Coming Up – Friends of Leeds City Museums

05/10/201208/25/2012

Join us for exclusive invites to exhibitions

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton at Leeds City Museum

Join the friends of Leeds museums and Galleries and be invited to exclusive events at Leeds City Museum.

The current exhibition ‘Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton’ is on loan from the V&A in London and was well received there by the thousands of visitors who attended.

This exhibition, in the Queens Diamond Jubilee year, tells the fascinating story of a magnificent collaboration between crown and camera and catches Elizabeth II as Princess, Monarch and Mother.

The exhibition carries a small admission charge; however members of the friends have been invited to an exclusive event later this month which will include a glass of bubbly and some nibbles followed by a privative view of the exhibition free of charge. This is just one example of the benefits that membership can bring.

03/18/201208/25/2012

Members get going with IT training

Jean gets to grips with the Internet as she researches Stratford-upon-Avon ready for her trip

Jean, Joyce, Maureen and Nadine got to grips with their mice, double clicks, jargon and internet shopping at Leeds Library this week as they took part in IT training especially for members of the Friends.

Organised by Leeds Museums in conjunction with Leeds Library Service, the first of two pilot sessions took place at Leeds Central Library and we welcomed four ladies who were both nervous and excited to get started.

For those of you out there who are anxious or feel that computers and the internet aren’t for you, ask them how it went and you might be surprised to find that you too, want to try your hand. Jean, Joyce and Nadine all have computers at home but never switched them on as they felt they might break them. By the end of the session they were dragging and dropping and clicking and pointing along with the best of them. First time experiences included shopping for books on Amazon, booking cheap train tickets, researching trip destinations to London and Shakespeare’s stomping ground, Stratford-upon-Avon and finding a website to buy hard to find cast iron candlestick holders by a specific designer.

We will see what everyone remembers next week when we take a look at websites like this and Leodis, the photographic archive of Leeds.

Maybe this is something to ooffer to members again in the future, but in the meantime don’t forget that the Leeds Library Service offers free IT training that you can access from the Central Library or even your local branch. Don’t be afraid to ask your librarian about what is on offer – everyone starts somewhere. There is also a dedicated number to call for enquiries which is 0113 2476016 and the staff are all hugely helpful and approachable.

12/19/201102/14/2016

Family Events at Leeds Museums

We support the work of Leeds Museums for all audiences, so for families over the next few months, here is a snapshot of what Leeds Museums has to offer you.

During March

SatARTday 3rd March, 10am to 3pm, Artspace @ Leeds Art Gallery

A fun workshop for families to explore new art ideas and ways of making. Each event will introduce a new artwork.

Saturday 10 March, 2pm to 4pm, Abbey House: Abbey House Investigations

Grab a police helmet and squeeky truncheon and join our team of detectives to solve this week’s mystery object, history mystery or time tangle!

Saturday 17 March, 10am -12 noon, Leeds Museum Discovery Centre: Swan songs

Discover bygone objects and learn how changes inb social history brought about their extinction.

Sunday 18 March, 11am -12 noon and 1:30pm – 3:30pm: Frirndly Flowers

Make your own beautiful tissue paper flower bouquet for Mother’s Day. Give them to a special person who has been a Mum to you of keep them yourself!

During April

Tuesday 3 to Thurs 5 April, 11am to 3pm, Leeds City Museum: Make your own Historic Hats

Come along and have a go at making your own hat, you can make yourself look like a Pharaoh or design your own Easter bonnet.

Tuesday 10 April, 2pm, Thwaite Mills: Wash Day

Join Molly the washer woman as she does the weekly wash!

Saturday 21 April and Sunday 30 April, all day, Leeds Art Gallery

Creative activities to spark the imagination inspired by paintings by artist, Fiona Rae.

Saturday 28 April, 11am to 3pm, Leeds Art Gallery: Picture Lending Scheme

Join Leeds Art Gallery’s picture lending scheme and borrow artworks to take home for just £4 per month (minimum loan period 3 months). Select your pictures at the Gallery on Saturday 29 October. For more information visit: www.leeds.gov.uk/picturelending

Find out more about what’s going on across the Museums throughout the year on the Museums and Galleries website.

10/26/201108/25/2012

The Hoard visits Leeds City Museum

Entry facade at Leeds City Museum the event locations

The West Yorkshire Hoard will be on temporary loan to Leeds City Museum for a limited time in November and the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society are hosting a special event for members to preview the treasures on Wednesday 2 November from 7:00 – 8:30pm.

This is a unique opportunity to see the newly-discovered, Anglo-Saxon, West Riding Hoard, at a preview before its first public showing. This event will also launch a public appeal by the Friends and the ‘Phil & Lit’ for funds to purchase the hoard for the Leeds City Museums.

The event will be held at Leeds City Museum on Millennium Square in Leeds and will include a reception with wine and ‘nibbles’, to be followed by short talks about the discovery, context and significance of the hoard. If you wish to help purchase the hoard for Leeds, please bring your cheque book – and a pen!

Read more about the Hoard and how to donate in advance of the event.

Leeds Museums and Galleries have been offered first refusal to purchase the hoard as the local museum service. Grants towards the purchase of these items have been awarded by organisations like ours, The Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society and The Art Fund – but we are still well short of the of the required sum. We have until 15th November to raise the remainder. If we fail, the objects are likely to end up in a private collection and be lost from the public sphere

An entry charge of £5:00 per head will be made towards the cost of refreshments. More information and information on how to make donations is available on this website.

For further information about this event and to book, contact Dr J E Lydon: Secretary, Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, Faculty of Biological Sciences, The University, Leeds, LS2 9JT

E: j.e.lydon@leeds.ac.uk

T: 0113 3433036 (daytime) 0113 2785596 (evenings)