After dark romance on the cards at the Bowes Museum
Popular attraction to open late
It’s never less than spectacular during the day but the Bowes Museum is to open after normal admission hours for the first in an intended series of Bowes Lates.
Barnard Castle’s famous attraction will be welcoming visitors from 6pm to 9.30pm on Saturday, February 14 – with “artistic passion” the principal theme for the Valentine’s Day special occasion.
The event, promise the management team, will transform the museum into “a softly illuminated night-time sanctuary” while also celebrating the broader themes of creativity, craftsmanship and culture.
Visitors can either buy a general admission pass or tailor their evening with a choice of ticketed special attractions.
Artist Bex Harvey will be leading a creative session called Brush & Bubbles, exploring landscapes and portraits.
Participants, using materials provided, will “unpack the concept of ‘romance’” in art through symbolism and hidden meanings, fortified by a glass of fizz as they work on an artwork to take away.
Also in cerebral action will be the Bowes Book Club with the promise of relaxed conversation and curated object displays.
Tracy Chevalier’s The Glassmaker will be up for discussion and there will be a curator-led look at the museum’s renowned glass collection.
Anyone opting for this is asked to read the novel beforehand.
Booking in advance is advised for these two sessions for which numbers are limited.
Meanwhile there will be Spotlight Tours with experts focusing on floriography (the language of flowers), the love story of founders Joséphine and John Bowes, who never lived to see their museum open, and the reimagined Founders’ Galleries.
Energetic visitors will be able to dance in a silent disco and “choose from classic tunes from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s” and an artist workshop will offer the chance to make prints inspired by flowers and foliage depicted in artworks around the museum.
Exclusive access will be granted to the museum vaults where visitors can see items from the fashion, furniture and ceramics collections and there will be two performances of the Silver Swan automaton – the most famous Bowes exhibit of all – at 7pm and 8pm.
The award-winning Café Bowes will serve an evening menu and while walk-ins are welcome, tables can be reserved by calling 01833 690606.
And for those true romantics who might want to make this Valentine’s Day attraction a truly life-changing event, a special place is to be reserved for proposals.
To take advantage and book a slot, contact events@thebowesmuseum.org.uk or call the same number, 01833 690606, and ask for the events team.
Full details of the evening programme and admission prices can be found via the Bowes Museum website.