Last week, more than 450 Knowsley school children had the opportunity to see masterpieces from an international art collection on their doorstep.
From Monday 6 – Saturday 11 March, children from St Marks Catholic Primary School, Halewood C Of E Primary School, St Andrews the Apostle and Yew Tree Primary Academy hopped on board the Mobile Museum which is delivered by Art Explora Mobile Museum in collaboration with Tate and MuMo
The truck, with its unique cargo, pulled up at Halewood Leisure Centre as part of a city region wide tour, that brings works from Tate’s collection directly to communities.
The Mobile Museum is a touring a version of the exhibition Radical Landscapes, shown at Tate Liverpool in Summer 2022, featuring works by Turner, Constable, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, John Nash and Jeremy Deller. The exhibition also includes works by leading contemporary artists including this year’s Turner Prize winner Veronica Ryan and shortlisted artist Ingrid Pollard.
During the sessions, pupils were given a tour of the exhibition and invited to join creative workshops, to participate themselves in this artistic adventure and create a memento. At the end of the week, families, neighbours and the local community were invited to visit the exhibition of artworks made during the workshop sessions.
Cllr Margaret Harvey, Knowsley Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said:
“This was a unique opportunity for our school children to get up close with these fantastic works of art and engage with culture on their doorstep. These children will remember this experience for years to come and I’m sure some of them will be inspired after seeing these works by internationally celebrated artists.”
Cllr Shelley Powell, Knowsley’ s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Communities, who joined pupils from St Andrew the Apostle School in Halewood on the Mobile Museum said:
“Last year we celebrated our year as Liverpool City Region Borough of Culture and understand the life-changing capabilities of art and culture. I’m delighted we’ve been able to bring this exciting opportunity to the heart of our communities.”
The Art Explora Mobile Museum will return to the borough from Monday 24 – Saturday 29 April where children in Knowsley will have another chance to explore the 21 artworks on board.
See pictures from the truck’s visit to Halewood here.
More about the Mobile Museum
Helen Legg, Director, Tate Liverpool said: “Alongside our exhibitions programme, Tate Liverpool has a proud reputation for delivering high quality work within the city’s neighbourhoods which reinforce the social purpose on which it was founded. We’re excited to work in collaboration with Art Explora on this UK-first that will enable us to continue to engage with people across the Liverpool city region on their doorstep in an innovative way. This project will reach more than 5000 school children in the region and continues Tate’s mission to expand the possibilities of museum spaces as sites of learning and promoting the importance of creative learning and access to the arts for young people.”
Frédéric Jousset, Founder of Art Explora, said: “Art Explora was founded with the mission to make art accessible to all. Despite the best efforts of museums everywhere, there remains a social divide between those who go to museums and those who do not. Art Explora is trying to bridge this divide by taking arts out to new communities and by creating encounters with art in unexpected places. The Mobile Museum is a wonderful way to present our national collections to new audiences, to show that art can be discovered on your own doorstep, and to offer everybody a chance to take part in our collective creative adventure.”
This tour of the Mobile Museum is brought to you by Art Explora, a non-profit arts organization, in collaboration with Tate and MuMo. MuMo (“Mobile Museum”) was founded by Ingrid Brochard, designed by matali crasset, with the support of the Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso. This project is supported by Art Explora with public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
