The Cult of Beauty
From the Pre-Raphaelites to Arts and Crafts design, explore the history of iconic art movements across this 7-week course, set in the beautiful surroundings of Leighton House 🎨
Starts next Tuesday! In partnership with Imperial College London
📅 Tuesdays, from 1 November-13 December
🕛 11am-12:30pm
💰 £77 for the full course (£70 for members of The Friends)
🎫 Book your tickets: https://buff.ly/3SCL5L6
Break Out Culture podcast
In the latest episode of Country & Town House Magazine's Break Out Culture podcast, Senior Curator, Daniel Robbins, and artist, Shahrzad Ghaffari, discuss the reopening of "two of London’s most magnificent Victorian houses" 🏘️
🔊 Listen to the full episode: https://buff.ly/3DvWojg
#podcast #breakoutculture #artistsathome
This Saturday our Family Fun series returns with a celebration of music, physics, art & geometry 🎶
Exploring the science of sound, we begin with 'Birdsong & Sound' with Karen Hodgetts 🦜🐦
Learn more: https://buff.ly/3EcwrGb
Supported by The Royal Society #PlacesOfScience
Don't miss out on saving with our Early Bird Tickets 🐤
Musician, DJ and broadcaster Nabihah Iqbal, brings her Glory To Sound live music series to Leighton House where she invites some of her favourite artists to perform in the unique surroundings.
🎵 The Lineup...
8 Nov: TLK and Fire In Her Eyes. 6 Dec: Petit Oiseau (Jatinder Singh Durhailay and Suren Seneviratne) and Natty Wylah. 31 Jan: Otto Hashmi and Ben Nobuto. 21 Feb: Laura Groves and Findom.
🎫 Early bird tickets (until Sunday 16 October): £15
🎫 Standard price (from Monday 17 October): £20
👉 Book your tickets: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/glory-sound-nabihah-iqbal
Nabihah Iqbal @t l k Fire In Her Eyes Natty Wylah Jatinder Singh Durhailay My Panda Shall Fly Otto Hashmi Ben Nobuto Laura Groves with thanks to National Lottery Heritage Fund
Free to visit at Leighton House
Free to visit at Leighton House...
☕ The De Morgan Café
✏️ Tavolozza Drawings Gallery
- currently featuring the exhibition -
A Life of Drawing: Highlights from the Leighton House collection
🎨 New commissions, including
Shahrzad Ghaffari's 11-metre high mural 'Oneness'
and a new cast of Leighton's sculpture
'Athlete Wrestling with a Python'
🖼️ Displays about Frederic Leighton,
William De Morgan and the Holland Park Circle
Plan your visit:
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums
The countdown is on with only 5 more days to go until our doors officially reopen!
📅 Join us for our opening weekend on Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 October or book your tickets for later in the year, alongside an exciting programme of events to explore.
🎫 Visit Leighton House, Sambourne House, or both museums with our joint ticket option!
💎 Our museums reopen following the major Hidden Gem to National Treasure redevelopment project at Leighton House and conservation works at Sambourne House.
💸 Some of the new spaces at Leighton House will be accessible for free and you won't need to book, including the new De Morgan Café, Tavolozza Drawings Gallery featuring our opening exhibition 'A Life of Drawing: Highlights from the Leighton House collection', and new displays such as the 11-metre mural 'Oneness' by Shahrzad Ghaffari.
We look forward to welcoming you back!
Book your tickets: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/visit-us
With thanks to @heritagefunduk @RoyalBoroughofKensingtonandChelsea and The Friends of Leighton House
#ReopeningOurDoors #HiddenGemToNationalTreasure #MoreArtForAll #ALifeOfDrawing #ArtistsAndNeighbours #HollandParkCircle #ArtistsHouses
A Place Like No Other.
Journey through the history and Aesthetic interiors of Sambourne House, as @inigo.house explore the former Kensington home of Victorian illustrator Linley Sambourne in a first-look review, ahead of the museums reopening on 15 October 2022.
📰 See link in bio to read the full article
Photography by @inigo.house
#SambourneHouse #ArtistsHouses #ReopeningOurDoors #linleysambourne #victorianhouse #victorianhome #victorianstyle #cluttercore #interiors #aestheticism #aestheticmovement #housebeautiful #artsandcraftsmovement #interiorsofinsta
Which will win? For today's #WorldAnimalDay we're celebrating the power of the 🐍 with a sneak peek unveiling of our newly commissioned cast of Leighton's 'Athlete Wrestling with a Python'.
Displayed at the base of the museums new helical staircase, the twisting snake coiling around the figure of the athlete echoes the spiralling form.
On display in the free access area of the museum, see Leighton's scuplture next to the entrance for the free exhibition 'A Life of Drawing: Highlights from the Leighton House collection': https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/life-drawing-highlights-leighton-house-collection
This project, kindly supported by the Henry Moore Institute and The Friends of Leighton House, has been completed in memory of John Schaeffer AO, who was a long-term friend and supporter of Leighton House and a great admirer and collector of Leighton’s sculpture. To guarantee maximum fidelity to the original, Pangolin Editions used an existing mould taken from an original cast in a private collection.
#TransformationTuesday
In the fragrance world, “Oriental” is an official category of perfume that is distinguished by its warm, sensual notes.
Whether you're a fragrance fan or a cultural questioner - join us for an aromatic evening where our expert panel will explore the history, ingredients, and the uneasy border between appreciation and appropriation.
Meet the panel:
🌼 Chaired by sensory historian and artist, Tasha Marks.
🌼 Ezra-Lloyd Jackson, artist and perfumer, who has created a bespoke perfume inspired by Leighton House, with sample perfume tabs shared with attendees during the event.
🌼 Nadine Nour el Din, art historian and cultural practitioner.
🌼 William Tullett, Associate Professor in Sensory History at Anglia Ruskin University.
🌼 Sanjoli Mathur, who investigates the impact of people’s cultural background on their experience of smells.
📅 Tuesday 15 November
🕛 6:30-8:30pm
💰 £25
🎫 Book your tickets: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/oriental-immersive-and-aromatic-panel-discussion
AVM Curiosities
Nadine Nour El Din
Family Fun: Exploring Music and Creating Sound
Join us for the return of our Saturday Family Fun series as we invite children to embark on an exciting journey of practical discovery exploring music, art, geometry and sound, with the support of The Royal Society
Meet our tutors:
🎵 Award-winning qanun musician Maya Youssef will perform traditional Syrian songs from her new album & explore her favourite musical instrument, the qanun.
🧪 Primary Science specialist from The Ogden Trust Karen Hodgetts will explore the science behind sound & help children to create their own instruments.
🎨 Artist & geometer Samira Mian Islamic Geometry will teach children to draw & colour Islamic geometric patterns to decorate their instruments.
📅 Saturday 29 Oct, 5 & 19 Nov, 7, 14 & 21 Jan
🕛 2pm-3:30pm
🧒 For children aged 5-11yrs
💰 £5 per child (with free entry to Leighton House for accompanying adult)
🎫 Book your tickets: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/family-fun-exploring-music-and-creating-sound
#PlacesOfScience #MusicMonday
** FREE EXHIBITION: A Life of Drawing: Highlights from the Leighton collection**
✏️Showcasing a selection of Frederic Leighton’s most stunning and rarely seen drawings, this opening exhibition in the newly created Tavolozza Drawings Gallery is completely free to visit!
Leighton preserved hundreds of his drawings in his own archives and they became lifelong sources of inspiration that he returned to over and over again as he planned his art. His close friend, neighbour and biographer, Emilie Barrington, believed that Leighton’s drawings displayed his sheer artistic talent even more plainly than his finished paintings, and saw them as the most spontaneous, expressive, and vivid representations of his artistic ideas.
📅 15 October 2022 to 19 February 2023
💰 Free entry
👀 Learn more: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/life-drawing-highlights-leighton-collection
#MoreArtForAll #ALifeOfDrawing
** REOPENING EXHIBITION: Artists and Neighbours: The Holland Park Circle**
🏡 In the late 19th century, a unique community of artists grew up around Holland Park, forming a vibrant creative hub in this part of Kensington. Many of these artists rose to the height of their profession, acquiring celebrity status and creating remarkable studio-homes which reflected their commercial success.
Our opening exhibition explores the diverse output of these artists, including Leighton himself, alongside contemporaries of the likes of G.F. Watts, James Jebusa Shannon, Colin Hunter and Albert Moore. The display also sheds a light into the work of female artists who were associated to the Holland Park Circle, including Julia Margaret Cameron and Emilie Barrington.
📅 15 October 2022 to 19 March 2023
💰 Included within Leighton House museum ticket
🎫 Book your tickets: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/artists-and-neighbours-holland-park-circle
#ArtistsAndNeighbours #HollandParkCircle
🎫 We are delighted to announce that tickets are now available to book your visit to Leighton House, Sambourne House...or both museums with our joint ticket option!
☕ Early Bird Offer at the De Morgan Café - book your tickets by Sunday 25 September & receive 10% off in the new De Morgan Café at Leighton House.
📅 Join us for our opening weekend on Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 October or book your tickets for later in the year, alongside an exciting programme of events to explore.
💎 Our museums reopen following the major Hidden Gem to National Treasure redevelopment project at Leighton House and conservation works at Sambourne House.
💸 Some of the new spaces at Leighton House will be accessible for free and you won't need to book, including the new Tavolozza Drawings Gallery featuring our opening exhibition 'A Life of Drawing: Highlights from the Leighton collection', the De Morgan Café and the chance to see the new 'Oneness' mural by Shahrzad Ghaffari.
We look forward to welcoming you back!
👉 Book your tickets: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/visit-us
#ReopeningOurDoors #HiddenGemToNationalTreasure #MoreArtForAll #ALifeOfDrawing #ArtistsAndNeighbours #HollandParkCircle Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
🎫 Tickets to visit our museums and discover our Victorian artists at home go on sale this Thursday 15 September, with just one month to go until our grand reopening on Saturday 15 October!
👀 Keep your eyes on our socials and sign up to our museums e-newsletter to be one of the first to book your visit (with a special early bird offer!)
Sign up to our e-newsletter: https://buff.ly/3HVQfMR
Video by DPH Creative Production
#ReopeningOurDoors #ArtistsAtHome #HiddenGemToNationalTreasure
Live events are back at Leighton House! Book your tickets 🎫
We look forward to welcoming you back to the beautiful setting of Leighton House this autumn with the return of in-person events exploring music, art, literature and even scent!
Learn about the Pre-Raphaelites, Æsthetes and Modernists; hear the premier of ‘Queen of the quanun’ Maya Youssef's original piece inspired by Leighton House, or bring the kids for a Saturday of family fun learning about the science of sound and creating music!
Explore what's on 👉 https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/whats-on
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Kensington and Chelsea Music Society
Maya Youssef
Samira Mian Islamic Geometry
The Royal Society
Imperial College London
Nabihah Iqbal
🎵 Leighton's love of music saturated both his artworks and his personal life.
An accomplished musician himself, every spring, Leighton would host an annual music concert in his studio, where prominent international musicians of the day would perform and the Victorian glitterati would attend - even Queen Victoria herself!
This autumn, we'll be celebrating the reopening of our doors and the return of in-person events with a whole host of musical concerts and performances - sign up to our museums e-newsletter to be the first to hear!
https://buff.ly/3HVQfMR
Learn more about Leighton's love of music:
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/leightons-love-music
Images:
Detail from 'Music' (1883-5)
Detail from 'Colour Sketch for the Triumph of Music' (c.1855-56)
Detail from 'Music' (1883-5)
Detail from 'Corinna of Tanagra' (c.1893)
Detail from 'Rustic Music' (1861)
All artworks are by Frederic Leighton and part of the Leighton House collection.
#musicmonday #music #chambermusic #musicconcert
Recreating Aitchison’s studio bookcases
After months of expert craftsmanship by @lukehughesco a stunning recreation of Leighton House architect George Aitchison's lost bookcases have now taken their place in Leighton's studio 📚
Learn more about this exciting commission, made possible thanks to the support of The Friends 👉 https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/recreating-aitchisons-studio-bookcases
#LeightonHouse #GeorgeAitchison
#ColorOurCollections
To celebrate announcing the autumn reopening of our museums, the latest addition to our #ColorOurCollections series captures the exteriors of Leighton House and Sambourne House.
Join us with your pencils, paints or tablet to colour and calm your mind!
🎨 Explore & download our colouring sheets: https://buff.ly/3yP1cw8
REOPENING OUR DOORS - SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER 2022 💙❤️
We are delighted to announce that both of our museums will reopen on Saturday 15 October 2022, following the major 'Hidden Gem to National Treasure' redevelopment of Leighton House and conservation works at Sambourne House.
Leighton House will reopen with two temporary exhibitions:
🎨 Artists and Neighbours: the Holland Park Circle
(15 October 2022 to 19 March 2023 - included in price of admission)
✏️ A Life of Drawing: Highlights from the Leighton collection
(15 October 2022 to 19 February 2023 - free access)
Other highlights include:
☕ New De Morgan Café overlooking the garden. New shop and facilities.
📚 Dedicated suite of Learning spaces.
💙 Contemporary commissions including the 11-metre-high mural 'Oneness' by Shahrzad Ghaffari and a unique suite of furniture by Turquoise Mountain.
🖼️ New permanent displays on Leighton, the history of the house and the Holland Park Circle of neighbouring artists’ studio-houses.
🏠 Reintegration of Leighton’s entrance hall and winter studio into the sequence of historic interiors.
♿ Step-free access to all public parts of the building.
Hidden Gem to National Treasure has been made possible thanks to the support of The Friends, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Leighton House will reopen its doors to visitors in tandem with Sambourne House, the Victorian home of celebrated illustrator Linley Sambourne.
🎟️ Tickets will be released soon - sign up to our e-newsletter to be the first to hear! https://buff.ly/3HVQfMR
We can’t wait to welcome you back!
Images by: Dirk Linder, Jaron James, Will Pryce & Justin Barton
Turquoise Mountain Jordan
#ReopeningOurDoors #HiddenGemToNationalTreasure
From Leighton's time to the present day, the journey to restore Leighton House to its former glory has been a long one...
Now, get ready for Leighton House's biggest transformation yet with an exciting reopening update coming soon...
Sign up to our e-newsletter for all of the latest news & updates: https://buff.ly/3HVQfMR
Hidden Gem to National Treasure has been made possible thanks to The Friends @RBKC @heritagefunduk
#ReopeningOurDoors #HiddenGemToNationalTreasure
Sail away with us to cooler climes with the latest from our #ColorOurCollections series
Journey down river with this blue and white oviform Chinese porcelain jar from Sambourne House, or escape on a sea-faring adventure with this ruby lustre dish by William De Morgan, which will form part of a new display of De Morgan pieces at Leighton House when we reopen later this Autumn.
🌊 Explore ColourOurCollections: https://buff.ly/3yP1cw8
@heritagefunduk #WellnessWednesday #WilliamDeMorgan #Colouring
Hear from Master Carpenter, Maher Saeed Darwiche, who tells us about the importance of continuing the ancient craft used by master artisans in Jordan to create a unique suite of @turquoisemountainjordan furniture for the new wing of Leighton House.
🎫 See these stunning pieces up-close during our Behind-the-scenes tours of the new Leighton House on Tuesday 28 June & Thursday 30 June (6-8pm) with guest experts from the Turquoise Mountain Foundation - Creative Director, Dr. Thalia Kennedy, and Creative Project Manager, Liz Rose: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/new-leighton-house-behind-scenes-tours-kcaw
📚 To find out more about this exciting commission, read: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/turquoise-mountain-new-commission-leighton-house
Turquoise Mountain is a non-profit organisation founded by HRH The Prince of Wales to revive historic areas, communities and traditional crafts, to create jobs, skills and a renewed sense of pride.
Hidden Gem to National Treasure has been made possible thanks to The Friends, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Hear from Master Wood-Mosaic Artisan, Abdelrahman Shaaban, about the details and inspiration behind a unique suite of @turquoisemountainjordan furniture for the new wing of Leighton House, hand-crafted in Jordan by master artisans.
🎫 See these stunning pieces up-close during our Behind-the-scenes tours of the new Leighton House on Tuesday 28 June & Thursday 30 June (6-8pm) with guest experts from the Turquoise Mountain Foundation - Creative Director, Dr. Thalia Kennedy, and Creative Project Manager, Liz Rose: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/new-leighton-house-behind-scenes-tours-kcaw
📚 To find out more about this exciting commission, read: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/turquoise-mountain-new-commission-leighton-house
Turquoise Mountain is a non-profit organisation founded by HRH The Prince of Wales to revive historic areas, communities and traditional crafts, to create jobs, skills and a renewed sense of pride.
Hidden Gem to National Treasure has been made possible thanks to The Friends, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
See behind-the-scenes of the new Leighton House...
Ahead of our grand reopening later this Autumn, we invite you to join our ‘behind-the-scenes' tours offering a sneak peek at the redeveloped areas of Leighton House, following our transformational project 'Hidden Gem to National Treasure'.
Available for a limited time only, in partnership with Kensington + Chelsea Art Week (23 June-3 July).
Led by our curatorial team, the tours will introduce the ambitious £8 million capital project across the modern wing and the museum’s famed historic interiors, before the displays are completed and installed.
Key features include Shahrzad Ghaffari’s spectacular 11-metre-high mural 'Oneness' on the walls of the new helical staircase, and the custom-designed furniture commissioned from the Turquoise Mountain Jordan for the new reception and café.
Join an afternoon tour or book an extended evening session with additional guest experts who will discuss specific aspects of the Hidden Gem to National Treasure project, with a chance to ask questions at the end.
🎫 BOOK TICKETS: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/new-leighton-house-behind-scenes-tours-kcaw
See behind-the-scenes of the new Leighton House...
Ahead of our grand reopening later this Autumn, we invite you to join our ‘behind-the-scenes' tours offering a sneak peek at the redeveloped areas of Leighton House, following our transformational project 'Hidden Gem to National Treasure'.
Available for a limited time only, in partnership with Kensington + Chelsea Art Week (23 June-3 July).
Led by our curatorial team, the tours will introduce the ambitious £8 million capital project across the modern wing and the museum’s famed historic interiors, before the displays are completed and installed.
Key features include Shahrzad Ghaffari’s spectacular 11-metre-high mural 'Oneness' on the walls of the new helical staircase, and the custom-designed furniture commissioned from the Turquoise Mountain Jordan for the new reception and café.
Join an afternoon tour or book an extended evening session with additional guest experts who will discuss specific aspects of the Hidden Gem to National Treasure project, with a chance to ask questions at the end.
🎫 BOOK TICKETS: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/new-leighton-house-behind-scenes-tours-kcaw
Our free online courses are back, with an artistic exploration of the geomorphic and biomorphic patterns found in Islamic design, led by artists Samira Mian and Dr Esra Alhamal
Inspired by items from our collections, take your pick of workshops...
Whether using compass and straight edge line work to recreate the geometric design of an inlaid table from Sambourne House
Or exploring freehand biomorphic patterns inspired by Iznik motifs found on a collection of Turkish plates in the dining room of Leighton House
The free series also includes a live 'In Conversation' event with Samira and Esra where you can hear and ask more about their lives as creatives
💰 FREE!
📅 Thursdays: 16, 23, 30 June, 7 & 14 July
🕒 5-7pm
⭐ MORE INFO + TICKETS: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/geometric-and-biomorphic-pattern-making-samira-mian-and-dr-esra-alhamal
Samira Mian Islamic Geometry
Islamic Illumination
National Lottery Heritage Fund
We're continuing our 'Mindful Moments' series with the meditative use of shape and symmetry, found within our museums 💠
2. Shape
Take a moment to unwind and share the feel good vibes
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #WellbeingWednesday #mindfulness #meditation #arttherapy
