REM Stories of The World

PRESS RELEASEPress release produced for Renaissance East Midlands Stories of the World

9 December 2010

For immediate release

Sights of the East Midlands, Sounds of Scotland,

Stories of the World reverberate around Britain for 2012

From the East Midlands to Edinburgh, museums across Britain are preparing to welcome more than two and a half million visitors to Stories of the World projects, part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Led by the MLA in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), Stories of the World is already beating records and promises to be an unprecedented exploration of our past.

Hosted in 60 museums across 35 towns and cities, a series of 300 innovative exhibitions and events are being designed and created with the largest number of young people ever to have worked behind the scenes at museums.  Over 12,000 young people have already participated in museum workshops and activities and over 1000 young curators enlisted to help shape the final exhibitions in 2011 and 2012.

The collaborative East Midlands programme, Dress the World will celebrate the global exchanges that have shaped and continue to shape fashion in the region.  Three significant East Midlands’ collections will be joined by loans from museums in Canada, Japan, and China.

The three exhibitions, which will take place in the spring and summer of 2012, are:

–         Living in Silk (Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Nottingham City Council) Focusing on Chinese influence on fashion and adornment with Nottingham’s major collection of Chinese garments and textiles alongside a significant loan exhibition from the world premier China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou.

–         Suits and Saris (New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester) Exploring the exchanges of fashion between Leicester, India and East Africa, focussing on Leicester’s South Asian collection, including new commissions and international loans.

–         The World at Your Feet (Northampton Museum and Art Gallery) Exploring the role of shoes in creating cultural identity through the Museum’s world shoe collection and loans from the Bata Museum in Canada and Footwear Museum in Kobe, Japan.

Andrew Motion, MLA Chair said:

“By working directly with collections in museums, which have been acquired from thousands of years of travel, trade, migration, and human struggle – good, bad, controversial, heroic – thousands of young people will fittingly remember the international celebration that is the Olympics.  Stories of the World will help spread the London 2012 celebrations across England and Scotland in a fun but thought provoking way that will bring better understanding and longer term benefits to the museums and communities involved.”

Dress the World project chair Ron Inglis of Nottingham City Council said;

“This is a world class exhibition on three sites, focussing on the way that fashion has influenced the East Midlands and how the region has influenced the world, via its fashion.  Some incredible objects from our own collections and museums around the world will be on display and the involvement of young people at each stage of the process will ensure a fresh, youthful and innovative approach.”

Ends

For further information, images and interviews please contact Communications Agency Holland Alexander, on 0116 261 6868.

Notes to editors

The accompanying photograph shows objects which will appear in the three exhibitions and the hyperlinks lead to more information on each museum: (Clockwise)

  1. Nottingham
  2. Leicester
  3. Northampton
  4. Dress the World is a Renaissance East Midlands led project with coordination from ArtReach. Renaissance is the MLA’s ground-breaking programme to transform England’s regional museums. Central government funding is enabling regional museums across the country to raise their standards and deliver real results in local communities. www.mla.gov.uk/renaissanceeastmidlands
  5. ArtReach (www.artreach.biz) is a cultural development and event management agency based in the East Midlands and South East. It has a track record of successful development and delivery of high quality, innovative arts and heritage programmes and projects that pioneer new ways of working; stretch artistic boundaries; and encourage audience development, forging new ways of community and individual engagement.
  6. Leading strategically, the MLA promotes best practice in museums, libraries and archives to inspire innovative, integrated and sustainable services for all. Visit www.mla.gov.uk . The strategic lead for Stories of the World programme is likely to transfer to Arts Council England over the next year, as part of MLA’s transition. Funding for Stories of the World has been secured from a range of sources including Renaissance in the Regions, HLF, ACE, charitable trusts and foundations and the museums’ own core resources
  7. About the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival – The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.  Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people. Since the Cultural Olympiad started in 2008 11.2million people from across the UK have participated in or attended public performances as part of the Cultural Olympiad and programmes inspired by 2012 and funded by our principle funders and sponsors. Over 67,000 people have attended 6,800 workshops as part of Cultural Olympiad programmes. The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad will be the London 2012 Festival from 21 June – 9 September 2012. Leading artists from all over the world will come together for a chance for everyone to celebrate London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, film and digital innovation, and leave a lasting legacy for the arts in the UK. Principal funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor.  BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival. The British Council will support the international development of London 2012 Cultural Olympiad projects. Panasonic are the presenting partner of Film Nation: Shorts.  For more details visit www.london2012.com/culture

6. The Stories of the World projects are:

Brighton: Local Global

East of England: East Meets East

Edinburgh: Sounds Global

London: World City

North East: Journeys of Discovery

North West: Global Threads

Yorkshire: Precious Cargo

East Midlands: Dress the World

To find out more about Stories of the World, visit http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/cultural-olympiad/major-projects/stories-of-the-world/index.php