Mission Accomplished! Rige Shiba on Glasgow and Bristol
Mission Accomplished!
Rige Shiba
India
ITP 2013
The team of 5 former ITPers (me, Manisha, Kiziili, Ishaq and Jana) representing different batches of the ITP participated in a workshop at Bristol City to work on a virtual exhibition project. But en route to Bristol, we first visited Glasgow to attend the Museum Association Conference, United Kingdom.
Well, the conference as expected covered different themes and also touched upon areas which otherwise are rarely encouraged for discussion amidst the traditional set of predicted topics in museum conferences.
Just to name a few, themes like Free to Speak: confronting censorship and controversies, Nation builders or breakers and My primary school is at the museum were some of the themes which completely struck a chord with me and many others.
My primary schools is at the museum was conceived by architect Wendy James and developed in collaboration with school of Education, Kings College, London. As mentioned in the report, My primary School is at the museum is “a symbolic strategy to place school classes with museum and galleries for extended periods, potentially leading for co-location”. My interaction with Ms. Wendy James was undoubtedly one of the highlights of my Museum Association conference. What an incredibly passionate museum educationist!
But to top it all a visit to the Necropolis, a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow which has fifty thousand graves followed by mine and Issac’s encounter with the first snow was the icing on the cake.
The Glasgow Necropolis. Image author’s own
Now, that’s the first accomplishment.
While at Bristol, the ITP team discussed the way ahead for our online exhibition project and fixed a tentative deadline for the exhibition. As we progress with the project, we would soon be disclosing about the exhibition on this platform. A wonderful online exhibition is guaranteed, mark my words!
When talking of Bristol, a quick mention about the Adela Breton Collection at The Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a must. Fortunately, this visit to Bristol also enabled us to see this collection in the Adela Breton: Ancient Mexico in colours curtated by Sue Giles. Adela Breton (1849-1923) made full-size coloured drawings of ancient Mexican sites like temples in Chichen Itza, Theotihuacan among others. The drawings made by her are the only records of what existed in the 1890s!
From the Adela Breton: Ancient Mexico in colours exhibition. Image author’s own.
Interestingly, most of our team were previously placed at Mshed or Bristol Art Gallery during our ITP partner museum placement. However, during my ITP partner placement in 2013, I sort of mapped the entire port city but missed out on visiting Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol. Any Indian who has studied Indian History and keeps an interest in knowing about Indian Social reforms would certainly know the importance of the Arnos Vale cemetery.
Visiting this cemetery was a must on the Bristol bucket list. Well, the cemetery has the mausoleum of Raja Ram Mohun Roy, a social reformer who founded the Brahmo Samaj or Brahmo Society, which fought against the Sati System (a practice of immolation by widows on their husband’s pyre).
Mausoleum of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Image author’s own.
Finally, I have accomplished my long-harboured mission!