Exhibitions

This is the Bolton Museum and Archive Service Exhibitions page. Here you will find details about current and future exhibitions.

Many exhibitions also have further pages which give more detail as well as images of some of the works and objects featured.

Further down the page is a list of previous exhibitons

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Now Showing

Cell by Date

Saturday 30 January to Saturday 13 March

The exhibition tells the story of two people in prison cells. The first will be a Victorian cell, telling the story of Agnes Lawless, a prisoner in 1871. Agnes was a young servant girl who stole from her employer and received six month hard labour in Stangeways Prison as a result.

The group will be working in partnership with Hindley Young Offenders Institute to tell the story of the second cell, a young person who has recently committed a crime.

The youth group have taken on the roles of Museum staff and have control over design and content in the exhibition. Members of the group have taken on roles such as project manager, finance officer and administration assistant.

Forthcoming

At the Edge: British Art 1950 to 2000

Sat 31 July to Sat 30 October

This touring exhibition of art from collections of Rochdale, Preston, Oldham and Bolton shows British artworks from the 1950s to the present day.

It shows work from a host of well known British artists. These include Henry Moore, Lucian Freud, Andy Goldsworthy, Helen Chadwick and Jacob Epstein.

Previous Exhibition Details

Exhibitions are shown in date order, the most recent being at the top of the list.

27 November 2009 to 23 January 2010	Open Art Show In its third year, this popular open submission exhibition provided professional and amateur artists and craftspeople with the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work. Artworks were showcased that appealled to a wide range of artistic tastes from the traditional to the avant-garde. Exhibits included drawing, painting, sculpture and photography.
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November 2009 to 9 January 2010	The Nights are Drawing In The exhibition shows prints from our permanent collection. They represent the typical days and nights of our British winters. Prose and poems about winter are also on display.
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21 February '09 to December '09	Sports and Games in Worktown Humphrey Spender’s Worktown photographs were taken during half a dozen trips to Bolton in 1937 and 1938. The pictures he took helped reinforce Mass Observation’s chief findings on sports and games in Worktown. First, they highlighted how much drinking and gambling were part of this form of recreation.Second, they identified a tension between the leisure pursuits of the individual and the idea of the team: ‘The pub spirit is not the team spirit.’ This exhibition draws connections between Spender’s photographs and Mass Observation’s writings. This collection was purchased with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund.
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13 June '09 to 7 November '09	Simple Beginnings: The Story of Evolution “From so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.” Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, 1859 2009 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his greatest work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection As part of the national Darwin200 celebrations, Bolton Museum and Archive Service presented an exhibition looking at the story of evolution. The exhibition was about the historical background to Darwin’s theory, and the time in which it was written. It also showed how the theory was received here in Bolton, as well as on the wider world stage. There was be a section on Darwin himself and a section on how we observe the effects of evolution in the natural world. The final section allowed vistors the chance to explore contemporary evolutionary theory and see how it changed from Darwin’s time. Find out about more about Darwin, the story of his discovery and Evolutionary Theory Entrance to the exhibition is free. A wide range of events and activities will be taking place as part of the exhibition. The original chimpanzee photo can be seen on suneko's Flickr account. Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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18 September '09 to 31 October '09	Bolton Council of Mosques A fascinating exhibition exploring the history of mosques in Bolton. The exhibition featured a brief history of the first mosques in Bolton, and objects from the current 20 Mosques in Bolton; brought to life with stories from elders in the community. It also included a large scale art piece made from photographs of the work created by young Muslim girls attending Bolton Council of Mosques youth club.
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August '09 to 25 October '09	Chemist display A small display in the Central Library looking at the history of professional pharmacy. It told the story of the Chemist’s shop, from patent remedies to pill making, with some magnificent display jars to boot (including the leeches jar pictured on the right). This the latest in a series of displays on health and medicine featuring items from the museum’s collection. They were specially chosen to compliment the work of the Primary Care Trust Library.
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August '09 to 25 October '09	Wearing Feathers Until 25 October 2009 Wearing Feathers was a small display in the Central Library of objects from Bolton Museum & Archive Service. It showed how feathers have been worn by people in the past. Displaying fashionable feathers from the late 1800s and early 1900s and learn how this trend for feathers had disastrous consequences for birds. Feathers image by Flickr member Ana Cota
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1 August '09 to 5 September '09	Surreal Stories An exhibition of works by Cecil Collins from Bolton’s Collection. Cecil Collins was a painter, poet, writer, designer and teacher. Collins’ never aligned himself with any one art movement but drew influence from, among others, the surrealists, and the neo-romanticists. His work has a magical quality and often depicts fantastical landscapes or figures. Most of the works to be displayed have been generously given to Bolton by the Artist’s widow, Elisabeth Collins.
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16 May '09 to 25 July '09	Escape to the Country: Picturesque Landscapes This exhibition featured landscape paintings from the museum’s permanent collections, including work by some well known British artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, JMW Turner, William Turner and John Roberts Cozens. In the late 1700s, many artists travelled around Britain and Europe painting images of the countryside to recapture the landscape and to remind town and city dwellers of the fresh air and beauty they were missing out on as a result of the industrial revolution. Painters often depicted landscapes that were even more beautiful than in reality, portraying romantic, nostalgic images that were untouched by industry. This exhibition featured a wide selection of these works and included a wonderful romanticised landscape by Thomas Gainsborough, two beautiful watercolours by JMW Turner from his travels in Europe and England, a Scottish landscape by William Turner and a painting depicting an exquisite view in Florence from John Robert Cozens’ first tour of Italy.
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14 March '09 to 23 May '09	Saved for the Nation: The Story of the FA Cup An amazing collection of rarely seen objects helped to tell the story of the FA Cup and explain why the competition inspires people throughout the world. The exhibition also displayed, for the first time in 95 years, the oldest surviving FA Cup trophy used during FA Cup Finals between 1896 and 1910. The trophy was purchased in 2005 by Birmingham City chairman, David Gold, and saved for the nation. Visitors could find out how and why the FA Challenge Cup was created in 1872 and about the great FA Cup teams, players and goals. You could also see stunning photographs and film footage of the greatest ever finals and the shirts worn by the players. More detail about the exhibition can be found in an interview with Collections Rationalisation Officer Ben Whittaker This exhibition was organised by the National Football Museum and has been supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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7 February '09 to 9 May '09	Egyptomania This exhibition showed the influence of Egyptian art and culture on other civilisations, ranging from ivory furniture made for Assyrian kings in the eighth century BC to cotton woven in Bolton. Rare and beautiful objects, including Renaissance illustrated books and objects made for Napoleon rubbed shoulders with modern costume jewellery, satirical prints and tourist souvenirs, demonstrating the enduring fascination Egypt has exerted over all tastes and cultures. .
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13 December '08 to February 14 '09	Building Bolton: Up Your Street If your four walls could speak what would they say? Focusing on well-known Bolton buildings, this exhibition brought to life memories of the past. Packed full of local stories and using items from the museum collections, this exciting exhibition explored how Bolton has become the town it is today. More about Building Bolton Photograph of Howcroft Street copyright Richard Rollon .
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25 October '08 to January 31 '09	Julian Trevelyan's Worktown Julian Trevelyan joined the Bolton Worktown observation team in 1937. He was one of a number of artists and poets invited by Tom Harrisson to record what it felt like to be in Bolton, in the form of paintings, collages and photographs. Trevelyan’s experiences in Worktown had an enduring impact on his artistic life. Years later, his Worktown experience still influenced the subject matter for his art, and he claimed that it was during this period that he gained the courage to paint things he cared about in the way he felt them. This exhibition documented a whole range of Trevelyan’s work; including collage and watercolour landscapes of Bolton Mills and streets, and interesting photographs of local street life and industrial wasteland. You can view more Mass Observation images of Bolton online at the Spender's Worktown website
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8 November '08 to January 31 '09	Bradshaw Gass & Hope exhibition This exhibition told the story of the Bolton-based architecture firm Bradshaw Gass and Hope and showcased some exquisite drawings. Formed in 1862, the firm gained a reputation for building magnificent public buildings such as Manchester’s Royal Exchange. Their spectacular designs continue today and include the Bolton Arena.
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September 20 to November 22 '08	Bolton Art Circle and Bolton Camera Club With over 200 members, Bolton Art Circle is one of the largest art societies in the North West. Made up of professional and amateur artists, the group use a broad range of media including watercolours, oils and pastels. Bolton Camera Club was set up in 1897 and its members capture a wide variety of subjects including landscapes, portraits and still lives. Visitors to the exhibition could vote for their favourite piece on display. The winner was announced at the end of the exhibition. The image on the right is a detail of a photograph by Bolton Camera Club member Mark Power titled "Autumn Reflections".
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August 9 to November 1 '08	The Artist and the Author’s Tale This was an exhibition of original illustrations by artist Helen Flook, from bestselling author Terry Deary’s series of history books for children. Specially created for the ‘The Phantom and the Fisherman’ and ‘Gold in the Grave’ these illustrations bring to life Egyptian tales. This exhibition was on tour from Conwy Museums.
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May 17 to September 6 '08	Face to Face An exhibition where you could find out how the faces of Bolton have changed, see different styles of portraits, find out how we celebrated celebrities in Victorian times, see mementos of famous Boltonians, find out how photography has changed the way we record people’s faces and examples of private family portraits. The exhibition featured activities for all the family with giant magnetic faces to play with, seaside photo opportunities and funny faces puzzles.
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May 3 to August 2 '08	Bolton’s Treasures: Peruvian Mummies Unravelled This exhibition unravels the stories surrounding two of the mummies in Bolton Museum’s collection and aspects of Peruvian culture. Most of the Peruvian objects in Bolton Museum were given by William Smithies, who worked in South America from 1896-1927. The exhibition explores his discoveries and how some of his collection came to this Museum. Research recently carried out in conjunction with the University of York has revealed some important new evidence related to the Museum’s Peruvian mummies. Discover what studying the mummies has allowed us to uncover. More about the mummy and issues surrounding the display of human remains
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February 9 - April 26 '08	Bolton's Treasure: A Moran Family Affair An exhibition spotlighting recently acquired Moran prints purchased with assistance from the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, The Art Fund and Bradshaw Gass Trust. The Morans were a talented artistic family and the exhibition features prints by Bolton born Thomas Moran, his wife Mary and brother, Peter. The exhibition looks at how the Museum raises funds to purchase new pieces and how it continues to develop its art collection for the future.
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February 2 - May 3 '08	Wildwood: A photographic exhibition by Pete Davis Wildwood featured new work by photographer Pete Davis who is renowned for his mastery of large format photography. In his photographs, Pete Davis encapsulates many of the elements of the woodland. Mystery, myth, spirituality and history are represented here - all significant aspects of this untamed landscape. From twisted roots, fallen trees, peace glades and sunlit canopies, Pete Davis captures the beauty and sometimes the eeriness of woodland landscapes.
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December 1 '07 - January 28 '08	Mass Obseration: 70th Anniversary of Worktown An exhibition of works created for the Worktown project, carried out as part of the Mass Observation study. The show featured photography by Humphrey Spender and Humphrey Jennings as well as art by Julian Trevelyan and Jennings. As well as celebrating the enduring legacy of the Mass Observation this exhibition anticipated the opening of a new permanent Worktown gallery in March 2008..
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November 17 '07 - January 12 '08	Open Art: works by Bolton artists An exhibition displaying the work of artists who live and work in Bolton. The works covered many mediums from oil to watercolour and sculpture to photography. Competition for inclusion in this exhibition was particularly strong this year. Out of the many entrants were three lucky artists who were awarded prizes for their outstanding work.
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18 August - November 24 '07	Second World War Art This exhibition brought together Bolton’s collection of Second World War art. Most of the drawings and paintings were done by artists who worked for the government through The War Artists Advisory Committee. The Committee commissioned artists to record war in all its aspects. This could range from the front line overseas to the efforts that civilians made on the home front. Included in the show were two works by Henry Moore, generously lent by The Henry Moore Foundation. These drawings were created during the early stages of the Blitz in London, when thousands of Londoners sought shelter in the tube stations. A group of photographs taken in Bolton were also shown. These show the aftermath and the devastation wreaked by an air raid in 1941. Images of works shown in Second World War Art
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21 July - November 3 '07	Something old, something new An exhibition of wedding dresses exploring bridal practice in Bolton in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. On show were Victorian and Edwardian wedding dresses from the Bolton Museum costume collection and a group of dresses made by the Bolton designer A.C. Heaton (aka Poppy Hinds) on loan from Bolton women. Images of dresses and stories from 'Something old, something new'
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5 May - 11 August '07	Then and Now: Scenes of Long Island and Yellowstone This exhibition featured the whole Moran collection alongside contemporary photographs of places associated with the Morans taken by the museum’s Curator of Art, Fiona Salvesen, during her Winston Churchill Fellowship to the USA in 2006. Fiona’s trip was part of the Service’s strategic plan to develop Bolton as a centre for the study of the Moran family and other Bolton-born emigrant artists and their legacy in helping to develop the image of North America that has such powerful cultural resonance today. Further details about Then and Now
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11 May - 7 July '07	Death Equals All Things: OMNIA MORS AEQUAT Toxically themed show based on the Museum botany collection To celebrate the centenary of the acquisition of the botanical collections of Dr Philip Brookes Mason and Thomas Greenlees, Bolton Museum and Archive Service commissioned artist Rebecca Chesney to create a new artwork in response to these fascinating collections. Further details about Death Equals All Things
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5 - 26 May '07	Bolton Philatelic Society 75th Anniversary The Bolton Philatelic Society was formed in 1932. 2007 is the groups 75th anniversary and is commemorated with an exhibition in the Community gallery at Bolton Museum and Archive Service. Further information and images of some British stamps and Bolton postmarks
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February - 15 May '07	From a Modern Land This exhibition highlighted pieces from the Egyptian textile collection at Bolton Museum. Alongside these were displayed paintings, drawings, prints and artist’s books by Ros Ford inspired by Egypt and Egyptian artefacts. Ros and Tom Hardwick, the Museum’s curator of Egyptology, selected for exhibition textiles that have not been displayed for many years Further details about From a Modern Land
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12 - 30 April '07	Gateway Protection Programme . An exhibition of stories and photographs exploring the lives of Bolton’s Sudanese refugees The Gateway Protection Programme is a new resettlement scheme for refugees, established in 2002 by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Its chief aim is to find homes in other countries for people who have been exiled in refugee camps for many years. They are usually refugees whose lives are exceptionally at risk. The threat to their lives is so great that it is not possible for them to remain in their camp and the country where they have sought refuge. Nor is it safe for them to return to their home country. Further details about the Gateway Protection Programme exhibition.
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10 March - 28 April '07	Made In Africa Anyone wondering what first set humans apart from other animals had the chance to find out at this fascinating exhibition. This exhibition will be at Andover Museum from the 5th May to the 21st July. Made in Africa is the title of a British Museum touring exhibition coming to Bolton Museum, Aquarium and Archive between March and April 2007, the only venue in the North West where it will be shown. This was a unique opportunity for visitors to see some of the oldest man-made objects ever found; objects which represent the origins of every living person on Earth. Further details about events and the history of the tools.
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24 February - 28 April '07	The Lost And The Found Tabitha makes artefacts from discarded and unwanted items she finds in charity shops and flea markets. She selects materials to work with which bear the weight of memory and the marks of time. She re-considers the psychic and physical impressions left by previous owners, creating her work from stained, worn, torn and mended cloth. More detail about and images of Tabitha's work can be seen on the Lost And The Found page.
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16 Dec 2006 - 10 Feb '07	Northern Hot Pot An exhibition of work by members of the Northern Potters Association Northern Hot Pot was an exhibition of work by members of the Northern Potters Association at Bolton Museum, Art Gallery & Aquarium. Work on display, all created by members of the association, included studio ceramics, architectural decoration, sculpture and jewellery, with all of the items available for the public to buy. The Northern Potters Association has been in existence for nearly thirty years and aims to encourage anyone interested in clay, glazes and kilns and promote ceramics in the North of England. Membership ranges from professional potters to students, amateurs, hobbyists and educationalists, all of whom create their own work. The Association is extremely active and organises an extensive programme of exhibitions at both private and local authority-run galleries throughout the region.
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14 Dec 2006 - 15 Jan '07	Home From Home Firsthand accounts taken from Bolton's immigrant community Bolton is truly a diverse place, with residents who have arrived here from every corner of the globe. Home from Home is a video-history account of some of the paths people have followed on their way to Bolton and consists of a number of interviews filmed over several months with local people who have settled in the town from all over the world. Over 80 local people were interviewed from over 40 different countries, resulting in the creation of a video-history archive of these interviews, which will be based at the central library for future public reference. Footage from a small selection of these interviews forms the exhibition, along with information about the people interviewed, and covers people’s reasons for leaving their home countries, why they came to Bolton, how they adapted to life here, the challenges they have faced and the customs and cultures they have managed to hold on to. The project and exhibition have been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and conducted in partnership with Bolton Museum and Archive Service, Bolton Literacy Trust and Bolton Community Video. As a result of taking part in the project a number of volunteers have received training in oral history, interviewing and camerawork techniques.
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23 Sep - 1 Nov '06	Bolton Art Circle Local artists exhibition now in its 60th year On display were artworks created by members of the 200-strong group, one of the largest in the North West, in a range of media including watercolours, acrylics, pencil and pen and ink. The group has both professional and amateur artists among its membership who cover a wide variety of subjects such as landscapes, portraits, still lives, abstract work, seascapes and townscapes. Many of these works were shown as part of the exhibition, with the standard on display being matched only by its variety.
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23 Sep - 1 Nov '06	Sensual Austerity Textile Minimalism by Maxine Bristow Maxine Bristow’s showcase uncovers the multiple personalities and emotional currency attached to cloth. It takes hours, days, weeks and months of sheer toil, but the end results could justifiably stand alongside Robert Ryman or even Dan Flavin in terms of its uniformity and its silent rhythm. “There are two contexts to the work: the genre of minimalism - and just plain sewing,” says Bristow. The Bolton-born artist and designer has drawn not only upon her own background of textiles, with sewing skills passed down from her grandmother, but the North West as a whole, with its history of cotton mills and factories
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28 Jan - 12 Mar '05	Carved Earth Sculptural Ceramics by Halima Cassell Carved Earth is a unique exhibition by one of the most exciting young ceramicists in Britain, Halima Cassell. Halima's work is a fusion of her multi-cultural background, inspired by a combination of her Asian roots, a fascination for African pattern work and a love of Islamic architectural geometry. Using heavily grogged clay, Halima works on a large scale and utilises a relatively thick surface into which she deeply carves complex geometric patterns. The exhibition is part of the Shisha initiated Parampara Programme.
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27 Sep '03 - 19 Jun '04	Water Water Showcasing Bolton's fine art collection A fine art exhibition using the theme of water to showcase some great examples from Bolton Museum's art collection
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17 Sep '03 - 6 Oct '04	Barry White Paintings by this artist Making a painting for Barry is a process of discovery, an uncharted creative journey in which he has no preconceived idea of the final image. Instead the viewer experiences his paintings as they might experience an unfamiliar landscape.
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17 Sep '03 - 15 Jan '04	The Drawing Room Drawings from Bolton's collection Showcasing over seventy drawings from Boltons amazing art collection. Works by famous names such as Turner, Millais, Ruskin, Rossetti, Lowry, Hepworth, as well as perhaps less familiar ones from the last 300 years will be on show. Portraits, figure studies, landscapes, city and seascapes,still life and illustrations will all feature in the exhibition
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17 Sep '03 - 15 Jan '04	Thomas Moran Exhibition of works by the famous Bolton artist and his wife An opportunity to see the fantastic oil painting ONearing Camp, on the Upper Colorado River, by the Bolton-born artist Thomas Moran alongside two oil paintings and several drawings and prints also held in Bolton's collection by the artist and his wife Mary Nimmo Moran.
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20 Nov '03 - 15 Jan '04	Adventurous Wild Flowers Mixed media exhibition around the subject of wild flowers Five artists have been commissioned by Gallery Oldham to create new artworks that investigate the impact that adventurous wild flowers have on our lives and on our natural heritage. Unique works have been produced, using sculpture, stories, installation, drawing, photography and sound, that look at weeds, Victorian plant collectors, the dandelion seed, urban landscapes and the impact of Himalayan balsam.
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