Happy Birthday To Us as McManus Celebrated its 150th Anniversary!
In 2017 The McManus was an astonishing 150 years old, and to celebrate this major landmark an exciting year-long programme of exhibitions was held, highlighting the important role it has played past and present as a major cultural attraction.
We put together a packed calendar featuring something that would appeal to everyone, and hope you to came along and join us for what was to be a memorable year in Dundee’s best loved building!
Highlights included:
- Fire and Stone – a fascinating exhibition exploring the history and archaeology of the Laws of Monifieth, and the process behind creating contemporary responses to ancient metal and stone artefacts.
- Two stunning fine art exhibitions – Out Of The Frame: Scottish Abstraction and Sense of Place – are a ‘must see’, where you could revel in artworks by Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Calum Innes and a major new acquisition by Victoria Morton. Plus work drawn from Dundee’s nationally significant fine art collection including work by the Glasgow Boys, James McIntosh Patrick and Joan Eardley.
- The Maritime Quarter – an exciting new permanent exhibition of ship models highlighting Dundee’s rich maritime history, which also features some of the recently acquired DP&L models.
- Festival of Museums McManus 150: The People’s Story was our highlight event for May on Saturday 20th 2017, which hosted a special day of family activities, live music, poetry, dance, guided tours and living history performances – all inspired by The McManus’ past, present and future generations of visitors and supporters.
- Dundee Preserves…. no, it’s not about marmalade, as you might think, but a show which provided a rare opportunity to view some of the work carried out by our conservation staff. Find out how new technology has helped us research our Egyptian Mummy, and take a look at paintings before and after conservation.
- Specially created work by artist Calum Colvin entitled ‘Museography: Calum Colvin Reflects on The McManus Collections’, sat beside existing work in various gallery spaces throughout The McManus..
…… and if that’s not enough, the fun continued with….
- Saturday Studio workshops with our Creative Learning Team for children and families, where you could indulge in fun activities inspired by The McManus’ exhibits and displays
- ‘A Day to Play’ where you could spend a magical afternoon with Shaper/Caper and take part in interactive performance workshops
- Meet McManus Talks & Tours – was the chance find out all you need to know, from Mysterious Moths to The Art of Portraiture in this series of informative lunchtime tours and gallery talks
- Collection Highlights talks gave you an insight into the work of our curatorial and conservation teams
