NEWS ARCHIVE

SUMMER AT THE SEASIDE

The Museum of Beyond is coming back to the Suffolk coast!

All has been quiet for a while at the Museum of Beyond as my roaming horsebox gallery is in need of some drastic repair. But I'm really excited now to have found a great new home for the Museum of Beyond for this summer in Thorpeness, Suffolk. Thorpeness Village Stores are re-opening as a pop-up shop with a lovely gallery space, providing a perfect summer home for my museum!

From July until September, the shop and museum will be open every morning from 8am until 12 midday. I will also be opening the museum on an ad hoc basis on some other days and would love to meet you there!

You can find Thorpeness Village Stores at Peace Place, Thorpeness IP16 4NA; what3words: raven.fields.hood. It's stone's throw from the sea - my favourite place to swim - and just behind the Dolphin pub with its great garden and tasty menu.

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Objects of the Misanthropocene: Unearthing futures

I'm pleased to have been invited to submit a selection of objects from The Museum of Beyond for inclusion in this fascinating exhibition, in collaboration with Dean Sully, from the UCL Institute of Archaeology, Slade School of Art and UCL Museums. Do go and see it if you get the chance (off Gower Street, London). Watch out too for a drop-in workshop in November with the Museum of Beyond and Postcards from Beyond...

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Postcards from Beyond

In 2019 at Siren Festival and FolkEast I trialled a new idea: Postcards from Beyond. I was really inspired by what people wrote...

Postcards from Beyond invites us all to imagine the future in a time beyond the Oil Age, when we will be living more sustainably without our current dependence on fossil fuels. Through our postcards - from our imaginary future selves back to ourselves now - we can help build a picture of how good that life could be. If we can imagine what this future will be like, perhaps everyone will more see clearly what changes we need to make sure we get there!

What would you tell Oil Age people about what your future life is like? If you would like to write postcards with your family, friends or at your workplace, please get in touch. And do keep an eye on the Postcards from Beyond webpage to see what's new...

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Siren Festival

I'm delighted to be taking part in the new Siren Festival at Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast this August.

I'll be with my vintage horsebox roaming museum on the Moot Green (near the Moot Hall and boating pond) om Weds 8th and Thursday 9th August 11-5 so do come and visit!

Find out more about Siren Festival here.

 

FolkEast

The Museum of Beyond roaming gallery will also be returning to FolkEast this year on 16th- 18th August. We can't wait!

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Blue Dot Generation's Arts for Education

This event was so inspiring - I was very glad to have been invited to take part! Blue Dot Generation organised an amazing event so do keep an eye on their website for future activity - I can't wait to see what they do next! https://www.bluedotgeneration.org.

It was amazing what I could fit in a hold-all to take on the train to London to create the installation - and I was really delighted with the results. It was lovely to meet so many visitors, other exhibitors and guest speakers on the launch night... and I got lots of fun suggestions for objects to add to the museum too! It's made me think that I must explore new ways to enable to Museum to travel more easily to other locations (the horsebox roaming gallery is great but so much work to move and set up!)... So I'm busy working on that now... watch this space!

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Open Field

Inspired by the ideas at the Museum? If so you may be interested in contributing an exhibit, performance or event at Open Field - an open weekend in the garden and field (and in huts!) at Fran's home in Suffolk in summer 2019. The land here is a semi-wild haven for wildlife next to ancient woodland so ideal for inspiring an interest in life of all kinds! Ideas that help re-imagine the future (and that help us to make it happen) would be especially welcome. Residencies are available if you would like to come and develop ideas on site.
Contact Fran to find out more.

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Blue Dot Generation's Arts for Education

The museum (minus horse box!) will also be taking part in Blue Dot Generation's Arts for Education at The House of Vans, London SE1 8SW 26th - 30th September, 2018 - a unique 4-day immersive event of art, photography, performances, documentaries, panel discussions, sport, fashion, workshops and music, aimed at educating us all on the damage we are doing to the oceans. For more information and to see the exciting programme of free events, see https://www.bluedotgeneration.org.

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Museum of Beyond open day

Coming up this Saturday 22nd September 10am till 6pm - an open day for the museum in our garden in Sudbourne, Suffolk. Contact Fran for more details. We'd love to see you here!

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Art in a box at Ufford Arts Festival

We had a fantastic time in the sunshine at Ufford Arts Festival last weekend with lots of visitors - young and old - to our vintage horsebox gallery and so many inspiring conversations... Loved seeing all the scarecrows made from recycled materials all round the village and the world's smallest community art gallery in an old phonebox too!

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Art in a box at Ufford Arts Festival

I'm really excited about my recent travels with our vintage horsebox - it makes a fantastic roaming gallery for the Museum of Beyond. Next stop is the first-ever Ufford Arts Festival on 14th-16th September 2018. Do come along and say hello - we'd love to see you there! We'll be by St Mary's Church Hall from Friday afternoon. For more details see https://www.uffordartsfestival.org.

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Art in a box

Fran has recently acquired a vintage horsebox which she hopes to give a new life as a roaming gallery at events in East Anglia.

And Art in a Box will initially feature the Museum of Beyond! Fran is just making some final touches then we will be off on our first outings... Here's details of where we will be going:

Tuesday 9th August - Southwold, Harbour Quay East car park, near the Alfred Corry Museum, 10am - 5pm.

Wednesday 16th August - Southwold, by the pier, 10am - 5pm.

Friday 19th - Sunday 21st August - at FolkEast, Glemham Hall Grounds, Suffolk.

Do come along and take a look. Don't forget you can add to the Museum too: just bring your object (a plastic beach find) along to the gallery.

And if you have any ideas for future locations do get in touch.

See press release here

*These events are generously supported by Anglian Water's Keep It Clear Love Our Seaside campaign

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Pieces of sea and sky

An exhibition with Liza Adamczewski at Sizewell, Suffolk - 31st July until 16th August 2015

I'm very excited about my next exhibition, Pieces of Sea and Sky, a collaboration with Liza Adamczewski at her home on the beach at Sizewell. Liza paints amazing seascapes and creates mini installations inspired by the sea. The Museum of Beyond will be on display and I will also be exhibiting an update of my project, Fresh Air - more relevant now than ever…

If you’re in the Sizewell area, do come and join us for opening drinks and nibbles in Liza’s garden by the sea on Friday 31st July - or come for tea on Weds 5th or Tues 11th August. The exhibition will be open every weekend and also on other days by arrangement. Just email me for more details - we would love to see you there! And - don't forget - if you have any plastic beach finds you would like to contribute to the Museum, please do bring them along.

 

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Launch

After a successful short trial at Snape Maltings last November, the Museum of Beyond was launched at the Lookout on Aldeburgh beach, Suffolk, in July 2014. Fran, the founder and curator of the museum, spent a week in residence at the Lookout, installing her collections and inviting everyone to bring along new contributions to the museum. The Lookout was the venue for many inspiring encounters, and a stunning array of new artefacts was added to the Museum.

Also in residence were Southwold-based composer and pianist, Nathan Williamson, and poet, Leanne Moden. For more about Nathan and Leanne, and to explore Leanne's poems, see COLLABORATION.

Nathan and Leanne both created and performed amazing new work at the Lookout, inspired by the Museum’s collection. Photos of the event will be posted here very soon!

A huge thank you too to Caroline Wiseman for sharing a fabulous location and for making Fran, Nathan and Leanne so welcome at the Lookout.

Fran has also been working with several local schools - look out for some of their work on the website soon.

Read the full press release here
You can read more about the Aldeburgh Beach lookout here

The project was supported by Suffolk Coast & Heaths Sustainable Development Fund.

Exhibition

The Museum of Beyond is currently collaborating with Unconfimed Makeshift Museum (UMM) in Irvine, California. For UMM's inaugural exhibition (which opened on 6th December, 2014), the Museum of Beyond and UMM invite the neighbourhood to collect colourful plastic pieces of marine debris from local beaches in Southern California in order to create A present from the Pacific in the Powder Room Gallery and to add to the Museum of Beyond's collection. Read more here.