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The London Canal Museum and world-famous artist Quentin Blake are set to launch a day of non-stop creativity in Islington, including the start of the world's largest drawing festival, on Sunday 25th September.
Quentin Blake is best known for illustrating the characters in Roald Dahl's classic books, which include Matilda, the BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The London Canal Museum's tugboat, the Bantam 4, will transport Blake across Battlebridge Basin at midday where he will cut a ribbon heralding the start of the Big Draw's Big Splash, a day of activities taking place in Kings Place, Kings Cross.
Visitors can attend a range of sketching classes, covering comic-strips to fashion fanzines to graphic novels. They can be part of a visual census, having their portraits taken and placed in a time-capsule for future generations to study. There will be a floating forest, paper boat races and lots more. There will be free trips up the canal to Camley Street Natural Park, a tranquil slice of the countryside situated in the middle of Kings Cross.
The London Canal Museum will be the venue for a special project, as Martin Sach, Chair of the museum, explains:
"We would like to invite people to participate in the Big Drawing. This will be a 30ft celebration of drawing, where everyone can make their own artistic contribution, somewhere on the piece. We are very happy to be part of the festival and I'm delighted that our tug Bantam IV is going to play such an important role in the launch.”
An unique chance to view an integral piece of UK history is now being offered by the London Canal Museum, Kings Cross. In the early 1900s, horses were the preferred method for pulling boats along canals. That was until the Swedish-built Bolinder came along. Its reputation for reliability and robustness soon made the horses redundant, and the Bolinder subsequently became a vital part of canal legend. The London Canal Museum has managed to obtain one of the Bolinders and has immediately placed the 300kg artefact on display, complementing an existing exhibition which analyses and explains canal craft. It is a significant development for the Islington venue as Martin Sach, Chair of the museum explains: "The opportunity to acquire a Bolinder is extremely rare and this fills a gap in our collections and exhibitions. The change from horse-power to oil-engine-power was one of the biggest changes in the 250 year history of canals in the UK and we are delighted to be able to show our visitors this exceptional engine. Lifting it off the lorry, onto the ramp and up into the museum is sure to be interesting!"
Note: Pictures of the engine's arrival at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/canalmuseum/sets/ may be downloaded and used by the media without further reference to us.
Travelling theatre company The Mikron Theatre, who tour the UK on their narrowboat, delivering performances in all manner of venues, from festivals to front-rooms will be mooring at the London Canal Museum, on the 19th June and 20th June. On the 19th, they transform the Museum into "Beer Street". It is a tale of pubs and beer and the part they have played in society. The show contains an overflowing pint glass of themes; how the traditional pub has evolved, effects of the smoking ban, the binge-drinking culture and much more. They promise "a heady draught of people, pubs,brews and brewing". On the 20th, the Museum is taken back in time, to 1761, and the turbulent times of the Industrial Revolution. Mikron will perform "Hell and High Water", telling the story of three men and their journey over rivers, under rock, to feed the era's appetite for coal via a new state-of-the-art technology, known as canals.
Martin Sach, Chair of the Museum commented; "Mikron Theatre are ever poular with their lively music and performances and they have moored up outside the museum every year since 1994. This year's shows seem as much fun as ever" Tickets are £9 in advance from the London Canal Museum, or £10 on the day. For more information contact the London Canal Museum on 020 7713 0836.
On 19th June, a London canal will be transformed into a Beer Street, a place where a flavoursome concotion of pubs, pints and performance is brewed. Travelling theatre company The Mikron Theatre will perform "Beer Street" - a story of pubs and beer and the part they have played in society. The show contains an overflowing pint glass of themes; how the traditional pub has evolved, effects of the smoking ban, the binge-drinking culture and much more. What makes the play special is that it will arrive on their narrowboat, which they use to travel the UK, delivering performances in all manner of venues. They will be mooring at the London Canal Museum, Kings Cross, where the audience will view the show, promising "a heady draught of people, pubs, brews and brewing". Tickets are £9 in advance from the London Canal Museum, or £10 on the day. For more information contact the London Canal Museum on 020 7713 0836.
10th May 2011
What Dark Nights, Moving Shadows, Mysterious Sculptures, Underground Film-Makers And An Islington Museum Have In Common In an Islington backstreet, preparations for a late night is underway. Candles illuminate the former ice-warehouse where other-worldly sculptures adorn the walls, unconventional exhibits twist shadows, and where assorted artists will soon enchant and bewitch willing participants. On 14th May, The London Canal Museum, King's Cross will host a night of eclectic entertainment as part of the “Museums At Night” initiative, where museums across Europe will open late during May, offering visitors a unique chance to see their favourite museums in a different light, and dark. Situated close to King's Cross, the museum has put together a programme of art with a line-up incorporating all manner of weird and wonderful entertainment. Martin Sach, Chair of the Museum anticipates a spellbinding evening: “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase art in an atmospheric venue - perfect for the variety of exhibits that will be on display. We can’t wait!” The shows will be from 6pm-11pm, a bar will be provided, £4 entry. ENDS
9th March 2011
An artistic voyage through decades of evolving poster and graphical design is now on display at the London Canal Museum in Kings Cross, London. “40 years of Mikron Posters” charts the changes in fashion and style of the promotional posters used throughout the colourful history of the Mikron Theatre Company. Established in 1963, the four-strong acting group travel the UK on their 1936 narrowboat “Tyseley”. With a back-catalogue of 45 original productions they have presented an estimated 4,000 shows to 280,000 people at festivals, pubs and even in people’s front-rooms. Martin Sach, Chair of the Museum commented; “The Mikron Theatre Company is famous for its annual tours of England, bringing theatre to canalside venues that would not often see live theatre. The London Canal Museum has been one of these since 1993. The exhibition charts the plays the company has performed over the years in more than 40 colourful posters, many of which are works of art in themselves. The waterways and their history feature in a large number of the shows.” This summer they will embark on their 40th anniversary tour and will be dropping anchor at The Canal Museum on the 19th and 20th June 2011. More information regarding these landmark shows will be published on http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk The exhibition lasts until 22nd May and examples may be seen at www.facebook.com/canalmuseum.
