The training shoe has been around for over 100 years but in the last 50 years it has developed into a multibillion dollar global industry. In this exhibition we take a closer look at the design, technology, cultural influences and environmental impact of the trainer and showcase our own trainer collection, the largest owned by a public institution.
Bob Dawson worked as a sculptor and art tutor for over 50 years. Based in a studio in Wollaston, Northamptonshire this celebrated and prolific sculptor’s practice involved both the naturalistic and beautifully abstract. Dawson’s work creates a serenity and quietness in which to contemplate the shifting and changing nature of life.
This exhibition, for all ages, explores the processes artists go through to produce their work and the techniques they employ. Technique provides an opportunity to look beyond the artist and subject matter and gain a greater understanding into how artworks are created across a variety of media. On display will be a wide cross-section of works from our Fine Art collection including drawings, prints oil paintings, sculpture and watercolours as well as key pieces from our collections of Textile Art and Studio Pottery
Thursday 8 September - Thursday 1 December (no session 20, 27 October and 3 November) 1 - 2pm £40 for the 10 week course Do you love to dance? Come and move with us in this creative, relaxed contemporary dance session for the over 65s. Open to participants from all backgrounds and abilities who are able to move independently, this is a great opportunity to experience the enjoyment of dance and be creative together whilst gaining the physical and mental benefits from participating in dance.Everyone is welcome! The sessions run weekly on a Thursday from 1pm-2pm with the opportunity to stay for a post session cuppa in the café. Sessions are delivered by Dancemind. Sign up now for the next 10-week term!
Friday 16 September – Friday 21 October 10.15 - 11.45am £4 per child per session and £24 for a series ticket (includes refreshments) Join us for hands-on fun sessions for the under-fives. Explore the museum with stories, music and art and craft activities, whilst making new friends and creating memories in an engaging and family-friendly environment. With a different theme and activities each week. These sessions are for pre-school children (2-5 years) and their parent and carers. Booking essential as places are limited.
Art history lecture series Friday 30 September – Friday 21 October 10.15am - 12.15pm £6 per lecture or £20 for the whole series ticket (includes tea/coffee and biscuits) Enactment, the public display of theatre and makebelieve, have long been part of human social and religious interaction, fostering communal participation and understanding as well as different forms of interpretations and ways of seeing. Join us as we explore four distinctly different phases of public display and storytelling through the art historian’s eye. Our journey starts with the enactments of medieval mystery plays, halts at the Italian Commedia dell’Arte and its importance particularly for the arts of Rococo Europe, reaching its apogee in exploring how William Hogarth and Richard Garrick immortalized the theatre. Our final session will address the use of art in the theatre of war. Please note that this lecture series runs in conjunction with the current exhibition at Abington Park Museum which until December 2022 charts the history of Northampton’s Masque theatre group. Booking essential.
Every Friday 12.30 - 2pm FREE Our regular knit and natter group is growing. To keep it accessible for a variety of crafters, we’ve changed the name and extended the time. If you’re looking for a way to unwind after a busy week or just want to make some new crafting friends, come along with your chosen craft. Bring your own craft and have a bite to eat in the new museum café. Drop in – no bookings required but please purchase a drink or something to eat from the café so the group can sit in the bright and spacious new café area.
Saturday 19 November 10am - 1pm £30 including all materials In this workshop on the weekend of ‘Stir up Sunday’ Carmela will demonstrate how to make her delicious festive rocky road fridge traybake and her intricate twisted biscuits, studded with blanched almonds. You will be able to enjoy both of these treats with a cup of tea or coffee. This will be followed by chocolate truffle making, dipping chocolates into crumbled pistachio nuts, cocoa powder and smashed hazelnuts. Perfect to give as any gift. Carmela will finish by demonstrating to you all, how to make her signature amaretto and cranberry Christmas pudding, and you will all make this plump fruity pudding to take home and steam. All ingredients supplied. You will be advised on booking of all equipment you need to bring with you Booking essential.
8 September - 15 December 2022 10.30 - 11.30 am £3 per talk, £24 whole series ticket. A series of talks on various subjects with tea/coffee and biscuits. Booking recommended.
Trainer trail Saturday 22 – Sunday 30 October During opening hours £2 Get your trainers on for a themed trail around the museum – find all the iconic trainers hidden around the building and some fun trainer facts to win a prize.
Saturday 22 October 10am - 4pm £65 A one-day workshop based on a step-by-step process to create a portrait from a photographic reference. The process will cover: Using oil paints The typical proportions of the face Measuring and mapping out key features from the photograph The use of line, tone, and value to create the portrait Cordell is an experienced painter who will also provide supporting handouts as part of the workshoto explain and demystify the technical terms and techniques involved. At the end of the workshop you will have created a portrait that you will be able to take away with you. Tea and coffee will be provided. Please bring a packed lunch or lunch is available to purchase from the museum café. Price includes all materials. Booking essential.
Saturday 29 October 10am - 12pm and 1 -3pm £4 per child In this workshop you will be supplied with all the materials to make your very own pair of cardboard trainers based on a pattern by designer Bobby Nangla. Create your favourite high-tops by decorating them with a distinctive design inspired by the trainers on display. Ages 7 – 12 years. Booking essential.
Wednesday 2 November 10.30am-12pm Free An exploration of the Northamptonshire Regiment and Northamptonshire Yeomanry through recently donated objects to the collection. Led by Jon-Paul Carr, our Military Registrar, volunteers will talk about objects that they have researched as part of a project to catalogue and safely pack objects recently donated to the Northamptonshire Yeomanry and Northamptonshire Regimental collections. Suitable for over 14 years. Booking recommended.
Art history lecture series Friday 4 November – Friday 2 December 10.15am - 12.15pm Our latest series of art history lectures takes its inspiration from our current exhibition strand exploring artists’ techniques and processes, which will be showing in Gallery 2 at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery until February 2023. If you have ever wondered what separates slipware from stoneware or how to tell an engraving from an etching, this lecture series is for you. Join us as we explore some of the creative processes’ artists have deployed over millennia and de-mystify the jargon surrounding techniques as diverse as pottery, medieval and modern sculpture, printing and tempera painting.
Pair of men's blue and yellow Nike Waffle trainers, 1970s Join us in a collaboration with the University of Northampton for an afternoon exploring and celebrating the training shoe. Fully immerse yourself in trainer culture by meeting and hearing from trainer designers, collectors, manufacturers and customisers, including designer Bobby Nangla talking about his partnership with Converse, local artist and digital footwear illustrator Amar Shah and Goodsoles founder Liam Wood about his charity project upcycling trainers for the homeless. Remember to wear your favourite pair!
Saturday 5 November 1 - 4.30pm £10 Join us in a collaboration with the University of Northampton for an afternoon exploring and celebrating the training shoe. Fully immerse yourself in trainer culture by meeting and hearing from trainer designers, collectors, manufacturers and customisers, including designer Bobby Nangla talking about his partnership with Converse, local artist and digital footwear illustrator Amar Shah and Goodsoles founder Liam Wood about his charity project upcycling trainers for the homeless. Remember to wear your favourite pair! In partnership with the University of Northampton. Suitable for over 14 years. Booking recommended.