Wednesday 14 December 2016

Family friendly exhibition and events at Hove Museum

Be careful not to stray from the path  - Mr Wolf is waiting for you at the museum!
We hope you will join us at Hove Museum for an exhibition with a story telling theme. The show is on until 9th May 2017.

It feels like Christmas! - but that's not just us getting excited - our visitors have told us that the show has a real 'Christmas' feel to it. There are many interactive exhibits that children (and adults) will enjoy and it is free to the public.

Sixteen Fabula Collective artists and our guest artist Joe Evans have put together a stunning feast for the eyes. Come and see new stories and old ones retold in imaginative and interesting ways - including books, films, narrative textiles and three dimensional installations. Perhaps a visit to a story telling exhibition in Hove Museum (a lovely venue in itself) could be an ideal antidote to the more commercial side of Christmas? Some of the work is inspired directly from Hove Museums permanent collection of toys, games and the history of film in Brighton and Hove that you will also be able to see when you visit.  For your information there is also a cafe at the Museum and it is a short walk from Hove seafront.


Story telling and workshops


STORYTELLING EVENT 
next Saturday 17th at 11am and again at 1pm come to Hove Museum for ghost stories read by the fireside. The stories, illustrated by Fabula member Dagmara Rudkin and written by Charles Rudkin, were inspired by Hove Museum itself and are suitable for children aged 8 years and over. Charles will be reading one of three stories inspired by the toy collection at Hove Museum and Art Gallery. Come and hear about the evil master Gorger taking over all the toys and imprisoning the Wizard in the Attic. Can he be defeated? 
This story comes from a collection of short stories called 'Hauntings in the Museum'. The other stories are about a ghostly Major and the famous Amber Cup.
Book to ensure a place or drop in at 11am or Ipm.


ART WORKSHOP for children on Saturday 17th at 2.30 - 4pm run by Louise Dennis and Juliette Rajak. Come and make a Christmas decoration with a narrative twist! It is suitable for 5 -10 year olds. Book to ensure a place or drop in at 2.30. 
Image from the previous workshop where children made houses inspired by stories and fairy tales. These looked special and individual in the daylight  - turn the lights off and they looked even more magical!

The next workshop for children aged 7+ is on January 28th at 10.30

For booking and further info please go to http://brightonmuseums.org.uk/hove/whats-on
www.fabulacollective.com for further info about Fabula and individual artists

A Magical Exhibition of Stories At Hove Museum


Detail of The Story Cabinet - how many fairy tales can you spot?

Our Exhibition Many Ways To Tell A Story is looking so beautiful!


With 17 artists exhibiting a selection of story-themed work this show provides so many different ways to tell stories that you will find something for all ages and many different tastes.  We are excited! but it's not just down to our excitement - visitors have told us that there is a definite Christmas feel about the show - although the show does continue until May 9th. You can expect stories visualised in interesting and unexpected ways within a beautiful building set by the sea. And if that isn't evocative enough for you, perhaps the fairy lights from some of the exhibits will get you in the mood. 


The woods, a place where stories can grow. Who can you see looking out at you?


This is our biggest exhibition yet! It is bursting with stories told through book, film, 2D illustration and 3D installation on a wide variety of themes such as memories of a holiday camp, stories made in one minute, a variety children's books, a book to introduce opera to a reluctant audience, photographs that explore a sense of place, an installation situated in the fireplace inspired by the toy exhibits - and much more.  


Installation by Penelope Chong - Shadows escape down the fireplace. Inspired by Hove Museum's toy exhibits.

Peering in the round window at our private view.





Poster by Somin Ahn from her beautiful concertina book of  The Three Little Pigs (also exhibited)

























Children (and adults) will enjoy using torches to spot details and identify stories in The Story Cabinet -  our collaborative piece that is made mainly from paper products and inspired by Fairy Tales. There are other interactive displays too where you can peer in with a torch for a visual surprise. Colouring and quiz sheets are available to help make the visit even more memorable for young children… and then of course there’s also Hove Museum’s magnificent permanent toy collection upstairs - and why not have some refreshment in the cafe?! Sounds like a perfect afternoon to us!

Images from Juliette Rajak's picture book 'Ellie's World'

The setting - Hove Museum

Imagine a story, there are many we know like this, that take place in a strange old mansion - itself brimming with magic and untold tales and set a little apart in some way from the rest of the world. The characters in it have to be young at heart if not actually young, and enter with a mind ready to discover their own magic and mysteries that are there to be found, if they look carefully. Then think of Hove Museum, situated well away from Brighton's city centre and near the coast. It feels a bit like a well-kept secret. There is an interesting history to Hove Museum - this building could tell a few tales.

Curated to appeal to families, it has a certain open and pleasant atmosphere, a quirkyness or originality. Perhaps there is an energy held within the building from stories in it's past - if you believe that sort of thing. Maybe it's the interesting exhibits including the huge collection of toys and games or it's collection about the history of film in Brighton and Hove. Certainly, it holds objects that would have been central to lots of tales and imaginings in their past. Somehow there is the right ambience. We think Hove Museum is a wonderful place for narratives to come alive. Fabula Collective's work  with it's focus on storytelling and narrative art fits just perfectly here.

In the busy build up to Christmas why not take some time to remember old stories and find new ones in this exhibition at Hove Museum?

Our guests look at puppets from Henny Penny by Dagmara Rudkin



STORYTELLING AND ART WORKSHOPS


STORYTELLING EVENT - next Saturday 17th at 11am and Ipm come to Hove Museum for ghost stories read by the fireside. The stories, illustrated by Fabula member Dagmara Rudkin and written by Charles Rudkin, were inspired by Hove Museum itself and are suitable for children aged 8 years and over. Charles will be reading one of three stories inspired by the toy collection at the Hove Museum & Art Gallery. Come and and hear about the evil Master Gorger taking over all the toys and imprisoning the Wizard in the Attic. Can he be defeated? 
This story comes from a collection of short stories called 'Hauntings in the Museum'. The other stories are about a ghostly Major and the famous Amber Cup.
Book to ensure a place or drop in at 11am or at Ipm.

ART WORKSHOP for children on Saturday 17th at 2.30 - 4pm run by Louise Dennis and Juliette Rajak. Come and make a Christmas decoration with a narrative twist! It is suitable for 5 -10 year olds. Book to ensure a place or drop in at 2.30. 

There is a further story themed workshop on 28th January.

For booking and further info please go to http://brightonmuseums.org.uk/hove/whats-on

She wants to tell you a story! - what story is it? (detail from The Story Cabinet)
Please go to the Fabula website for further information about us and please read our blog for fuller information about our artists and our preparations for the exhibition at Hove Museum. When you visit please remember to put your comments in the comments book as we'd love to hear what you think.
Embroidered dusters inspired by female characters in fairy tales and notions of domesticity. Vanessa's embroidered dolls are also on show in the exhibition.


Tuesday 6 December 2016

Fabula at Hove Museum - Our Opening Weekend!

Last Friday was our Private View at Hove Museum. It was a lovely event and we were very pleased and excited to welcome lots of people to help us celebrate the start of the show. 
Looking into our cabinet of development work containing sketch books, maquettes and materials. 
The exhibition is looking spectacular and we couldn't be more happy with it. We'd like to extend a big thank you to The Royal Pavilion & Museums for hosting both the private view and our very beautiful show that was expertly curated by Julia Basnett.
Our curator Julia Basnett (left) accepting flowers given to her from Fabula Collective to say a big thank you for all her hard work. 



It all feels very Christmassy... here's a sneak preview for those of you who weren't there on Friday:

Captivating puppets and images from the story of Henny Penny by Dagmara Rudkin. This display is illuminated with lighting throughout and adds to seasonal feeling of the whole exhibition. 

Our guests admiring the exquisite film models and automaton by Richard Clarke. Don't forget to see the Fabula Film Reel  - five films showing upstairs in the museum.
We were also able to be part of the Open House event on the first weekend of the exhibition.

A selection of prints, paintings, cards and small gifts from Fabula were on sale and are now available to buy throughout the exhibition at the museum shop. 
We are particularly proud of the diversity in this exhibition - there will be something for everyone. We can't really do it justice here but we will try to give you some idea of what you can expect. There are hand made books retelling fairy tales, five short films (upstairs), stories told quickly through drawings done in one minute, a variety of children's books, three-dimensional work including The Story Cabinet, photography, poetry, narrative textiles and work inspired directly by our residency at Hove Museum.
The Camp by Madeleine Swift is in the book corner along with many other Fabula books. You can also see Madeleine's touching film about childhood memories of a holiday camp. 

Lively prints and a book in progress from Clara Wei Fu. It depicts a lovely story for children about an important relationship that helps the child to find their internal peaceful or happy place so they can cope with everyday life.



An illustrated introduction to Mozart's The Magic Flute by Jo Lawes. Colourful and appealing work made to introduce opera to a reluctant audience. 

This is The Story Cabinet - our collaborative piece. Some of the work in the exhibition, including the Story Cabinet,  is interactive because there are torches for you to use to peep in and get a better look at all the details. See how many fairy tales you can spot. Why not add another to our suggestion box and for children there are colouring and quiz sheets with sticker prizes to make their visit more memorable.

Peeping through the round window in The Story Cabinet. Three cabinets bursting with fairy tales!
Fabula Collective hope you will be able to come to see the exhibition which is on until 9th May at Hove Museum

Further information about the workshops that we are running alongside the show can been seen in the previous blogpost on this blog or at Hove Museum where you can book your place.