Volunteers are needed for the next stage of the latest Heritage Lottery funded project at The Ropewalk
Anyone with a connection to Barton’s former ropemaking factory, Hall’s Barton Ropery, or with a love of social history has the opportunity of becoming involved in the next stage of a Heritage Lottery Project at the Ropewalk Museum.
The highlight will be the production of an exhibition about the company which will take centre stage in Gallery One in March and April next year.
For the past few months the Museum’s Heritage Officer, Jonathan Holt, has been sifting through the archives of the Ropewalk which had been either rescued by the buildings owners, Ian and Mark Proudfoot, donated by former employers during an earlier Heritage Lottery Project or rescued from other buildings in the town where they had been stored for safe-keeping.
“We’ve now got to the stage where we are happy to welcome volunteers to help in the task of cataloguing company records, including sales information and information on the material imported for the production of rope as well as correspondence with clients such as letters and telegrams” said Jonathan.
“It is also essential that the archive material is repacked into the correct archival packaging to ensure the heritage of Hall’s Barton Ropery is preserved for future generations,” he went on.
“Volunteers will be able to research working conditions and practices at the company which will form the backbone of the exhibition,” he continued. “They will also be a part of this very exciting opportunity to ensure that the history of The Ropewalk and its workforce is accessible to as many people as possible
The £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund has not only enabled The Ropewalk to secure the services of Jonathan for a year but also transform an area of The Ropewalk into a bespoke research area which will afford local historians far better access than enjoyed presently.
“Until now we lacked the necessary facilities to allow visitors or researchers to access our archives but thanks to the HLF this is now possible,” said The Ropewalk’s Managing Director, Liz Bennet.
The Ropewalk, which dates back early 19th century, is one of the very few surviving and the only publically accessible historic building which documents Barton’s significant industrial heritage providing employment for generations of families.
“Even though it closed its doors for the final time in December 1989 The Ropewalk continues to be a powerful symbol of the industrial roots of the town,” Liz went on.
Anyone wanting to help with the project, or wanting more information, can contact Jonathan by emailing him on jonathan@the-ropewalk.co.uk or calling 01652 660380.
The annual exhibition by The Ropewalk Studio artists. Featuring work by:
David Alcock
Sally Beaumont
Emily Connor
Debbie Grice
Richard Hatfield
Gill Hobson
Judith Land
Darren Langton
Tim Needham
Julie Oxenforth
Michael Scrimshaw
Shirley Trumble
Keith Woodcock
The Ropewalk’s popular Christmas Art Market will showcase the work of more than 40 makers and artists.
Taking place over the weekend of Saturday December 7 and Sunday December 8 those makers and artists selected to take part will be selling original handmade gifts, cards and artwork (more…)
Helen Martino would describe her work as being ‘sometimes serious and sometimes playful’. For many years Helen worked as a functional potter, making batches of domestic pots on a wheel. Now she sees herself as more of a maker in clay, hand building each piece individually by using soft and flexible sheets of clay. These sheets of clay are freely cut, curved and sometimes twisted, this is how Helen is able to create different perspectives and distortion within her work. The surface is painted with slip, underglaze pigment and resists. Depending on the piece silver and gold lustre may also be incorporated.
Helen is fascinated by body language and how this can be communicated. She observes Mogul and Persian miniatures and admires how they are able to tell a story within one image. These artworks often show a significant event within the life span of a person or family. Helen’s sculptures are also intimate like the miniature and show a single event that can be applied to the past, future and present, allowing the viewer to determine the story of each artwork.
Working in Cambridge, Helen exhibits widely across the UK and is the founder member of Cambridge Open Studios. She will be exhibiting in the Box Gallery in November.
Yorkshire born and bred, Eleanor Tomlinson is a traditional artist and illustrator based in East Yorkshire. Inspired by the beautiful Yorkshire countryside she has grown up amongst, Eleanor predominantly works in ink and watercolour to specialise in capturing and celebrating UK wildlife and the local countryside. Eleanor’s distinctive style using ink and watercolour, combines traditional, well-loved subjects with a contemporary, illustrative twist. Her use and composition of contrasting white space brings a narrative and sense of movement and energy to her pieces. Eleanor’s artworks have also been developed into a wide range of cards, stationery, limited edition prints and homeware collections alongside her original pieces which are being sold in an array of independent shops and galleries across the UK.
LAND, SEA AND SKY
The theme for this exhibition ‘Land, Sea, and Sky’ was chosen because its wide-ranging associations might be interpreted in many different ways, and in part because the theme was seen to have some relevance to the location of The Ropewalk Gallery. No size limit was imposed and artists were invited to respond to the theme in as wide a way as possible, to be as traditional or as innovative as they wished both in process and format. The final selection includes three dimensional and large format pieces as well as more conventional prints.
Printmakers Council was founded in 1965 by a group of prominent printmakers to raise the profile of printmaking as an art form and to provide an exhibition society for members. For over fifty years PmC has continued to pursue these aims through a rolling programme of exhibitions, lectures and practical workshops.
Two new exhibitions with links to northern Lincolnshire are opening this Saturday (Sept 14) at The Ropewalk arts centre in Barton upon Humber.
In the Artspace is Re-Tellings, a solo exhibition by Grimsby based artist Sue Stone whose work is inspired by people, place and time. (more…)
