Cathy's Art Diary

Small exhibition at the Migration Museum looking at the objects people choose to keep hold of whatever happen to them. The display had good photographs of people with the objects they considered to be keepsakes many of which had been passed on to them and they in turn would hand them on to others. There were good commentaries with the pictures and display cases nearby with some of the objects in them. Some of the stories were very moving such as Norma Seale-McConnie who was given a penny by her mother as she got on a ship in Barbados to come to England in 1958. It also included the comedian Henning Wehn and his much thumbed and very dilapidated English dictionary. Closes on 20 August 2017

Interesting exhibition at the Migration Museum looking at the Calais Jungle and the issues which led to its creation. The first section looked at people’s journeys to the camp with excellent photographs by Daniel Castro Garcia and Christian Sinibaldi particularly one of broken boats as a metaphor for broken people. I loved a gauze sheet covered in paper boats by Bern O’Donoghue and called “Dead Reckoning”. The next section looked at identity and talked about how people in the camp saw themselves and what they chose to show or keep hidden. I liked a sculpture of lots of little figures in a wide procession called “Wanderers” by Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen. The last section looked at the camp itself and the community which grew up there. The commentary said it’s format was like any other town but the population was overwhelmingly young males. Again there were great photograph but again the commentary points out that camera were often viewed with suspicion. I loved a sect...

New temporary space for the Migration Museum, as they work towards getting a permanent home to tell the story of how the movement of people has shaped Britain across the ages. The space is based in Lambeth and it feels a bit unlikely as you walk towards it that there might be a museum there. Even once inside the rather industrial looking space it took a moment to realise that the museum was up a flight of stairs. Once there it had been set out nicely and is currently being used for   series of exhibitions, events and workshops. The staff were friendly and there were conversations going on with people from possible new projects giving the space quite an active feel. I wish the project good luck and look forward to seeing where it might find a permanent home. Closes Spring 2018. Review Evening Standard