Berwick Museum & Art Gallery is open for its 2022 season from Wednesday 6th April. The regular opening hours are Wednesday – Sunday, 10.00am – 4.00pm; additionally during the Northumberland school summer holidays it will be open every day. Members of FBDMA are admitted free; for other admission charges see the Museum website.
The Museum has a special exhibition this season called ‘Of the Sea and Of the Sky’ which shines a spotlight on the rich diversity of Berwick’s borderland coast and explores connected themes of migration, national identity, trade, and local ecosystems. You can follow the journeys of migratory birds through an evolving installation of national flags and discover ‘the oddest consignment from Berwick Quayside’. In the main gallery space a spectacular, spot-lit centrepiece encircles visitors within a swirling mass of birds and fish that underpin Berwick’s fishing and tourism industries.
This exhibition forms part of a set of new exhibitions by artist Bethan Maddocks under the title ‘A Northumberland Menagerie’ which will be on display in each of Northumberland Museums’ sites at Berwick, Woodhorn, Morpeth and Hexham. A ‘menagerie’ is the term used for a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition. Museums Northumberland and Bethan Maddocks invite you to explore our menagerie of extraordinary new animal-themed exhibitions across our four museums. Discover stories of Northumberland’s animals – past and present, real, and imagined – through Bethan’s magical, paper-cut installations.
Visual artist, Bethan Maddocks, said: “A lot of Berwick’s history has been shaped by its location on the border of England and Scotland, and it’s this notion of borders and identity that has shaped this exhibition.
“I’ve used animals native to the Berwickshire coast, as well as migratory species of birds, fish and mammals, to explore Berwick’s history and highlight broader themes around the environment, the movement of people, and the mass consumption of our natural resources.
“I’ve used different animals found across the county to help tell the story of each individual exhibition.”
Open until Sunday 30th October 2022.
