Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Museums at Night is back and this year’s line-up is better then ever. Culture24’s Campaigns Officer Rosie Clarke gives us the lowdown on what you can look forward to this weekend.
The annual Museums at Night festival burst into life yesterday! Until Saturday 17 May, heritage sites, museums and galleries across the country are flinging open their doors after hours and putting on special events to welcome new audiences.
Museums at Night has grown rapidly since non-profit online publisher Culture24 took it over in 2009: this year there are a staggering 700 events taking place at nearly 500 venues across the UK.
Events range from spooky sleepovers to ghost walks, star-gazing, candlelit gallery tours and city-wide culture crawls. There will also be bands playing among museum exhibits, alongside all kinds of creative opportunities with artists, DJs, dancers, writers and cartoonists.
This is the perfect chance for you, your friends and family to explore cultural venues after hours, and we’re also expecting glorious weather!
What will you choose?
Why not listen to author Kate O’Hearn reading in an Iron Age roundhouse lit only by fire as part of Chiltern Open Air Museum’s mythological evening – rumour has it that a real Pegasus winged horse will make an appearance!
In Scunthorpe, Jessica Voorsanger invites the audience of 20-21 Visual Arts to join a Men in Black flashmob through the town centre, then enjoy Star-Trek karaoke, Stormtrooper life drawing, fancy dress making … and get deluged by an avalanche of Tribbles!
Enter the strange and enchanting world of The Baron’s Art School, at the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings tonight! The class will involve performance, music and puppetry, and your own artistic creativity, drawing you into the world of the paintings – use the discount code BARON10 to get tickets for only £10 each.
Wherever you are, you can play along with our new our new art-selfie game VanGoYourself, recreating great artworks with your friends.
We’re also excited about the BBC covering the Museums at Night festival as BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz is presenting an hour-long programme about Museums at Night from the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday 17 May, 7pm on BBC Two featuring festival venues across the UK, from the National Gallery to the Museum of Witchcraft – don’t miss it!
BBC Arts Online is also following Museums at Night, culminating in a ballet live stream from Imperial War Museum North, beginning at 6.30pm tomorrow.
Share your stories
Whatever you chose, we hope to see you at an event and you can find events to visit near you at www.museumsatnight.org.uk and do share your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #MatN2014!