Last Thursday I met up with Juliet Wilson who was down from Edinburgh. As she relates on her blog Crafty Green Poet, we visited the Manchester Literary Festival event Victorian Lines at Manchester Art Gallery.
Art Treasures in Manchester marks the 150th anniversary of the largest art show ever seen in Britain. The original exhibition, held in 1857, was an incredible achievement for the city and an extraordinary artistic event. It was visited by eminent Victorian writers such as Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens.
On Thursday afternoon David Gaffney took us round the exhibition, stopping at selected paintings and photos to read microfiction pieces and stories he had written inspired by the exhibition. Some fifty people turned up to listen to him. His stories were humorous in the main and full of off-beat characters such as the Victorian boy bought on Ebay, the man with a prescription windshield, the complete forger and a ghost.
The Gallery provided portable chairs for use by visitors. These were a real boon for those of us who couldn't have stood listening to the speaker for almost an hour. Without them, I'd never have stayed the course. In the photo above you can see the chairs stacked outside the entrance to the exhibition.
Fee Plumley has also briefly reviewed this event on the MLF blog.
Sounds like it was an interesting event. I like the chairs all lined up nice and neat!
ReplyDeleteMust be a memorable visit for u last Thurs! :)
ReplyDeleteThat must have been such an enjoyable day...especially with the input from David Gaffney. The chairs sound a great idea :o)
ReplyDeleteOh they're chairs! I thought it was maybe a piece of art. I was thinking it had a good chance of winning the Turner Prize. But seriously I bet it was a great day out.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great event, I enjoyed it too! Good to meet you as well!
ReplyDeleteHappy ABC. I like the picture and the information.
ReplyDeletegreat stuff v/interesting ;]
ReplyDeleteNeat report to an interesting-sounding event for you M post, Ackworth. And I thoroughly enjoyed your 8 Random Facts. One question, please. Did you pass your third driving test in your very own car?
ReplyDeleteDid he give the name of the optometrist for the prescription windshield, i could sure use one of those.
ReplyDeleteIf you were still addicted to Mars Bars you might have been able to run around the gallery. No need for chairs then.
ReplyDeleteThanks for catching the double negative in the sentence I wrote about pumpkins. I tend to edit what I write and sometimes, I forget the original sentence structure and things go awry. :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good time was had by all. I am glad you clarified the portable chairs - I was wondering whether they were one of the exhibits - you never can tell these days
ReplyDeleteNow that must be a fascinating place since Manchester has such an industrial history. I would have needed a chair too!
ReplyDeleteThose chairs look like an exhibit themselves.
ReplyDeleteWe both did ART!! how cute is that!!! Love the picture!
ReplyDeleteMy sentiments are the same as yours Mike, thought it was modern art
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun. I should visit my local galleries/museums more often except most of the big ones are in San Francisco, an hour away. Those chairs look hard to sit on.
ReplyDeleteA great visit and description to Manchester. Thanks for sharing. Very relaxing in visiting your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think that Bangalore, where I live is like Manchester in the 1850s... dunno why...