Graduation Day

MoDiP would like to wish all the AUB students graduating today a fabulous day.

Congratulations and best wishes for the future.

Susan, Pam and Louise.

Guess the object

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or find out more about the object by looking at the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

The past inspires the future continued

The pupils from Malmesbury Primary school also had the chance to view two exhibitions whilst they were visiting.

First of all they looked around our Work, Rest & Play exhibition.  They enjoyed looking at the toys and sports equipment in the play section, the portable record player in the rest section, and the adding machine in the work section.

The pupils also looked at the work of the AUB fine art students as part of our Defining Practices exhibition. 

The work was a great source of fascination for the children, as were the AUB students themselves. 

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)



The past inspires the future

In the middle of May we had a visit from 90 children from Malmesbury Park Primary School. They came to study the masks which we have in the collection.  Many of these masks were made in 1999 by costume students for the film Entrapment.  The children were making sketches in preparation for a day back at school when they would be making their own masks.  They were intrigued by the different styles of mask and the embellishments that had been used.

We had three groups of 30 children come throughout the day and we laid out the masks on three tables.  The masks on each table included traditional Venitian Carnival masks, masks made by past students, and those made by a costume company.



The children had the opportunity to move around the room and find their favourite masks to draw. 

They picked out masks which inspired them, which would help them design their own masks back at school.

The children were accompanied by a number of adults including teachers, classroom assistants and parents.

I think the adults enjoyed the day just as much as the children did.

The day resulted in some fantastic sketches. Some included notes about the materials used.  

Others were filled with the patterns shown on the fabrics.

The children were very good at capturing the shapes and outlines on the masks.

They were also very accomplished at capturing the details.

We very much enjoyed welcoming the children to MoDiP and would like to thank our colleagues in the AUB Widening Participation team for helping us prepare for the day.  It is possible that in a few years time some of these young people may remember their day at MoDiP and consider coming to the AUB to study.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

The Jubilee - part 3

In the 1950s the royal family were extremely popular and the country came together after the hardship of war to celebrate in style.  Street parties were the order of the day and the decorations had a real patriotic feel to them.

Easy clean, disposable tablecloths needed to be reflect the overall theme of the day.  This piece from the PHS collection would have adorned a table filled with sandwiches and sweet treats.  It must have been a very exciting time.

PHSL : X7

PHSL : X7 detail

MoDiP will be closed on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th June in line with the AUB public holiday policy.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

The Jubilee - part 2

As I said in the last post there are some fantastic excuses to celebrate this year.  The Jubilee is taking the country by storm, products with a Jubilee theme are becoming very popular. 

The Jubilee celebrates 60 years of the Queen succeeding the throne in 1952 following the death of her father, King George VI.  In 1953 her Coronation took place and just like today products with a royal theme were highly desirable.  

This Ultra R786 is a case in point,  the model is also known as the Coronation Twin.

PHSL : 150 this example is part of the PHS collection

MoDiP will be closed on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th June in line with the AUB public holiday policy.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)