Tuesday 1 September 2009

Public art and education

We’re really fortunate in this country to have a rich cultural heritage, which is readily accessible, and frequently free! While in London we visited the National Gallery. It has a massive collection spanning the 13th to 20th centuries.

Apparently it gets very busy when it rain… well it is on Trafalgar Square, and it is free. While I loved the Monet (several versions of the lily pond), the highlight for me was the 10-minute talk. Monday to Friday at 4 p.m. one of the staff gives a wee talk about one of the paintings. It’s free education – and it’s interactive. You stand in a group around the painting, then there’s the talk, then you can ask questions.

I went to hear about Caravaggio’s Emmaus. The talk was very informative and... did I mention that it was free? Seriously, if you’re in London it’s worth finding out what the talk is about - even if it's rubbish it'll only take 10 minutes; and if it's good you'll remember it for a long time.

2 comments:

Tess said...

I'm always amazed at the amount of incredible free art that's available to us in this country, if we just seek it out.

His Girl Friday said...

Will keep that in mind, ER. Sounds like a wonderful tour.