Gallery Oldham set for starring role at Civilisation Festival

Gallery Oldham has been chosen by the BBC to take part in its Civilisation Festival, which is launching a new landmark arts and culture series: ‘Civilisations.’ 

This is a major nine-part series on BBC2 starting next month, exploring the visual culture of societies from around the globe.

The Civilisations Festival, which runs from March 2-11, is a ground-breaking collaboration between the BBC, museums, galleries, libraries and archives across the UK.

As part of the festival, Gallery Oldham was given access to a range of innovative digital technology to showcase and tell the stories of their treasures.

This includes an augmented reality app, which features artefacts from 30 museums across the country.

Two objects from the Gallery Oldham collection have been scanned in 3D and will be included on the app - Tang Dynasty Horse and J.M.W Turner’s watercolour painting Bellinzona: The Bridge over the Ticino.

This app will enable users to explore some of the most important exhibits from UK museums in the comfort of their living rooms.

It will be available for iOS and Android from the beginning of the new series.

Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Co-operatives, said: “I’m delighted that Gallery Oldham has been selected by the BBC to be part of this fascinating project.

“It’s great that our collections will be opened up to new audiences through this ground-breaking new app and I look forward to watching the series when it airs in March.”          

To coincide with the festival, Gallery Oldham will be displaying the objects included in the app in their ‘Inspired by Civilisations’ exhibition in the downstairs foyer area from April 2-14, alongside further information about the collectors that donated them.      

Visitors can also take part in free workshops at the Gallery on Saturday, March 3.

A printmaking workshop will run from 10am-1pm where participants will create a unique printed artwork to take home with them.  

Visitors can also try their hand at ceramics from 1-4pm where they will use porcelain pens and paints to create a unique coffee cup.   

There is no need to book and the workshops are suitable for all ages.

For more information on the workshops, visit: museumcrush.org/civilisations-festival/