Lecture with Adam Hart-Davis
Date: Wednesday 6 April
Time: 6.30pm - 8pm
Cost: £12 / £10 HRP members
Opened on 1 May 1851 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Great Exhibition was an extravaganza of technological talent. Albert was the figurehead and chief promoter of this great spectacle, built a stone’s throw away from Kensington Palace to celebrate the great advances of the British industrial age and the expansion of the empire.
Railway fever had gripped the country, and Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace became a showcase for locomotives and rolling stock. Steam-powered ploughs were on display, along with the electric telegraph, the growing art and science of photography, the world’s first mowing machine, and dozens of other pieces of new-fangled technology from around the world - not to mention George Merryweather’s leech-powered Tempest Prognosticator.
Writer and presenter Adam Hart-Davis will take you on a journey through the inventions and peculiarities of this fascinating spectacle.
This event includes a drinks reception.
For more information and to book, please go to our Adult Learning section of the website.
From Jenny at Kensington
Talk and Workshop
With musicians from the Saltarello Ensemble
Date: Saturday 2 April
Time: 2 - 5pm
Cost: £28 / £25 HRP members
“Handel’s oratorios thrive abundantly — for my part, they give me an idea of heaven, where everybody is to sing whether they have voices or not” Horace Walpole
In this workshop, the members of the Saltarello Ensemble will bring the sounds of George Frideric Handel’s world to life!
Saltarello will lead you on a musical journey, introducing the work of Handel through the context of baroque music through explanation and live performance. Playing a variety of recorders and continuo they will introduce participants to the music of Handel as well as intriguing works by his contemporaries. The workshop will also explore Handel’s role as court musician to George I and George II and will imagine some of the performances that took place in the candlelit rooms of Kensington Palace.
This event includes light refreshments and entry to Kensington Palace.
For more information and to book, please go to our Adult Learning section of the website.
From Jenny at Kensington
Exciting things are happening at Kensington!
We’d like a graphic designer, printmaker, illustrator or textile artist to undertake a residency with the Access and Learning team at Kensington this summer.
Kensington Palace is being transformed. Work is underway to create new spaces, places and narrative routes as part of a £12 million renovation project to bring the amazing characters and stories of Kensington to a wider audience. It is the greatest change to come to Kensington in over a century and offers us a fascinating opportunity to explore and learn about the very fabric of Kensington’s history.
During some recent building work we’ve uncovered a fascinating glimpse into the past decoration of the palace through scraops of wallpaper dating back 200 years hidden under panels and plaster. It’s this hidden history that will be the inspiration for the project. We’d like you to take these fragments as a starting point to create new work in dialogue with our palace community and learning audiences.
To find out more about the post and to apply please visit the Kensington Learning news and events section.
From Jenny at Kensington
How did you fall in love with history? How do you make other people share that passion?
Last week saw the first in our series of evening teacher’s events in association with the Historical Association, held at Kensington Palace. The acclaimed historical fiction writer Sarah Dunant gave an impassioned key note speech about what led to her passion for history as well as offering a fascinating insight into how she researches her novels. The aim of the event was to explore the ways in which we use the narrative to engage students with history, through storytelling, historical fiction, film and other media. We had some great workshops led by teachers and members of the Historical Association and there were some really interesting discussions buzzing around. It was great to hear from teacher’s about thier experiences of how they use narratives with their students as well.
The next event is following the same theme and will be held on Thursday 21st October at Hampton Court. For more information see the Historical Association website.
From Jenny at Kensington
Kensington Palace has recently expanded the education and community outreach service, with a programme offering fresh and fascinating takes on history, citizenship and the arts.
We have invited children of local primary schools and their families to join our exciting new project Palace Explorers
This free project will give pupils and their families the opportunity to explore and engage with the palace and the stories it contains, through sketching, making crowns and tiaras, embroidery, photography, storytelling and creative writing.
Find out more about the project here:
http://www.palace-explorers.co.uk/
From Ina at Hampton Court
Going behind the scenes at Kensington Palace!
This Saturday we welcomed people to come and hear about the Kensington Project and explore our palatial building site as part of the Open House London weekend. Around 90 people joined us to hear from the Project Manager Jo Thwaites and Landscape Architect James Fox from Todd Longstaffe-Gowan partnership as well as to explore rooms currently being refurbished as new galleries for re-opening in 2012. For more information about the Kensington project please go to the Kensington Palace Campaign.
Jenny at Kensington
Calling all teachers, students and creative minds!
Returning for a 5th year, Creative Quarter 2010 will be taking place on Friday 19 November 2010 at Kensington Palace. This free event for 13-19 year olds is a unique opportunity for young people to learn about their opportunities in the creative industries. Organised by the Exhibition Road Cultural Group, Creative Quarter provides a chance to meet professional artists, designers, scientists as well as undergraduate and post-graduate students and to take part in free drop-in activities, workshops, talks and demonstrations.
Led by the V&A, ERCG member organisations running events this year include: Imperial College London, Kensington Palace, Royal Albert Hall, Royal College of Art, Royal College of Music, Science Museum and the Serpentine Gallery.
A full programme of events, and details of how to register for the event can be found at www.exhibitionroad.org.uk.
From Jenny at Kensington
Patchwork Palace - Free Family Fun
Saturday 23 October, Kensington Palace
11.00 - 16.00
Come and join us in drawing and embroidering a gothic and fantastical mural of Kensington Palace using fabrics, thread and sequins all inspired by the magical world of the Enchanted Palace.
All ages welcome. Event included in palace admission ticket.
From Jenny at Kensington
Legends, Scandals, Princesses and Fountains of Wine!
Autumn’s adult learning programme has something for everyone. For the first time, we are offering courses, talks and workshops at Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and the Tower of London and we invite you to come and take part.
We have some big name speakers including Dan Cruickshank and Andrew Graham-Dixon, as well as unique opportunities to go behind the scenes at our palaces with our expert curators and conservators. For more information about the programme and how to book please go to www.hrp.org.uk/adultlearning
We look forward to seeing you at one of our events!
Jenny from Kensington Palace
