Bath's museums celebrate nationwide Museums at Night 2011

5th May 2011

Museums at Night offers a unique opportunity to celebrate the UK’s museums and heritage sites after lights out. Many of Bath’s museums will be joining in and unlocking their doors for special evening events, including behind the scene tours, torch-lit events, and children’s drop in sessions.

For one weekend a year, 13-15th May, hundreds of museums, galleries, and heritage sites across the UK will keep their doors open after hours as part of the nationwide Museums at Night event.  The event, co-ordinated by Culture 24, aims to promote awareness of the fantastic range of cultural venues across the country.

Spend at night at the Roman Baths as they hold a torch-lit event on Friday 13th May, 6.00-9.00pm. Meet costumed interpreters of Roman characters who bring the experience to life as you walk along Roman pavements in this atmospheric setting, with curators giving short talks on some of their oldest and most unique artefacts. It is also a chance to find out about Bath in 100 Objects and to watch the BBC’s Imagine Ben Hur.

No. 1 Royal Crescent is pitch perfect with “Handel in Bath”, Saturday 14th May, 6.00pm. Handel’s Nine German Arias will be performed by Soprano Alicia Carroll, Baroque Violinist Alison Townley and Harpsichordist Sean Bower in this distinctly Georgian setting.

Take a peek inside a Countess’ boudoir at The Building of Bath Collection during special free guided tours on Saturday 14th May, 7.00-10.00pm. Explore behind the scenes, with rooms that are usually off limits to the public made accessible for the event.

Peter Brown, the artist behind The Victoria Art Gallery’s new exhibition "Bath Between Snows", will be setting up his easel outside the Gallery on Saturday 14th May, 6.00-8.00pm. Visitors get to “Meet Pete the Street”, as well as the chance to talk to him about Bath inspired work.

Children are invited to meet Lucretia the Prophetess at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy for drop in sessions throughout the day (Saturday 14th May, 11.30-1.00pm; 2.00-3.30pm) with free admission for local residents with a Discovery Card.  

The Natural History Museum has come to Bath with their photographic exhibition Wild Planet. Featuring 80 of the most stunning examples of wildlife photography from the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, the exhibition in Union Street is lit up in the evenings.

Other exciting events across the city include a handling session at the Museum of East Asian Art where you can take a closer look at their collection (Saturday 14th May, 5.00-7.00pm), Contemporary Dance at the Museum of Bath at Work inspired by the working machinery that can be seen at the museum (Saturday 14th May, 6.00-8.00pm); and get your tastebuds tingling with a complimentary tasting of Bath’s most famous foodie treat, the Bath Bun at Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House.

Last year almost 300 museums and galleries took part hosting 345 events.  Lauren Laverne, official Ambassador for Culture24's after-hours celebration, says, “Museums at Night is a fantastic initiative that really makes museums and galleries accessible, fun and interesting." She continues, “It is so important to encourage a new generation to support and embrace arts and heritage in the UK.”

Bath’s museums are in the spotlight this year as the city celebrates 2011 as The Year of the Museum. Bath’s extraordinary history is evident wherever you walk and it is one of few entire cities to be designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The initiative by Bath Tourism Plus will see exciting events throughout the year, as well as a new World Heritage Walking Tour and Bath in 100 Objects which have been created as part of the project. For news of what’s happening go to www.visitbath/museums.

For further information and images, please contact Nicky Hancock, Hancock Communications on Tel: 01225 332299, e-mail: nicky@hancockcomm.com or Lucy Weaver, PR & Communications Executive at Bath Tourism Plus on Tel: 01225 477441, email: lucy_weaver@bathtourism.co.uk

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Notes to editors:

2011 is Bath’s Year of the Museum, a campaign involving all seventeen museums in Bath.  The sheer variety of museums enrich any visit to Bath. Many tell the story of this fascinating city while others delve into a variety of interesting topics.

For a city of its size, Bath has more museums than most, 17 within a square mile, which represents one for every 5000 people who live in Bath. Each museum will be running a full programme of events and exhibitions both for local residents and for the four million visitors from around the world who come to Bath each year.

Bath is one of only a few cities in the world to have the coveted World Heritage Site status, and in many ways Bath is like a virtual museum with a piece of history around every corner.

Over the past five years £20 million has been invested in restoring and redeveloping three of the museums; the Holburne Museum, the Roman Baths and the American Museum in Britain, creating new facilities and adding excitement to the displays.

Events throughout this special year will include the release of a World Heritage Audio Trail, Bath in 100 objects, Museums at Night, Museum of the Month, a lecture series and special events for Heritage Open Week.

For free or discounted access to many of Bath’s museums and attractions, residents are entitled to a free Discovery Card, whilst visitors can buy a Bath Visitor Card for only £3 to give them the same privileges.

For more details about these cards, and for further information on what’s happening during the Year of the Museum, go to www.visitbath.co.uk/museums