Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
Historic Cooking | Medieval English Beef Stew
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Microworld is an immersive space filled with digital creatures. The creatures communicate with each other and the audience. Sensors in the space create an engaging and intuitive digital ecosystem with cascades of actions and reactions. Each Microworld is a celebration of a new type of living art that encourages experimentation and collaborative play.
Microworld is designed for all ages. The interactive artworks provide the audience with a role and a purpose. It includes: playing, exploring, experimenting, problem-solving, collaborating, creating, learning and storytelling. Microworld is inclusive, requiring no specialist knowledge. As soon as you walk into a Microworld, you start affecting it.
Microworld is designed and programmed by Genetic Moo and produced by Lumen Studios.
Saturday 26 October 2024 - Sunday 23 February 2025.
Book your tickets to see Microworld and Dippy at: dippyincoventry.co.uk
JOY…Inspired by Nature is currently on display at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum until 22nd September 2024. Find out more at theherbert.org/whats-on/1801/joyinspired-by-nature
Throughout his career, Shoa has been a passionate advocate for greater representation of Black and mixed-race portraits in British galleries.
In this talk, contemporary artist Nahem Shoa will delve into his oil portraits of British people of colour, exploring the motivations behind his work and its enduring relevance today.
Shoa recounts the story behind creating the "Giant Head of Gbenda Llumoka," discussing his friendship with fellow artist Gbenda Llumoka and the inspiration that led him to paint this life-sized portrait directly from life and the significance of this work.
The Giant Head of Gbenda Llumoka is currently on display in our Collecting Coventry exhibition.
Joy transcends individual boundaries, fostering a sense of unity and shared humanity. Nature inspires and connects us to something larger than ourselves, fostering a sense of awe and wonder. JOY…inspired by nature immerses you in the wonder of joyful designs and transformative spaces.
Collecting Coventry is on display at Herbert Art Gallery & Museum until 27 April 2025.
Find out more here: tinyurl.com/mpa8eswh
Artists in the exhibition include: Richard Billingham, Sam Blackwood, Serena Brown, Antony Cairns, Rob Clayton, Joanne Coates, Josh Cole, Artúr Čonka, Elaine Constantine, Natasha Edgington, Richard Grassick, Anna Magnowska, Rene Matić, J A Mortram, Kelly O'Brien, Eddie Otchere, Kavi Pujara, Khadija Saye, Chris Shaw, Trevor Smith, Ewen Spencer, Hannah Starkey, Igoris Taran, Nathaniel Télémaque, Barbara Wasiak, Tom Wood.
Find out more here:
tinyurl.com/ysyahmky
Reclaiming the nickname given to her at university, meet the real life Palaeo-Barbie and find out some of her experiences in the field and the female palaeontologists that inspired her!
There will be a various activity available throughout the day, including Fossil handling, craft activities and MORE! Plus, we are delighted to welcome the return of Dinosaur Experiences as part of the festivities! Meet Dippy’s Dino-pals , including Bronwen the Brontosaurus, in a live, interactive show, that is guaranteed to be ROARsome!
Our Dino-friends will be making appearances throughout the day, at various intervals, including:
10am – Baby Dinosaurs
10.45am – Velociraptor
11.30am – Brontosaurus
12.15pm – Velociraptor
1.15pm – Brontosaurus
2pm – Velociraptor
2.45pm – Brontosaurus
3.15pm – Baby Dinosaurs
Slots are limited - Book your tickets NOW to avoid disappointment!
Join us for a night of exploration and fun-filled activities designed for children aged 6 – 11 and their grown-ups. This will be a night you will always remember!
Saturday 27 January 2024
Saturday 24 February 2024
During the event you will:
· Take part in torch light tours of the museum.
· Get creative with arts and crafts.
· Discover fun facts about Dippy and get hands on with our fossil collection.
· Wind down for a short film in our studio.
Lights go out at 11:30pm and then it's time to settle down to sleep. Breakfast is served between 7am to 8am, and before departing you can join us for a wake up and shake up dino inspired routine to get you energised for the day ahead. Departure from the museum is at 9am.
* Individual tickets for adults and children must be purchased.
Book your tickets by visiting: http://tinyurl.com/4wy4yk49
On loan from the Natural History Museum, London, Dippy the world-famous Diplodocus is now free to visit in Coventry. Tickets are available to book now at dippyincoventry.co.uk
Divided Selves is free to visit until 24 September 2023. Find out more at bit.ly/41oEGIf
Filmed by @fireflyaerialinnovation2485
Join soldiers Rufus and Gnaeus at the Lunt Roman Fort for the Lunt Roman Festival on 26th & 27th August.
Book now via www.luntromanfort.org.
The Herbert in a new perspective
Work on Walls, was an exhibition held at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum from June -September 2024. We invited eight contemporary artists to create work inspired by our collections.
The exhibition was an expanded and enriched version of our 2019 exhibition, Work on Windows, where we asked artists to paint on our building’s windows during lockdown. All the artwork in the exhibition was hand drawn, painted, sprayed, or stuck onto the walls of our gallery.
The eight artists that were commissioned come from varied backgrounds. Their styles feature delicate linework, unique illustrations, fantastical creatures, repeating patterns and more. The inspiration for the artworks derives from the large and diverse collections cared for at the Herbert and bring an exciting new perspective to familiar objects.
The artists featured included Andy Council, Annatomix, Phil Blake, Roo and Scribblefiti
Book your tickets via www.DippyinCoventry.co.uk
Tickets for #DippyInCoventry can be booked online at dippyincoventry.co.uk
Dippy is on loan from the Natural History Museum, London
Divided Selves is free to visit until 24 September 2023. Find out more at bit.ly/41oEGIf
Filmed by @fireflyaerialinnovation2485
Fiona Banner AKA The Vanity Press is a Turner Prize nominee from Merseyside who explores gender and language through the medium of drawing, sculpture, performance and the moving image.
Her work has been on display throughout the UK and worldwide
Coventry Open 2023 is free to visit until 21st May 2023. Find out more at tinyurl.com/5dkx2s8u
Filmed by @fireflyaerialinnovation2485
Fiona Banner is a Turner Prize nominee from Merseyside who explores gender and language through the medium of drawing, sculpture, performance and the moving image.
Her work has been on display throughout the UK and worldwide
Held at a time when the idea of nation is under stress, threatened by challenges from populism to armed conflict, and the politics of identity are weaponised for political gain, Divided Selves looks at how we live together.
Through the work of 26 different artists, duos and collectives, it examines how we:
* Make peace with difficult histories and traumatic pasts without being paralysed by them
* Listen to and amplify voices that are often ignored or suppressed
* Work as citizens of a state, and members of a community, to shape a common future
Divided Selves is free to visit until 24 September 2023. Find out more at bit.ly/3Zuy75s
As we come to the end of February half-term, here's a look at how Dippy was put together by the Natural History Museum, London team last week, filmed by Liubomir Lissitchkov, Isabelle McLeod and Maria Fernandez, who are currently studying on Coventry University's Media Production course.
The installation took place over five days, and was overseen by a team of 4 technicians and 2 conservators, with support from volunteers and our team at the Herbert.
Dippy will be with us for an initial period of three years, so if you haven't visited yet, there's still plenty of time! Book your tickets now at dippyincoventry.co.uk
Our exhibition flythrough brings you up close and personal with our friendly dino-in-residence! Tickets for #DippyInCoventry can be booked online at dippyincoventry.co.uk
Filmed by @fireflyaerialinnovation2485
Dippy is on loan from the Natural History Museum, London
Curated by the Museum of Youth Culture, Grown Up in Britain is free to visit until 12 February 2023.
Comprised of a black, feathered bodice and a lace and satin skirt, one Julia's outfits is now on display in our Grown Up in Britain exhibition, curated by Museum of Youth Culture.
Find out more at culturespacecoventry.com/grown-up-in-britain
Since opening in 1960, the Herbert has acquired a wide range of paintings, drawings and sculptures, and this free exhibition is a chance to look back on what we have collected and why, from John Hewitt's focus on British Life and Landscape, to our exploration of Peace and Reconciliation, and recent efforts to diversify the artists we collect from. Find out more in our video tour with Curatorial Manager Martin Roberts.
Exploring the World War II Blitzes of Coventry, Dresden and Birmingham and their relationship with current events, Bombed: A Trilogy is an immersive, combined arts exhibition developed by Saranjit Birdi over a ten year period. The show incorporates testimonies from Blitz survivors, with German oral histories translated by Iris Bertz.
Coinciding with Armistice Day on Friday 11 November, this livestreamed discussion will bring together Saranjit Birdi in Coventry and Barbara Lubich of Zentralwerk Kultur und Wohngenossenschaft eG in Dresden to explore the themes and origins of the exhibition.
Through a fusion of painting, dance, music, poetry and more, Birdi's work explores the World War II Blitzes of Coventry, Dresden and Birmingham and their relationship with current events, using testimonies from both British and German Blitz survivors.
Developed during a recent residency at the National Gallery, the artworks respond to five paintings that were vandalised while on display, and how these attacks were perceived and described. Cherri was struck by the public’s emotional response to these attacks, finding that newspaper articles would describe the damages as if they were wounds inflicted on a living being – even referring to the Gallery’s conservators as surgeons.
He also noticed an overwhelming urge to ‘heal’, make good and hide the damage. This personification of artworks, and the suggestion that they can experience distress, is reflected in the exhibition’s title, taken from Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice.
In response, his sculptures recall aspects of each painting, imagining its life following the vandalism. They bring into question what Cherri calls the ‘politics of visibility’; the decisions we make about how, and to what extent, we accept trauma within museums. By translating each damaged work into a series of objects, Cherri’s work highlights, rather than shies away from, the trauma inflicted on them, reminding us that we are never truly the same after experiencing violence.
Originally from Beirut, Lebanon and now based in Paris, Ali Cherri is a Venice Biennale Silver Lion winner. "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" is free to visit until 8 January 2022.
Inspired by Turner Prize winners Array Collective, the Coventry Banner project invited community groups and members of the public to create banners featuring their own messages and calls to action for social change. The people of Coventry responded enthusiastically, and the resulting banners revealed a diverse range of interests, concerns and creative techniques. They were displayed together in a free, public exhibition throughout the summer, filling our covered court.
In this short film, you can hear from the Herbert team who brought the exhibition together, as well as a few of the people who submitted banners for the exhibition. Read more: bit.ly/3DoLr3k
Curated by the Museum of Youth Culture, Grown Up in Britain explores 100 years of teenage history, from the 1920s to the youth of today. The exhibition is free to visit until 12 February 2023, and there are also opportunities to contribute your own photographs using our on-site scanning booth and by submitting them online at museumofyouthculture.com/coventry
Find out more about the exhibition at: bit.ly/3cAGn0G
Cover image: Fabio de Paolo / PA Wire
Bringing together photographs, posters, flyers, clothing, magazines and more, this free, interactive exhibition runs until 12 Feb 2023, and will continue to grow over the coming months, with visitors invited to contribute.
Take a tour of the exhibition in our drone flight video, filmed by FireFLY Aerial Innovation Ltd. Find out more: bit.ly/3uFtKYj
The finished banners are now on display in our covered court until 11 September 2022. Free, drop-in.
Filmed by FireFLY Aerial Innovation Ltd.
The event brought together over 35 organisations offering social prescribing services, giving people a chance to come and find out more about how arts, culture and sport can support health and wellbeing.
The Lunt Roman Festival returns on 16 and 17 July 2022. Book now: bit.ly/3tVEUYm
Last Mafuba is Project Co-ordinator for Inini Initiative and has lived experience of the UK asylum system. Here, she explains how the exhibition tackles this year's Refugee Week theme, "healing".
If you'd like to find out more about researching Caribbean ancestry, you can come along to our workshop on Wednesday 22 June. Book a place at: bit.ly/3zKvP8p
This film was shot on location by Reel Master Production, visiting a few of Daniel's favourite places including Fillongley Social Club and the Standard Sweet Centre.
Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken runs until Sun 26 June. Book your free tickets at: bit.ly/3x3MVNc
The exhibition is co-curated with Vortex Creates and presented in partnership with @coventryukcityofculture2026.
Since their collaboration on the Coventry City of Culture Trust's signature event, Coventry Moves, Vortex Creates have continued to develop their relationship with Daniel Lismore, supporting his 'Statues Redressed' Sky Arts commission before starting work on his first UK solo exhibition here at the Herbert Art Gallery.
Daniel Lismore's Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken is open until 26 June. Book online at: bit.ly/3uFc9Qm
You can find out more about Vortex Creates and their work at: vortex-creates.co.uk
This video contains footage by Horizon Collective and fireFLY Aerial Innovation Ltd and photography by FiveSix Photography and Garry Jones.


