EXIBITIONS
Black Atlantic: power, people, resistance
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Until 7 January 2024, www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/visit-us/exhibitions/black-atlantic-power-people-resistance
This new exhibition brings collections from across the University of Cambridge’s museums, libraries, and colleges together with loans from around the world to ask new questions about the city’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. Displaying objects and artwork made in West Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Europe, Black Atlantic reveals the histories that have been silenced: stories not just of exploitation, but of resilience and liberation, too. Tickets are free and can be booked online now.
Image: Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge (MAA ID)
Holbein at the Tudor Court
The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London, 10 November 2023-14 April 2024, http://www.rct.uk/whatson/event/1091494/Holbein-at-the-Tudor-Court
This upcoming exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery will bring together more than 100 works from Henry VIII’s court, including drawings, paintings, and miniatures by Hans Holbein the Younger, making this the largest group of his works from the Royal Collection to be exhibited in more than 30 years. The show will tell the story of Holbein’s career in England, and bring us face to face with some of the key figures from the Tudor court, from Anne Boleyn to Sir Thomas More. Tickets cost £19, with concession prices available.
EVENTS
Festival of Neolithic Ideas
Stonehenge, Wiltshire, 11-12 November 2023, http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/stonehenge-festival-of-neolithic-ideas
English Heritage and the University of Cambridge Department of Archaeology are holding the first Festival of Neolithic Ideas at Stonehenge, with a programme of hands-on activities, demonstrations, talks, and tours, led by experts in the field. The festival will explore how the latest advances in science and archaeological techniques – from radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA to astronomy and laser scanning – have developed our understanding of Stonehenge and the people who built it. Entry is included with a General Admission ticket to Stonehenge; book online to save 10%.
CONFERENCES
Lincoln’s Engineering History – Industrial archaeology conference
Deans Building, Lincoln College, Lincoln, 18 November 2023, http://www.slha.org.uk/events/index.php
The Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology presents an industrial archaeology conference, with a day of talks by expert speakers including ‘Commemorating Lincoln Engineering Society’s Centenary: its origins, and early years’, ‘The Ruston in the Blue Lagoon’,‘The Engineering Heritage of Lincoln’, and more. Tickets cost £30, or £25 for SLHA members, which includes lunch and refreshments. Bookings must be made before 10 November using the Eventbrite link or by post using the booking form; you can find both on the SLHA website above.
LECTURE
The Unexpected Side of English Cloth Seals
Museum of Making, Derby, 6 December 2023, http://www.spma.org.uk/geoff-egan-memorial-lectures
This year’s Geoff Egan Memorial Lecture, arranged by the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology, will be given by Professor Maxim Mordovin of the Department of Hungarian Medieval and Early Modern Archaeology, Etővős Loránd University. He will present the preliminary results of the evaluation of more than 500 16th- to 17th-century English cloth seals found in the Carpathian Basin (Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, and Croatia) and Ukraine. The lecture will take place in-person and online; both options are free, but places must be booked.
HERITAGE FROM HOME
VIRTUAL VISITS
• Städel Museum, Germany
http://www.sammlung.staedelmuseum.de
Delve into 700 years of art with the Städel Museum’s Digital Collection: each work is digitised and described, and many feature additional information, video, and audio contributions.
• Aberdeen Maritime Museum, UK
http://www.bloombergconnects.org
Discover Aberdeen Maritime Museum’s new digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app to learn from home about the city’s long relationship with the sea, or use the resources to complement a visit to the museum.
• Tenochtitlan, Mexico
https://tenochtitlan.thomaskole.nl
Explore a 3D reimagining of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, and see what the city may have looked like in its 16th-century heyday, with comparisons to Mexico City today.
• Jamestown, USA
http://www.historicjamestowne.org/education/jamestown-from-home
Learn more about life in historic Jamestown, and excavations at the site, with these online resources, including an interactive map, virtual video tours, dig diaries, digital collections, and more.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
• National Portrait Gallery: schools hub
http://www.npg.org.uk/schools-hub
Delve into the National Portrait Gallery’s Schools Hub to discover more than 150 newly commissioned online learning resources and videos designed to support teaching art and history through portraiture.
• Map Collections: Brooklyn history
https://mapcollections.brooklynhistory.org
Explore over 1,500 digitised maps from the collections of Brooklyn Historical Society, depicting New York City, Long Island, New England, and beyond, and spanning the 17th century to the present.
• Outside the Box
https://sites.libsyn.com/448569
Find out more about archives across the UK and the wonders they contain with this podcast. It is part of the Archives and Records Association’s `Explore Your Archive’ campaign.
• National Museum of Women in the Arts
http://www.twitter.com/WomenInTheArts
The only major museum solely dedicated to championing women through the arts is currently closed, but their social media remains active, featuring stories and works of art from around the world.
FAMILY FUN
• Osborne House: a royal retreat
http://www.channel5.com/show/osborne-house
Enjoy unique access to the house on the Isle of Wight where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert came to escape the pressures of royal life, with this new documentary narrated by Bill Nighy.
• Union with David Olusoga
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0gd25kn/union-with-david-olusoga
Explore Britain’s complex history of national identity, and the story of attempts to create a united state during the 17th and 18th centuries, in this four-part series presented by David Olusoga.
• Buckingham Palace with Alexander Armstrong
http://www.channel5.com/show/the-palace
Dig into the hidden history of the famous royal residence, from the late 18th century when the building first came into royal hands all the way up to the Second World War and the modern era.
• Puzzle Party – APAHM Edition
https://artsandculture.google.com/experiment/puzzle-party-—-apahm-edition/SwF0oBObOvcUbg
Piece together images of hundreds of artworks and objects with this special edition of Google Arts & Culture’s `Puzzle Party’ game, created for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
• Tate Kids
Discover games, quizzes, and other activities connected to the art in Tate’s collections, with opportunities to learn more about the artists featured and develop your own skills and knowledge.
