Week in London – Edward Burne-Jones at Tate Britain; Fictional pirates at V&A Museum of Childhood; and, British Museum's new Islamic gallery…
• Two celebrated series of paintings by Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones have been brought together for the first time in their entirety in a new exhibition at Tate Britain. The large scale works known as The Briar Rose (c1890) and the unfinished Perseus series (started in 1875) – the artist's most famous narrative cycles – are at the centre of a new exhibition, Edward Burne-Jones: Pre-Raphaelite Visionary, which opened at the gallery yesterday. The Briar Rose features four canvasses – shown in a museum setting together for the first time – which illustrate the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty while the Perseus cycle, commissioned by then-MP and future PM Arthur Balfour, was intended to be 10 large scale oil paintings retelling the ancient myth of Perseus but was only partly realised (the display includes four finished paintings and six full scale preparatory drawings). The other 150 works on show in this display – the first major Burne-Jones retrospective to be held in London in more than 40 years – include paintings, tapestries and stained glass panels. Among other highlights are the large scale paintings Love among the Ruins (1870-73) and The Wheel of Fortune (1883), the stained glass work, The Good Shepherd (1857-61), and altar piece The Adoration of the Magi (1861), drawings including Desiderium (1873), portraits such as those of Amy Gaskell (1893) and Lady Windsor (1893-95) and embroideries, illustrated books and large scale tapestries including The Arming and Departure of the Knights of the Round Table on the Quest for the Holy Grail (1890-1894) and the Adoration of the Magi (1894). Runs until 24th February. Admission charge applies. The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of talks and events. For more, see www.tate.org.uk. PICTURE: The Briar Wood 1874-84, oil paint on canvas, The Faringdon Collection Trust.
• Fictional pirates in popular culture are the subject of a new exhibition at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. A Pirate's Life For Me explores the origins and characters of fictional pirates through more than 80 objects including David Munrow's unpublished play Barnacle Bill, toys designed by Playmobil (exhibition sponsor) and Lego, the first ever painting of Captain Pugwash (pictured), six 18th century Spanish doubloons and the original illustration of the costume design for Captain Hook for the first ever theatrical production of Peter Pan in 1904. Young visitors to the exhibition are invited to take a journey starting at a seaside tavern where they will find a mysterious map which leads on to a pirate boutique, large scale pirate ship and tropical "treasure island". The exhibition runs until 22nd April. Admission is free. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/moc/whats-on. PICTURE: Framed painting of Captain Pugwash, painted by John Ryan, 1950, oil on board, © John Ryan Estate.
• The British Museum's new Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World opened to the public last week with a display featuring a "comprehensive presentation of the Islamic world through art and material culture" including everything from architectural fragments of a Persian port city and courtly treasures of intricate craftsmanship to rich textiles from the Ottoman Empire and contemporary art. Among the objects on show, which cover the period from the 7th century to the present day, are the 14th century illustrated Persian epic, Shahnama (Book of Kings), and the 16th-century Indian Mughal emperor Akbar's Hamzanama (Adventures of Hamza), elaborate 19th-century mother-of-pearl inlaid wooden Turkish bath clogs, a brightly decorated Uzbek woman's robe with Russian lining and 21 stones, an installation of 21 paintings by Idris Khan created in response to the new gallery. A series of free public events is being held to mark the opening. Located in Rooms 42-43. The opening follows the reopening late last month of the Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries showing off some 430 artworks and artefacts from the museum's Japanese collection. They included several newly acquired objects, such as a Edo period complete set of Samurai armour bearing the crest of the More clan and Time Waterfall – panel #8 (Blue), a contemporary digital artwork by Miyajima Tatsuo which will greet people as they enter. Found in Rooms 92-94. Admission is free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
Posted in Bethnal Green, Bloomsbury, Galleries, Millbank, Museums, News, Victorian | Tagged A Pirate's Life For Me, Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World, British Museum, Edward Burne-Jones, Edward Burne-Jones: Pre-Raphaelite Visionary, Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries, Tate Britain, V&A Museum of Childhood | 1 Comment »
This Week in London – The Sun explored; Darwin's story on stage; Freud meets Dali; and, medallic art in Britain…
• The biggest ever exhibition exploring the Sun opens at the Science Museum in South Kensington this Saturday. The Sun: Living With Our Star features everything from Nordic Bronze Age artefacts revealing ancient beliefs about how the Sun was transported across the sky to details of upcoming NASA and European Space Agency solar missions. Highlights include the original 'orrery' (pictured), an instrument made for the Earl of Orrery in 1712 to demonstrate the motions of the Earth and Moon around the Sun, a rare concave mirror known as a yang-sui which was used for lighting fires in China and dates to between 202 BCE and 9 CE, and a Tokomak ST25-HTS, a prototype nuclear fusion reactor which successfully created and sustained plasma for a record-breaking 29 hours in 2015. There's also an astronomical spectroscope made for Norman Lockyer, founder of the Science Museum, who used it to identify the element helium in 1868 – the exhibition actually coincides with the 150th anniversary of Lockyer's discovery, the first of an "extra-terrestrial" element. The exhibition also includes interactive experiences including a huge illuminated wall display allowing visitors to see the Sun rise in different seasons and locations and another in which visitors are able to bask in the sun while sitting in deck chairs under palm trees with sand at their feet. Runs until 6th May next year. Admission charge applies. The exhibition is being accompanied by a programme of events including "family festivals" in early November and early March. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/the-sun-living-with-our-star. PICTURE: Science Museum Group Collection/© © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum.
• The story of Charles Darwin is told in a new two hour stage play featuring a cast of seven people and 30 hand-made puppets which opened at The Natural History Museum this week. The Wider Earth, which follows Darwin as he sets out on a daring five year journey aboard the HMS Beagle through uncharted landscapes, is being staged in the museum's Jerwood Gallery following sold-out seasons in Australia and represents the first time a performance-based theatre has been constructed in the museum. Presented by Trish Wadley Productions and Dead Puppet Society in association with Glass Half Full Productions, the show runs until 30th December. To book tickets, head to www.thewiderearth.com.
• This year marks 80 years since Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dalí famously met in London on 19th July, 1938 – a meeting at which Dalí revealed to Freud his recently completed painting The Metamorphosis of Narcissus. The Freud Museum has launched a new exhibition – Freud, Dalí and the Metamorphosis of Narcissus – which explores the extensive influence of Freud on Dalí and on Surrealism as well as Freud's own reaction to the painting. The painting forms the centrepiece of the exhibition which also includes drawings, photographs and prints as well as documents including letters, manuscripts, books and Freud's appointment diary. The display is accompanied by a programme of events. Runs until 24th February. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.freud.org.uk.
• The "invaluable" role artists from abroad played in the development of British medallic art is the focus of a new display at the British Museum. Witnesses: émigré medallists in Britain features medals from six centuries documenting significant historical moments and commemorating famous British figures. The earliest objects date from Elizabethan England when Dutch artist Steven van Herwijck introduced the art of the medal to Britain's cultural elite while 'stars' in the display include a spectacular Waterloo medal conceived by 19th century Italian gem engraver Benedetto Pistrucci which took 30 years to complete and bears the image of the four allied sovereigns – George, Prince Regent, Francis II of Austria, Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick William III of Prussia. The free display can be seen in Room 69a until 7th April next year. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org. PICTURE: Benedetto Pistrucci: Coronation of George IV, 1821, gold, 35mm. © the Trustees of the British Museum M5716. B, 1070. CME6436.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Elizabethan, Events, Galleries, Museums, News, South Kensington, Twentieth century | Tagged British Museum, Charles Darwin, Salvador Dali, Science Museum, Sigmund Freud, The Freud Museum, The Metamorphosis of Narcissus, The Sun: Living With Our Star, The Wider Earth, Witnesses: émigré medallists in Britain | Leave a Comment »
LondonLife – A different perspective on the British Museum…
Looking across the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court of the British Museum, off Great Russell Street in Bloomsbury. Designed by Foster and Partners, the two acre court opened in 2000 and was at the time the largest covered public square in Europe. It's glass and steel roof features more than 3,300 panes of glass, no two of which are the same. The court features a Reading Room at its centre.
PICTURE: Viktor Forgacs/Unsplash
Posted in Bloomsbury, LondonLife, Museums, News | Tagged Bloomsbury, British Museum, Great Court, LondonLife, Queen Elizabeth II Great Court | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – Early London photographs; CRW Nevinson at the British Museum; and, the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers…
• Some of the first photographic images of London and Londoners – depicting everything from Victorian families living in slums and the construction of the capital's first underground railway to well-known icons like Tower Bridge and the Crystal Palace – have gone on show in Aldgate Square. Presented by the City of London Corporation's London Metropolitan Archives, Victorian London in Photographs also features a daguerreotype (the earliest form of photograph) dating from the 1840s which depicts a view of The Monument (pictured) and is the earliest photograph of the City of London in LMA's collections. The free exhibition can be seen until 12th August at Aldgate Square after which it moves to Paternoster Square next to St Paul's Cathedral, where it can be seen from 14th to 23rd August. For more on the London Metropolitan Archives, follow this link. PICTURE: London Metropolitan Archives, City of London Corporation
• A selection of works documenting CRW Nevinson's experiences during World War I feature in a free exhibition at the British Museum. CRW Nevinson: Prints of War and Peace commemorates the centenary of the artist's gift of 25 of his prints to the British Museum in 1918 and a number of the works featured on show for the first time. They include a self-portrait while Nevinson was a student at the Slade School of Art, A Dawn and Column on the March, both of which show massed ranks of French soldiers marching to their doom, The Doctor and Twilight which show the conditions wounded soldiers had to endure, and dynamic cityscapes such as Looking down into Wall Street, Looking through Brooklyn Bridge, Wet Evening (depicting Oxford Street in London) and Paris Window and Place Blanche (both dating from 1922 and depicting Paris). The display can be seen in Room 90a, Prints and Drawings Gallery, until 13th September. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
• On Now – Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers. This exhibition at the Guildhall Library marks the 450th anniversary of the granting of the Tylers and Bricklayers' Company's charter by Elizabeth I in 1568. As well as tracing the company's history from its first master in 1416 through to the company today, it also looks at the life of the company's most famous son, playwright Ben Jonson, and how the company was instrumental in the rebuilding of the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666. Runs until 31st August. Admission is free. For more, follow this link.
Posted in Bloomsbury, City, Museums, News, Twentieth century, Victorian, World War I | Tagged Aldgate Square, British Museum, CRW Nevinson: Prints of War and Peace, Guildhall Library, London Metropolitan Archives, London photography, Paternoster Square, Victorian London in Photographs, Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers | 1 Comment »
This Week in London – Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition; a Blue Plaque for Mary Poppins' creator; and, Egypt – past and present…
• The Royal Academy of Art's Summer Exhibition – coordinated by Grayson Perry in this, the institution's 250th anniversary year – opened this week. The world's largest open submission contemporary art show, this year's display features more than 1,300 hand-picked artworks in an array of mediums including a monumental sculpture by Anish Kapoor, large scale works by David Hockney and Joana Vasconcelos as well as others by the likes of Mona Hatoum, Tal R, Wolfgang Tillmans, Mike Nelson, Tracey Emin, Rose Wylie, Ed Ruscha and Bruce Nauman. The display extends across the newly extended campus off Piccadilly and can be seen until 19th August. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk. PICTURE: Grayson Perry, Selfie with Political Causes (Woodcut
200 x 300cm The artist and Paragon | Contemporary Editions Ltd.)
• Beloved children's author, PL Travers – she of Mary Poppins fame – has been commemorated with an English Heritage Blue Plaque. The plaque was installed at 50 Smith Street in Chelsea where the Australian-born Travers lived for 17 years and which is said to have been the inspiration for the Banks' family home in the Disney film, Mary Poppins. Travers took up residence in the house in 1946, after returning to the UK from the US where she'd lived during World War II. It was here that she raised her adopted son, John Camillus Hone, and it was the property she was living in when she negotiated with Walt Disney for the rights to make a film about her famous book. She left the premises in 1962. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.
• An exploration of how symbols encapsulating Egypt's ancient past have been appropriated in more modern times has opened at the British Museum. The Past is Present: becoming Egyptian in the 20th Century brings together 31 objects gathered through the museum's 'Modern Egypt Project' as it explores how the nation has branded itself by drawing on the past. The items on show include pasta packaging and cigarette boxes depicting the pyramids, milk bottles with a Cleopatra logo, and the emblem of the Banque Misr (Bank of Egypt), the first bank owned and operated by Egyptians. This Asahi Shimbun Display is free to see and can be viewed in Room 3 until 30th September. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Chelsea, Galleries, Literary heritage, Museums, News, Piccadilly | Tagged British Museum, London events, Mary Poppins, Piccadilly, PL Travers, Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition, The Past is Present: becoming Egyptian in the 20th Century | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – James Cook's voyages; Diana's landmine moment remembered; and, the influence of the Greeks on Rodin…
• Marking 250 years since Captain James Cook set sail from Plymouth aboard the Endeavour in 1768 comes a new exhibition at the British Library focusing on the explorer's three world-changing voyages aboard the Endeavour, the Resolution and the Discovery. Maps, artworks and journals from the voyages will be on show in James Cook: The Voyages alongside recently commissioned films bringing contemporary perspectives. The display features a collection of drawings by Polynesian high priest and navigator Tupaia – on display for the first time, as well as Sydney Parkinson's natural history drawings including the first European depiction of a kangaroo, John Webber's watercolour landscapes including the first European illustrations of Hawaii and works by William Hodges including the first artworks depicting the Antarctic. There's also the first chart of New Zealand, specimens including the mouth parts of a squid from the first voyage, and, jewellery and musical instruments including a necklace from Tierra del Fuego, a ceremonial rate from Nootka Sound (Vancouver Island) and a bamboo flute from Tahiti. The display, which runs until 28th August, is being accompanied by a programme of public events. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.bl.uk. PICTURE: Portrait of Captain James Cook (1728-79) © British Library Board.
• A HALO Trust branded flak vest as well as a denim shirt and Armani chinos all worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, during a high profile visit to Angolan landmine fields in 1997 is among new items on show at Kensington Palace. Running since February last year, Diana: Her Fashion Story – which traces the evolution of the Princess' style and her impact on British and global fashion – has been spruced up with the addition of new items including the landmine visit outfit as well as a pink Bellville Sassoon suit worn to board the train for her honeymoon, a Victor Edelstein evening gown worn for an official portrait by Terence Donovan (on public display for the first time), a floor length Yuki gown designed for the Prince and Princess of Wales' visit to Japan, and a tartan dress by Caroline Charles worn to the 1982 Braemar Games in the Scottish Highlands. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/Diana.
• The influence of ancient Greek art on 19th century sculptor Rodin is the subject of a new exhibition opening at the British Museum today. Rodin and the art of ancient Greece displays his work alongside the Parthenon sculptures that inspired him. Thanks to a collaboration with the Musée Rodin in Paris, the exhibition features more than 80 of Rodin's works in marble, bronze and plaster along with sketches. Key works on show include The Kiss (1882), which, like two female goddesses originally on the East Pediment of the Parthenon, was carved from a single block of stone. Runs until 29th July. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
Send all items to exploringlondon@gmail.com for inclusion.
Posted in Galleries, Georgian, Kensington Palace, Museums, Twentieth century, Victorian | Tagged British Library, British Museum, Diana: Her Fashion Story, HALO Trust, James Cook, James Cook: The Voyages, Rodin and the art of ancient Greece | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – Fashion and raw materials; music and museum; and, lates at Tate…
• The relationship between the glitzy world of fashion and the raw materials used to make it is the subject of a new exhibition opening at the V&A on Saturday. Fashioned from Nature features more than 300 "beautiful, intriguing and unsettling objects" spanning the period since 1600 and including everything from a a pineapple fibre clutch bag, a Calvin Klein dress made from recycled bottles worn by actor Emma Watson (pictured) and a cape of cockerel feathers. One focus of the exhibition is the damage done to the environment due to the demands of fashion and the display highlights some of the campaigners and groups which have been vocal in protesting about the issue. The display also looks at the role design has played in creating a more sustainable fashion industry. Runs until 27th January, 2019. Admission charge applies. For more, see vam.ac.uk/fashionedfromnature. PICTURE: Emma Watson wearing Calvin Klein at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Benefit Celebrating the Opening of Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, Arrivals, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, New York, America, 2nd May 2016 (Matt Baron/REX/Shutterstock).
• The British Museum has kicked off a first-of-its-kind two week festival of musical performances exploring the idea of museums as "diplomats of the 21st century". Running until 29th April, Europe and the world: a symphony of cultures explores Europe's interactions with the world and looks to create a dialogue between works of classical and contemporary music and objects in the museum which have come from around the world. There's 17 performances taking place over the two weeks which started last Monday as well as some panel discussions. The works include those of Ligeti, Berio, Stockhausen, Liszt, Messiaen, Strauss, Bartók, and Nono and are being performed along with pieces from historical musical traditions such as medieval temple music from China, classical music from India, Spanish colonial and flamenco music, Spiritual Japanese music from the 7th century and Byzantine choral music. Among those performing are London Sinfonietta, Ensemble für Intuitive Musik Weimar, Accademia del Piacere, Zhang Jun and his Kunqu Ensemble, Kaushikiji Charkraborty and Ensemble, and Reigakusha Ensemble Tokyo. Supported by the German Foreign Office, more details on the festival can be found at www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/europe_and_the_world.aspx.
• Tate Britain has launched a series of new night events curated by young people aged 15 to 25. The gallery, which already held the first event in early April, will open late on the first Friday evenings of June, August, October and December for a series of special events featuring music, live performances and workshops and inspired by displays, exhibitions and artworks in Tate's collections including the current Art Now installation by Marguerite Humeau, John Constable's Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, the upcoming Duveens Commission by Anthea Hamilton and the Turner Prize. Lates at Tate Britain are free, drop-in events with spaces available on a first come, first served basis. For more, head to www.tate.org.uk.
Posted in Galleries, Museums, Music heritage, News, South Kensington | Tagged British Museum, Emma Watson, Europe and the world: a symphony of cultures, Fashioned from Nature, Lates at Tate Britain, Tate Britain, Victoria and Albert | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – #LondonUnited; Westminster Abbey watercolours; and, celebrating 'numismatics'…
• The anniversaries of the four terrorist attacks which took place in London last year – in Westminster, at London Bridge, Finsbury Park and Parsons Green – are being marked from today with a 3D installation on the map area at City Hall. The public are able to pay their respects by signing a digital "book of hope" and interacting with the installation by sending messages of strength, hope and resilience using #LondonUnited on social media, with the messages then projected onto a map of London that #LondonUnited will stand on. The installation, which opens today on the anniversary of the Westminster attack, will remain open until 19th June, the anniversary of the attack in Finsbury Park. Further 'London United' exhibitions are also planned for later in the year. "These were not only attacks on our city and our country, but on the very heart of our democracy and the values we cherish most – freedom, justice and tolerance…" said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. "I hope these arrangements will help people to come together and remember those who were killed and injured, to show solidarity and support for their families and friends and the people whose lives have been affected by these tragic attacks. As we enter this period of remembrance and reflection, we stand together as Londoners, united against terrorism and in hope for the future." The installation will be open from 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday, except Bank Holidays. The Westminster attack anniversary is also being marked today with the projection of the phrase #LondonUnited on the Houses of Parliament from dusk until midnight. Further projections will take place on the anniversaries of the other attacks at the sites where they took place. Londoners who may need support, can visit victimsofterrorism.campaign.gov.uk or call 0808 168 9111.
• A series of watercolour paintings depicting the interior and precincts of Westminster Abbey have gone on display in the abbey's chapter house. The paintings, by internationally acclaimed British artist Alexander Creswell, represent, in the words of the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, "the first time ever a large suite of paintings has been commissioned to capture the stunning architecture and amazing light of the Abbey". They can seen until 16th May. Entrance to the chapter house in the Abbey's east cloister is free. For more, see www.westminster-abbey.org/events/events/glimpses-of-eternity. Meanwhile the abbey announced last week that there will be a special service of thanksgiving later in the year for the late theoretical physicist Professor Stephen Hawking, who died on 14th March at the age of 76, during which his ashes will be interred near the grave of Sir Isaac Newton.
• Numismatics – the study of coins, medals, banknotes and associated objects – is the focus of a new exhibition opening at the British Museum today. Money and Medals: mapping the UK's numismatic collections celebrates the work of the Money and Medals Network, which provides advice to British museums, and features objects from six participating institutions. They include a framed set of replica Greek coins dating from the late 19th century, a 'Magic Money Machine' which can seemingly transform a roll of blank paper into banknotes, a set of medal miniatures from Henry Hook, who won the Victoria Cross for gallantry at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, and a selection of Roman coins and replica medals of Louis XIV from the collection of the Armagh Robinson Library, founded by Archbishop Richard Robinson in 1771. The exhibition, which is free, can be found in Room 69a and runs until 30th September. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
Posted in 21st century, Bloomsbury, Churches, Galleries, Museums, News, Westminster | Tagged Alexander Creswell, British Museum, City Hall, Mayor of London, Money and Medals: mapping the UK's numismatic collections, Professor Stephen Hawking, terrorism, Westminster Abbey | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – Picasso's 1932; Bobby Moore's family photos; and, Ghika, Craxton and Leigh Fermor celebrated…
• Tate Modern is staging its first ever solo exhibition of Pablo Picasso's work with a focus on the pivotal year of 1932, described as the artist's 'year of wonders'. The EY Exhibition: Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy takes visitors on a month-by-month journey through the year with more than 100 paintings, sculptures and works on paper. Highlights include Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, a key painting in the Tate's collection, 13 seminal ink drawings of the Crucifixion, Girl before a Mirror and The Dream (pictured) as well as Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, Nude in a Black Armchair and The Mirror. During organised in collaboration with the Musée National-Picasso, Paris, the exhibition runs until 9th September in the Eyal Ofer Galleries. For more, see www.tate.org.uk. PICTURE: Le Reve (The Dream), 1932, Private Collection, © Succession Picasso/DACS London 2018.
• Family photographs of footballer Bobby Moore – who in 1966 famously captained the only English team to win the World Cup – can be seen in a new display which has opened at the National Portrait Gallery to mark this summer's FIFA World Cup tournament. Bobby Moore: First Gentleman of English Football features a series of portraits, with the earliest dating from 1962, and including a striking image of Moore (1941-93) winning the ball from George Best during a match against Northern Ireland in 1964 as well as images of Moore relaxing off the pitch, and with his children Roberta and Dean. The free display can be seen in Room 32 until next January. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.
• The influence of modern Greece upon and the enduring friendships between Greek painter Niko Ghika, British painter John Craxton and British writer, Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor are the subject of a new exhibition at the British Museum. Charmed lives in Greece: Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor brings together their artworks, photographs, letters and personal possessions as it explores how their close friendship – which commenced at the end of World War II after which all three spent much of their subsequent lives in Greece – influenced their artistic output. Highlights include Ghika's Black Sun and Craxton's Still Life with Three Sailors as well as Craxton's original artwork for the book covers of Leigh Fermor's travel classics, A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water. Many of the artworks and objects on show are on loan from the Benaki Museum in Greece, to which Ghika bequeathed his house and works. Runs in Room 5 until 15th July. Admission is free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Galleries, Museums, News, South Bank, Twentieth century | Tagged Bobby Moore, Bobby Moore: First Gentleman of English Football, British Museum, Charmed lives in Greece: Ghika Craxton Leigh Fermor, London events, National Portrait Gallery, Pablo Picasso, Tate Modern | Leave a Comment »
This Week in London – Victorian portraits; celebrating life at the Tate; Haiti's slave revolution; and, saving paintings during wartime…
• Portraits by four of the most celebrated figures in early art photography – Lewis Carroll, Julia Margaret Cameron, Oscar Rejlander and Clementine Hawarden – have gone on show in a new exhibition which opened at the National Portrait Gallery today. Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography is the first exhibition in London to feature the work of Swede Rejlander since his death and includes the finest surviving print of his famous work Two Ways of Life (1856-57) which used his pioneering technique to combine several different negatives in creating a single final image. Also on show is an album of Rejlander's photographs purchased by the gallery after it was prohibited from being sold outside of the UK in 2015 and works by Lewis Carroll depicting his famous muse Alice Liddell including lesser known photographs taken when she was a woman. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Charles Darwin and actress Ellen Terry are among the subjects shown in the exhibition which runs until 20th May. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.npg.ork.uk/victoriangiants. PICTURE: Mountain Nymph, Sweet Liberty by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1866. © Wilson Centre for Photography
• A Francis Bacon portrait of Lucian Freud is being shown for the first time since 1965 in a new exhibition at Tate Britain celebrating human life in painted works. All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life features around 100 works by artists including Walter Sickert, Stanley Spencer, Michael Andrews, Frank Auerbach, RB Kitaj, Leon Kossoff, Paula Rego, Jenny Saville, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and others, as well as groups of major and rarely seen works by Freud and Bacon. Among the works by the latter are Freud's Frank Auerbach (1975-76) and Sleeping by the Lion Carpet (1996) and Bacon's Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne (1966) and Study After Velazquez (1950). Runs until 27th August. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.tate.org.uk.
• The legacy of the world's first slave revolution – the Haitian Revolution – is explored in an exhibition at The British Museum. A revolutionary legacy: Haiti and Toussaint Louverture charts how the revolution led to the abolition of slavery and the formation of Haiti as an independent republic in 1804 and features a selection of objects commemorating the man who emerged as the revolution's foremost leader, Toussaint Louverture. Among them is a screenprint, specially acquired for this exhibition, showing Louverture in military uniform by the African American artist Jacob Lawrence. There's also a Haitian Vodou boula drum dating from the early 1900s, a Haitian banknote commemorating the nation's bicentenary in 2004, a Senegalese coin commemorating the abolition of slavery and the cover of CLR James' account of the revolution, Black Jacobins, written in 1938 and reissued during the civil rights movement in 1963. Haitian-born poet Gina Ulysee will perform a specially commissioned work which responds to the display on 16th March. Part of The Asahi Shimbun Displays, it runs until 22nd April in Room 3. Free entry. For more, including associated events, see www.britishmuseum.org.
• A series of photographs recalling the removal of The National Gallery's paintings to a disused slate mine in Snowdonia during World War II will go on show at the gallery on Monday. The 24 images document the dispersal of the paintings to Manod with five additional images by photographer Robin Friend showing the quarry as it looks today. There's also a 30 minute film directed by Friend, Winged Bull in the Elephant Case, which follows the journey of a National Gallery painting that has taken human form as it tries to save its friends and get back to London (it can be seen on Saturday on BBC2 at 10pm). The free display – Manod: The Nation's Treasure Caves – can be found in the Annenberg Court until 8th April. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.
Posted in Bloomsbury, Galleries, Museums, News, Trafalgar Square, Victorian | Tagged A revolutionary legacy: Haiti and Toussaint Louverture, All Too Human: Bacon, British Museum, Freud and a Century of Painting Life, Lewis Carroll, London events, Manod: The Nation's Treasure Caves, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography | Leave a Comment »
London Pub Signs - The London Apprentice


text:
You are here: Home › About Artemis Hospital › For Patients › Our doctors › Doctor profile
Dr. Murtaza A Chishti
/SiteFiles/doctors/Murtaza A. Chishti.jpg
Download this profile
Designation: Chief - Adult Cardiac Surgery & Heart Lung Transplant
Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Surgery
Hindi,English,Kashmiri
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), M Ch (CTVS)
Cardio-thoracic Surgery Fellowship
St. Mary's hospital, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Royal Perth Hospital Perth WA, AUSTRALIA
Prince Henry and Prince of Wales hospitals Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Brief Profile
Dr Chishti is backed by years of thorough medical education and training. He completed MBBS from the University of Kashmir, FMGEMS from USA and PLAB from United Kingdom.
He comes with a rich reserve of overseas work experience, including cardio thoracic fellowships in St. Mary's hospital, Milwaukee, USA, Royal Perth Hospital Perth, Australia and Prince Henry and Prince Wales Hospitals in Sydney Australia. At home, he held several important and prominent positions like Chief Consultant and Associate Professor in Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences and Technology and Senior Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Fortis-Escorts New Delhi, among others.
HONOURS AND REWARDS
He has been conferred with several awards and honors. He was awarded by the Society of Heart Failure and Transplant( SHfT) in recognition of his Contributions in Thoracic Organ Transplant in India at Kochi in 2016. He was awarded by Heart Failure 360 at 3rd Annual Conference in appreciation of Contribution as faculty in 2017. Further, he has been honoured by the Govt of Rajasthan under CM Vasundra Raje with the "Certificate of Excellence" for distinguished work in Organ Transplantation.
His interest in academic activity is clearly evident with his published works in the Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences (Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Patients with poor LV Function: Early Results) and Journal of Evidence Based Medical and Health Care (Organic Tricuspid Valve Repair: A single Center Results)
He specialises in Complex and re-operative coronary Surgery, Total Arterial Re-vascularisation and Surgery of the Aorta. He has special interest in Heart and Lung Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Try to grow your plant from the ground, through the ocean, ice, a pirate ship, space, and a space craft.
The audio really fit this game. Really nice!
There's not a lot to this game - it sort of feels like you submitted it when it was only halfway done, as for example there are several obstacle sprites for each of the first two levels, but only some weird black noise for the third and fourth (which made it unclear what they were supposed to be - I didn't know they were ice and a pirate ship until I read the description). That may have even been a bug, but I'm not sure.
Getting to see the different worlds is interesting, but there's just not enough gameplay to justify it.
Quite fun to play. The music didn't seem right at first but after it really kicked in, it was awesome.
The density of the obstacles starts off really high in the first level, but seems to get much more clear later on when the speed increases. So it didn't really feel like it got harder as you grew.
Cool game. I enjoyed playing it. And nice work with sound!
I really love the music!
Congrats, nice little game you have made.
Level 18 did me in, but only because I had to go eat dinner. Everything looked like it was sliding around after that.
Hah! That was some fun; and the name - hilarious! I really did enjoy this one! I am giving it a thumbs-up!!!


text:
UMKC Connect
Invest in UMKC
Provost's Office
About UMKC
Cockefair Chair
Bringing the best minds to UMKC
Home » What's New
The Carolyn Benton Cockefair Chair continues to play a role in the cultural and intellectual life of UMKC and the Kansas City Community.
"The Age of Illusions; How America Became Deeply Divided."
How we went from the fall of the Berlin Wall, when American global supremacy seemed assured, to the election of 2016, which found the nation both confused and deeply divided.
Featuring: Andrew J. Bacevich
Sponsor: Carolyn Benton Cockefair Lecture
Reception: 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: 6:30 p.m. Book signing will follow lecture.
Pierson Auditorium, UMKC Atterbury Student Success Center
5000 Holmes St.
Free parking available in the Cherry Street Parking Garage Levels 5 & 6 only
Andrew J. Bacevich grew up in Indiana, graduated from West Point and Princeton, served in the army, became an academic, and is now a writer. He is the author, co-author, or editor of more than a dozen books, among them The New American Militarism, The Limits of Power, Washington Rules, America's War for the Greater Middle East, and The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory. He is also co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a Washington think tank.
View previous lectures
HOME | TEXT ONLY | DISABILITY SERVICES | HELP CENTRAL | CONSUMER INFORMATION | CONTACT US
© Curators of the University of Missouri. DMCA and other copyright information. University of Missouri-Kansas City | Kansas City, MO 64110 | (816) 235-1000
UMKC is an An Equal Opportunity/Access/Affirmative Action/Pro Disabled and Veteran Employer. Email questions or comments about this website to webmaster@umkc.edu.


text:
Malmö Airport ready to celebrate 50th anniversary
Swedavia has begun the build up to Malmö Airport's 50th anniversary later this year by highlighting how its development over the years has benefitted the southern Swedish province of Scania and the Öresund region.
"After more than two years of pandemic, naturally it feels really great to have the opportunity to highlight Malmö Airport's role and importance for southern Sweden as well as the development journey that the airport has made as an international, climate-smart meeting place in its first fifty years," said airport director Karin Öhrström.
"Our important mission now continues, with a great focus on enhancing access to the region and the rest of the world while we continue to drive the industry's transition to net-zero aviation.
"Great recruitment efforts are being carried out by us and our business partners at the airport to handle more passengers this summer and beyond after several years of pandemic."
Celebrations for the airport's first fifty years will be under way until the end of the year, starting in May, and passengers and other visitors will be able to take part, including through exhibitions at the airport and via Swedavia's social media.
Historical photos and interviews with current and former employees will give visitors a look back in time, and milestones and highlights will be presented with a focus on the airport's development and importance to the region.
This historical retrospective will be interspersed with the airport's vision of the sustainable air travel of the future.
Facts in brief:
– The first aircraft landed at Malmö Airport in 1972.
– Since the airport was inaugurated, more than 60 million passengers have passed through it on their way to work, a holiday or the biggest adventure of their life.
– Over the years, Malmö Airport has been developed to meet the needs of future passengers, with the expansion of terminals, aircraft parking stands, hangars, car parks and take-off and landing runways for planes and helicopters.
– The development of Malmö Airport has helped to make it an important connecting link in the Öresund region, with traffic evenly divided between international and domestic travel.
– Together with Swedavia's other airports, Malmö Airport is first in the world to have zero fossil carbon dioxide emissions from its own operations.
Airport world, All News
ACI World invites submissions for Technology Innovation Awards
Perth Airport unveils new self-service technology


text:
Q: Tensorflow 1.5 unoptimized build for debugging: compilation fails Building as follows to perform debugging of Tensorflow 1.5 backend:
bazel build -c opt --config cuda -c dbg --strip=never //tensorflow/tools/pip_package:build_pip_package -s

Gives:
INFO: From Compiling tensorflow/contrib/nccl/kernels/nccl_manager.cc:
/usr/include/c++/6/bits/stl_pair.h(327): error: calling a __host__ function("std::_Rb_tree_const_iterator< ::tensorflow::NcclManager::NcclStream *> ::_Rb_tree_const_iterator") from a __device__ function("std::pair< ::std::_Rb_tree_const_iterator< ::tensorflow::NcclManager::NcclStream *> , bool> ::pair< ::std::_Rb_tree_iterator< ::tensorflow::NcclManager::NcclStream *>  &, bool &, (bool)1> ") is not allowed

/usr/include/c++/6/bits/stl_pair.h(327): error: identifier "std::_Rb_tree_const_iterator< ::tensorflow::NcclManager::NcclStream *> ::_Rb_tree_const_iterator" is undefined in device code

/usr/include/c++/6/bits/stl_algobase.h(1009): error: calling a __host__ function("__builtin_clzl") from a __device__ function("std::__lg") is not allowed

I guess we can get such functions properly folded by adding some inlining flag, yet keeping no other optimizations?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Jimmy Kimmel to Appear Via Hologram After the CMA Awards | Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jimmy Kimmel will appear simultaneously in both Nashville and Los Angeles honoring the 49th Annual CMA Awards on November 4 during "Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the CMA Awards."
Through the use of cutting-edge technology powered by the latest generation of PCs and created by Hologram USA, Jimmy Kimmel be going cross country, hosting his show from two cities at the same time on Country music's biggest night. On Wednesday, November 4, the late night host will be live in Hollywood, California and transported to Nashville, Tennessee via hologram.
To celebrate the CMA Awards on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel Live will fill The Country Music Hall of Fame Theater in Nashville. Kimmel's monologue will be beamed via hologram to the Nashville stage. His first guest, Seth Rogen, will be an in-studio guest in Hollywood. The show will also feature a musical performance by CMA Award winners The Band Perry from Nashville that will be a projected hologram and powered by the 6th generation Intel Core processor to Hollywood, California as if live on Kimmel's outdoor stage in Los Angeles for his studio audience.
Don't miss the CMA Awards Tonight at 8|7c.
Watch Hologram Jimmy Tonight at 11:35|10:35c on ABC.


Iolite is a piece of new writing with a number of songs with strong lyrics, well-sung here by the female members of the cast.
The story flits around from Iolite's childhood, to a young adult in a relationship, through that relationship break-up and her trying to move on.
The common theme is of Iolite being bullied by people she loves and who purport to love her. Her mother, who goes through mood swings, does her best to lower Iolite's self-esteem by shouting at her. There is one particularly interesting song reflecting on how the playground pal can grow up to be an aggressive adult, but in truth he was probably the one that pulled pigtails and got away with it. The nice pal grows up to be the thoughtful boss who finds himself coming off second best.
There is a bit of violence in this piece related to the control that many men seem to need to have over a partner. The show packs a lot into 50 minutes.
The cast members are very credible in their performance although ideally the young Iolite could have looked more like ten years of age. The singing voice made up for that and indeed the adult Iolite, her best friend, and the girl out to steal the boyfriend all are very good while 'Steve' as the bully and 'Nick' as the boss also come across well.
The music is provided by keyboard and cello, but it is the latter that gives the music a haunting sound.
The piece needs more development as it is a bit jumpy, but I'm not sure how the writer can achieve this.
Runs to 22 August (not 16), 4.05pm.


Australian Data Archive - ASSDA is a consortium of leading national Australian universities, managed by the Australian National University (ANU).
Cengage Learning - Cengage Learning is a leading provider of learning solutions for the school and higher education markets for Australia.
School of Social Sciences & International Studies - Provides social sciences education and research.
The School of Social Science - Provides a range of information about anthropology, archaeology, criminology and sociology.


text:
The Fascinating Origins of Idioms
By Jay Moon
So you've found yourself enjoying a morning bowl of your favourite bran-based breakfast cereal and you have a sudden urge to find out exactly what an idiom is. You Google it, and now here you are.
Scroll to the end to watch the video.
Heavy rain, basically. Source: lifewithdogs.tv
The very act you were required to do-closing that tab on the nerdy rapping Uber driver and opening whatever search engine you happen to favor (be it Yahoo, Bing or if you're more into communication through looped images of animals shaking what their mamas gave them, Giphy)-chances are good you'll probably relate the story during a later conversation with an elderly neighbour by saying, "I know what you're thinking, Howard; how did I even find anything on idioms? I just googled it!"
What is 'google' exactly, though? Of course it's the name of a search engine that some of us have been known to lean heavily on when we're stumped by a crossword clue or Trivial Pursuit question. That slightly goofy-sounding moniker is first and foremost one simple thing: a word. But in our modern times, the business name 'Google' has become an all-encompassing verb or expression for doing research. Providing you hunting for spoilers on the upcoming season of Walking Dead can be classified as 'research.'
You can take an idiom seriously, just not too literally
Photo Source: Wiki Commons
Idioms can generally be summarized as words being put together to form a phrase that is best not to be taken literally.
Earlier in this article there was made mention of animals shaking what their mamas gave them, an expression popularized starting back in 1992 when the song 'Shake Whatcha' Momma Gave Ya' by hip-hop group Southern Clan was released.
The key here is: what exactly did your mama just give you to shake? When it comes to the human side of this story here's hoping you aren't given that command when you've just come from visiting mom and you're still holding the two bottles of cola she handed you on your way out the door. Of course, it does have all the ingredients for a viral video sensation of anyone happens to capture the moment with their cell phone.
The everyday idiom
There are plenty of familiar idioms that have been around for so long they've been adopted as part of the everyday English language. Estimates are at least 25,000 idioms are in circulation. They are one of the reasons why someone learning English as a second language wants to slam their aching noggin against the wall when they realize how many words in the dictionary technically mean one thing but have also been hijacked to say something else entirely.
If you're raised speaking English, you know that when there is heavy precipitation and someone exclaims that it's 'raining cats and dogs' we aren't expecting to see furry critters plummeting to the Earth.
This saying's exact origin story is difficult to trace since it has been in use in various forms and wordings for centuries. In his 1710 poem, 'A Description of a City Shower,' satirist Jonathan Swift alludes to heavy rainfall flushing out numerous small animal carcasses usually scattered around larger, hygienically-challenged urban centers like London and floating them down the city's streets.
In 1738, Swift published 'A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation,' in which the line "I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs." can be found. What is unclear is whether Swift was tying this into his earlier reference to soggy animal carcasses in the streets, or if over time Swift's two works were combined and adapted to build the foundation of the phrase as we know it today.
Those that find themselves in desperate shape on the financial front are sometimes described as being both 'piss poor' or not having a 'pot to piss in.' What does pee have to do with financial stability, though?
In simpler days, urine was collected in a bucket (usually by those that had little-to-no money or income; in other words piss poor) and then sold to tanneries to soak animal hides in to help remove hair and soften the skin. If you were so broke you couldn't even afford the bucket, you officially did not have a pot to piss in.
In more recent times 'pissed' has also been the label attached to anyone who has imbibed one too many pints at the pub and become 'piss drunk'. A patron leaves their drinking establishment of choice and staggers to the nearest alley (or street corner, phone booth, fire hydrant…you get the point) and proceeds to pee, regardless of whether there's an animal hide underfoot or not. In some instances, they might simply pee themselves.
That same person now potentially sporting piddle pants would probably be described as being 'three sheets to the wind.' This phrase borrowed from nautical terminology describing the ropes attached to a ship's sails to keep them in place becoming loose in the wind and fluttering about causing the vessel to teeter back and forth like an inebriated crew member.
Idioms are global
English is not the only language to have idioms, of course. If you're in Sweden and you've been caught red handed you might hear the phrase 'skägget i brevladån' being directed your way.
Translation? Being caught with your beard in the mailbox-a much less gruesome visual than the backstory to 'red handed' that originated in 15th century Scotland and centers around messy animal poachers and murderers who had to have been so piss poor they couldn't afford a bucket to clean up after themselves and wash their blood-stained hands.
Yes, we made mention of 25,000 idioms being in existence, but here's just a sampling of other popular sayings:
'Eating humble pie'
It has been known to happen that an individual overstates the importance of an achievement or makes a huge mistake they swore would never happen. While their friends and family point their fingers and laugh at said individual, it is common to hear that person will be eating humble pie as a result of their error.
The original 'humble' in question dates back to the 1400s, when the innards, entrails and internal organs of a deer (called numbles) would be set aside for the lowly servants of a wealthy household to eat. While the aristocrats of the house feasted on venison, the staff would make do with numble pie. Over time, the 'n' was dropped and 'umble' was born. Umble naturally lent itself to being pronounced 'humble,' and from there, an idiom was born.
'Pull someone's leg'
Pull it. Source: imgur
Everyone loves the occasional practical joke, but to 'pull someone's leg' is thought to have derived from being robbed after some scoundrel tripped you on the street so their scandalous buddies could then swoop in and grab all your stuff. It's a theory of the saying that some go so far as to pin a date and location to for its first use: Victorian London, 1882.
Others think it has more to do with beggars of the time tugging on trousers to get the attention of passersby when asking for money. A much more morbid explanation involves individuals executed slowly and quite painfully by suspension hanging (instead of being dropped from the gallows, a much quicker demise) needing someone to 'pull their legs' to speed up the process. Speaking of slow deaths…


This story is written so beautifully from a mom with twins who were in the NICU. Please read below.
Everyone's path to becoming a parent is different. My husband, Jarod, and I could never have imagined how ours would play out to get to where we are today. Our story was full of surprises, good and bad, and it started with discovering we were pregnant with our first child this past January. We had just started trying and were overwhelmed with how lucky we were for it to happen so quickly. At our first doctor's appointment in February we did an ultrasound to check the baby's due date and had our second surprise: we were pregnant with twins!! The shock of this amazing news never got old as we began to tell family and friends our pregnancy news. My health throughout the pregnancy was great and I felt really blessed in how well it was going. I had a few days of some minor morning sickness but nothing too alarming. At 24 weeks I went in for another ultrasound and was shocked by what they saw: Baby A had started to enter my cervix and I was slightly dilated. I was told I would not be leaving the hospital and could be having my babies that day. My doctor even expressed to me that I should be prepared to possibly lose one of the babies if things didn't go well. Thankfully things went well over the next 4 days and I did not deliver. I was administered magnesium sulfate and steroids to help speed up the development of the babies' lungs and to try and prevent the babies from being born. Since Baby A had not advanced any further in my cervix I was sent home on bed rest. On June 21, I started having pains in my abdomen and was very uncomfortable. I thought it was just some growing pains or Braxton Hicks but as the night wore on the pains started happening more frequently. By the time I got to the hospital I was already dilated 9 cm and was told there was no stopping these babies – they were coming out! Baby B was breeched so I was immediately rushed into an emergency C section. Nolan James and Brayden Charles were born on June 22 at 2:33am and 2:36am weighing 1lb 15 oz and 2 lbs 1 oz.
Nolan and Brayden were born at 26 weeks and 2 days gestational age and had a long battle ahead of them. As soon as they were born they were rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they would spend the first 72 and 84 days of their lives. Their many struggles began within the first few days they were in the hospital. Nolan was diagnosed with a meningitis infection while Brayden had to have surgery to remove a portion of his intestine that was perforated. Brayden would later have a second surgery to put his intestines back together again. Due to our babies being in the NICU we were unable to enjoy many of the "normal" things about being new parents. For example I wasn't able to breastfeed my babies right away. I began the grueling process of breast pumping. Since the boys were so small they were barely drinking much breast milk at all and there were many weeks that one or both of them were not able to eat anything. For example, when Brayden was at his worst he didn't get to eat for 3 weeks in a row. As a mom I felt so helpless for my babies and found that there were only two things I could consistently do for them: 1) be at the hospital with them every day and 2) pump breast milk for them. Since the boys were drinking little to none of it each day our supply quickly began to overflow the freezer space at the hospital and at home. We started to wonder what we were going to do when we ran out of freezer space. We knew that not only would the boys eventually be healthy enough to drink it but that they would be drinking more than I could produce so we didn't want to throw any of it away.
This is where Eden's Garden was so helpful for us! The hospital social worker had told us about Eden's Garden and after reaching out to them we shared our story and what we needed. At first I didn't express what we really needed because I thought it would be too much to ask of them. Eventually I told them our predicament and that what we really needed was a freezer. Eden's Garden really came through and helped us out in a big way. One day a huge freezer was delivered to our house from Sears and it has been such a blessing to us! A lot of the normal things that new parents usually get to do we were deprived of so being able to feed our babies with breast milk has been one of the things we have been able to enjoy. Their help took such a burden off our shoulders and will be the best "medicine" for the boys to drink to help them grow big and strong.
After almost 3 months in the NICU, Nolan and Brayden are both at home now and are just over 4 months old. They have come a long ways since they were born and are 9 lbs 3 oz and 8 lbs 10.5 oz in weight now. They are both able to drink breast milk every day now and we are quickly working through the supply that we had built up for them while they were in the hospital. They both still have a lot of developmental hurdles to cross due to their prematurity but they are both doing so well and we love having them home. Eden's Garden will always hold a special place in our hearts for how much they helped us and were willing to do anything for us during such a stressful time of our lives. Thank you Eden's Garden!!


Some news about the ministry of CEF Moldova.
Vasili and Lubov Ivanchev are full-time workers based in Ceadir Lunga(southern Moldova). "We count it a privilege that God has called us to be part of such a ministry in our own country. We have been serving Him in this way since 1997. Our goal is to reach children in our area and to share the Gospel with them in."
Nicolae and Ala Patranjel are full-time workers in Moldova. Nowadays we coordinate CEF ministry in the Rezina area (NE Moldova). "We are glad that God has called us into this ministry not only to reach precious children with the Gospel but also to train others to be child evangelists."
Pavel and Nelia Tapcov are full-time workers. We serve God as local CEF workers in Balti country (NW Moldova). "God has given us many open doors to evangelise the children in our area. We do not take this for granted. Pray that God will continue to give us these opportunities."
Lilia Petrov is a full-time worker. She serves God as a child evangelist in the Singerei area (N Moldova). "There are many children who have never heard the Gospel in the villages of my area. My desire is that God will use me to tell them!"
Tanya Negrea is a full-time CEF worker based in Chisinau. Tanya: "It is a privelege for me to serve God as a designer in the National office. My goal is to help the missionaries to reach children of Moldova."
translation in Russian, editing of Russian texts.
Please pray that God will be glorified through me!
Eugen & Violeta Dolgier are pleased to say the Good News to the Children from Chisinau region. "We recognize that only God's grace help us in this ministry."
Serghei & Masa Zincenco are full-time workers in the area Transnistria (this area lies East of the Nistru river and borders with the Ukraine).
It is a great privilege and joy for us to share the Gospel with the children.
We help with training volunteers who desire to reach children with the Gospel and teach God's Word to the younger generation.
Tavifa & Mihail Diaciuc are full-time workers in county Bălți and Floreşti.
As teens, both of us had a dream to be a missionary. Now, God made us a family and gave us the ministry of sharing the Gospel among children & teenagers at Good News Clubs®, 5-Day Clubs®, Summer Camps, in public schools and kinder gardens, where we also train them in God's Word.
Meanwhile, we offer help to children's leaders by different Training Courses.
Email:Tavifa&Mihail Diaciuc Pray for us to be clean instruments in God's hands.
CEF National Office is located in the center of capital Moldova - Chisinau. It is a 3 room apartment on the first floor of a block building. It is situated just off the main boulevard in the city centre. Praise the Lord for His provision as this apartment has served CEF ministry in Moldova during this time as the work and team have expanded.
Pray with us for the opportunity to buy a new officiu CEF to be used for trainings, for workers meetings, for National Board the meetings etc.
The Good News across Project is now an annual event in our summer calendar. This is the fourth year we are planning this special week of open air evangelism together with local churches in a designated area.
This year we will concentrate on the south of the country as shown - Transnistria (Russian) and Stefan Voda (Romanian).
If you want to get more information please contact Linda Corry, the CEF country leaders!