Get involved with Leeds Museums and Galleries in 2015

An exciting programme of fantastic
tours, talks and workshops catering for adults are set to be held by Leeds
Museums and Galleries from this month.

In what promises to be the perfect
way to learn new skills, meet people and most of all have fun, in 2015 Leeds
Museums and Galleries presents a series of varied activities.

Kicking-off the fun at Leeds City
Museum is a mythical prints workshop on Sunday 8 February from 11am-1pm, where those
taking part can join an artist and make a picture on a printing plate using
inks and rollers. There will also be an opportunity to do a print which could
be added to the museum’s Herakles exhibition board and also take one home. Leeds
Museums and Galleries are home to a fantastic Chinese collection and on
Thursday 19 February from 11am-3pm, don’t miss out on the unique chance to explore
its delights and riches, from fine porcelain to contemporary popular culture.
Tickets for the event are priced at £10 with lunch included. To reserve your
place, please ring 0113 224 3732.

Music throughout the decades and
centuries has been spoilt with an abundance of fantastic female artists and
composers to choose from, and at Abbey House Museum as part of a ‘Women in
Music’ study day on Thursday 26 February from 11am-3pm, this is your chance to
find out more about their impact. Join Leeds Museums and Galleries Curator of History
Kitty Ross and explore a range of performers using the Leeds sheet music
collection.

Visit Kirkstall Abbey’s new
friendly club open to adults, offering a range of fun talks and activities
which are shaped by the members. To find out more about the ‘1152 club’, which
will be held on the Fridays of 20 March, 3 April and 17 April from
10am-11.30am, please contact Patrick Bourne on 0113 230 5492 or by email at: partrick.bourne@leeds.gov.uk

Ever fancied a unique insight into two
of the city’s most famous houses? Well here is your chance, as Temple Newsam
House and Lotherton Hall are set to open their doors in two very different ways
in April. Priced at £6, marvel at the views from the roof of Temple Newsam
House while hearing more about the changing face of the landscape over the
centuries on 9 April and 16 April from 2pm and 3pm. Numbers are very limited and please note that
the tours will only go ahead, weather permitting. To book your place, please
ring: 0113 336 7461. Lotherton Hall is currently undergoing an exciting refurbishment,
and the great news is that when it reopens on Friday 20 March you can see the
transformation for yourself. On Wednesday 29 April from 2.30pm-4pm join Curator
of Costume and Textiles, Natalie Raw, for a tour and cup of tea, as you view
the eagerly anticipated ‘Age of Glamour’ exhibition which will be showcased as
part of the reopening. This is a free event, but normal admission charges to
Lotherton Hall will apply.

Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley
Mills is home to a range of machinery and exhibitions which celebrate the
city’s rich manufacturing history, and if you have ever fancied learning
carding and hand spinning, there is an activity just for you. Join the
‘Spinners of Aire’ an active craft group every Wednesday from 2pm who will not
only demonstrate carding and hand spinning, but also weaving and wheel
maintenance. This is a free activity, but normal admission charges to Armley
Mills will apply.

For those people who have ever
wondered what it takes to become a real life ‘Crime Scene Investigator’, Leeds
Discovery Centre has the perfect six session course to whet the appetite. As
part of the ‘CSI Skeletal Remains Analysis Workshops’ weekly from Tuesday 24
February-31 March from 6.30pm-8.30pm, find out how scientists unlock the past
by looking at human bones and the processes they use to determine the age of
skeletons and whether they’re male or female. No previous knowledge is needed
as part of the ticketed event, which is priced at £20 per session, or £90 for
the block of six sessions. To book, please email: discovery.centre@leeds.gov.uk

Leeds Art Gallery, in partnership
with the University of Leeds, will also be continuing their look at the
relationship between art and the First World War on 20 January from 6pm-7pm as
expert Sue Malvern unpicks the work of CRW Nevinson and the contradictions in
his politics and practice in this free talk.

To find out more about Leeds
Museums and Galleries, please see: www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries

Leeds Museums and Galleries is Leeds City Council’s family
of nine museum sites across the city and is responsible for looking after the
collections of fine and decorative art, fashion and textiles, industrial and
social history, natural science and much more.

A talk by Sue Malvern, in partnership with the University of
Leeds.

Sun 8 Feb, 11am - 1pm

With Antonia Lovelace, Curator of World Cultures.

Thurs 19 Feb, 11 am - 3pm

Explore the delights and riches of the Leeds Chinese
collection from fine porcelain to contemporary popular culture.

With Kitty Ross, Curator of Social History

Thurs 26 Feb, 11am - 3pm

With Nicola Pullan, Assistant Curator of Social History

Thurs 5 Feb, 11am 3pm

Come and explore the Leonora Cohen collection and look at
the role of the women in the early twentieth century. There will be an
illustrated talk looking at the campaigns and events that took place in Leeds.
In the afternoon there is an opportunity to look at a range of ephemera donated
to the museum by Leonora Cohen herself.

With Patrick Bourne, Assistant Community Curator

Tues 10 Mar, 11am -3pm

Come and explore the darker sides of Leeds through the
collections at Abbey House including items not usually on display.

Thurs 23 Apr, 11am -3pm

Fri 20 Mar & 3, 17 Apr, 10am - 11.30am

FREE drop-in event Contact Patrick Bourne for more details on
0113 230 5492 or email patrick.bourne@leeds.gov.uk

Thurs 9 & 16 Apr, 2pm & 3pm

With Natalie Raw Curator - Costume,

Wed 29 Apr, 2.30pm - 4pm

Talk, tour and tea with the curator looking at the Age of
Glamour exhibition.

Every Sat 1pm - 4pm

Why knit alone when you can knit with friends by joining in
with our knit n natter group? Everybody is welcome regardless of your knitting
ability. Come along and meet the close knit friends of Armley Mills. Cake is
always welcome!

Every Weds 10am – 2pm

Wed 18 Feb 10am -12noon

Come and see fabulous silks and fine cottons from Asia
embroidered with flowers and figures, using many different stitches and
designs. We’ll be showing you garments and cloths close up with the opportunity
to handle some of the more robust pieces. Star pieces will include dragon robes
from China, Japanese Uchikake kimono with cranes and tortoises, and Gujarati
floral skirts, blouses and doorway hangings.

Tues 24 Feb - 31 Mar, 6.30 - 8.30pm