Welcome to Festival of Museums 2017! This year’s event celebrates 150 years at The McManus through theme of ‘The Peoples’ Story’, bringing the museum’s staff, audiences and partners together for an exciting day of family activities, gallery talks, storytelling, live music, poetry, dance and theatre performances.
Saturday 20th May 2017
Activities throughout the day: ‘warm up’ from 9.30am, doors open at 10am, event close at 5pm.
Evening Performance, doors open at 6pm, event close at 9pm
-
Get Ready!
Gather on the museum’s terrace before doors open and be part of our event ‘warm up’, led by young people from the amazing ‘Kirkton Beats’ Drum Group
-
Small Stories on the McManus 150 Bus
Jump on board and join story tellers for Museum & Gallery themed story sessions. Especially for little ones and their grown-ups.
-
Dundee’s Transport Heritage
Visit the bus throughout the day and meet the Xplore Dundee and Museum of Transport teams and find out more about Dundee’s Transport Heritage through archive materials and pop up talks.
-
Sounds of Dundee: Dundee Comic Collaborators
Artists including Stuart McAdam, Norrie Millar from Ink Pot studio, and Damon Herd showcase their work, bringing comic strips to life through a live performance with sound effects, costumes, and more!
-
We Love McManus!
Find our pop up family craft tables across the galleries and make, wear and wave your own McManus supporter’s flags, badges, crowns & tiaras.
-
Pop Up Performers
Encounter some familiar faces, as paintings and sculptures come to life for Festival of Museums! Look out for the ‘Twa Auld Wifies’, ‘The Highlander’ and ‘Vic & Bert’ (a right pair of royal visitors!)
-
The People’s Story Market Place
Visit the Creative Learning Studio and find out more about the museum’s current Learning & Engagement Project, The People’s Story. Meet some of our partners, learning team and collaborators as they share artwork and stories created during the project. There’s also drawing, comic and badge making activities and a chance to try out traditional weaving skills and contribute to The People’s Story Banner, a large scale textile work inspired by personal reflections of the museum and its collections.
-
Meet the Curator
‘The Age of Fishes’ Gallery Talk (15mins)
-
Meet the Curator
‘The Maritime Quarter’ Gallery Q&A (30mins)
-
Meet the Curator
‘Rocks, Fossils, Moths & Butterflies’ Gallery Q&A (30mins)
-
Meet the Curator
‘Welcome to the Ice Age’ Gallery Talk (15mins)
-
Sounds of Dundee: Syann
The stunningly-voiced Dundee singer/song writer drops to in to give visitors a musical treat before her main evening performance at Festival of Museums.
-
Meet the Curator
‘The Famous Tay Whale’ Gallery Talk (15mins)
-
Meet the Curator
‘Birds, Mammals & Large Animals’ Gallery Q&A (60mins)
-
Meet the Curator
‘Winkie the Life Saving Pigeon’ Gallery Talk (15mins)
-
Jutepolis
Artists Lise Olsen’s and Lada Wilson’s performance has been specially created for The People’s Story; taking inspiration from Dundee’s rich shipping heritage and celebrating the museum’s new permanent display of ship models ‘The Maritime Models Quarter.
-
Meet the Curator
‘Stags & Kings’ Gallery Talk (15mins)
-
Sounds of Dundee: Loadsaweeminsingin
Live performance from one of city’s most favourite Choirs! This powerful and passionate group of women from in and around Dundee, perform a selection of songs with a Dundee flavour!
-
Meet the Conservator
‘Dynamic Displays’ Talks and demonstrations (45mins)
-
Meet the Conservator
‘A Sense of Place’ Gallery Talk (15mins), followed by Q&A session
-
McManus 168
Get Active at McManus! – chat to members of McManus 168 Supporters Groups to find out more about the work of the group and how to get involved in 2017.
-
Sounds of Dundee: Derek Meikleham
Local poet and performer, Derek Meikleham brings his own unique blend of reminiscence, poetry and laughs to Festival of Museums stage. Derek will reveal a brand new poem, written to celebrate 150th Anniversary of The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum and be performing as the Time Travelling Teddy Boy, with tales of ‘Walking the Monkey Parade’ and ‘Dancing at The Palais’.
-
‘A Night at the Museum’
FULLY BOOKED
Doors open at 6pm
Promenade Performance at 6.30 – 7.30pm
Live Music from 8pm
Event closes at 9pmPaintings and collection displays are brought to life in this humorous and entertaining performance of ‘a night at the museum’ with actors from ZeroThree15 Company. The performance will be followed by a stunning live performance from Dundee singer /songwriter, Syann in The McManus Café Bar.
McManus Café bar open from 6pm (last orders at 8.30pm)
‘A Night at the Museum’ Promenade Performance has been specially created for the 150th Anniversary of The McManus through a unique partnership project with staff and graduates from Dundee & Angus College Performing Arts Department.