Museum & Art Swindon

18/10/2026

We recently had a visit from Nikolay Zverkov, a researcher from the Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nikolay is researching Jurassic marine reptiles and came to look at the specimens we hold in our collection. Some of our marine reptiles are quite rare and will be used in future research about these animals. Nikolay also provided our team with more up to date information, particularly the scientific naming of our Welcombe Avenue ichthyosaur. He also pointed out some deformity in the bones, which suggests our ichthyosaur possibly had arthritis. Thanks Nikolay!

16/10/2026

Bags bags bags! 🛍️

Who has a bag of bags that ‘might be useful?’ – most of us perhaps? For museums, the humble paper bag is a snapshot into the social history of a place and its shops, and our social history doesn’t disappoint.

Coronation celebrations from 1953 with a fanfare at McIlroy’s, garden tools galore at Sarjents, making models at the Model Centre, looking sharp at Billett & Co. – from Faringdon Road to Theatre Square, Swindon had you covered!

15/10/2026

13/10/2026

This half-term, join us to discover the secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry as part of the Bayeux Around Britain project!

We have Bayeux Tapestry inspired creative drop-ins, workshops and interactive storytelling sessions throughout the week.

🛡️Bayeux Tapestry Creative Drop-in
Sat 24, Wed 28 and Sat 31 October 10.45am-4pm
Create your own Saxon or Norman shield to take home, design a Saxon coin or brooch, add your own designs to our giant collage version of the Tapestry, or try some Battle of Hastings colouring!
Free to take part

🪡Bayeux Tapestry craft workshops
Tuesday 27 October 11.15am and 1.45pm
Try your hand at weaving and embroidery and learn about how the Bayeux Tapestry was made. Weave your own Halloween spider-web and create your own mini-embroidery pumpkin to take home!
£5 per child (bookable via website)

📕The Bayeux Tapestry Story Interactive Storytelling Session
Tuesday 27 October 10.30am, 1pm and 3.30pm
Join us in the museum galleries for our Bayeux Tapestry Story Interactive storytelling sessions.
£4 per person (bookable via website)

To find out more and book sessions visit
www.museumartswindon.com/whats-on

All our activities are part of Bayeux Around Britain, a nationwide programme of exhibitions, events and displays designed to share the historic loan of the Bayeux Tapestry from the French government with everyone around the UK.

10/10/2026

Today we're highlighting another local artist who's work is on display and available to buy here at Museum & Art Swindon.

Sean Monaghan is a local artist who has spent the last decade painting the Ridgeway, the iconic chalk track known as Britain's oldest road.
Sean paints outdoors, in front of the subject, in oils and watercolours. Most pieces are completed on the spot in under an hour, working fast against the changing light and weather of the downs to produce a fresh and direct impression. Some larger pieces are worked up in the studio to add a richness and complexity not possible in the field.
Recurring motifs in Sean's work include iconic features of the landscape south of Swindon that many locals know and love, such as the iron-age hillforts at Liddington and Barbury, and the beech clumps at Hackpen Hill.

The best of Sean's Ridgeway paintings are now available to own as fine art prints - available to purchase in the Museum & Art Swindon shop.

Come and see this and other local artists work for sale at Museum & Art Swindon which is open on Euclid Street in Swindon.⁠
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The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am to 4.30pm. Entry to the museum is FREE.

08/10/2026

It’s that time of year for bringing in the harvest, and maybe thinking about what you’re going to do with it – jam? Jellies? Pickles? Preserves?

This leaflet found in our social history audit tells a more sinister story, though, that of shortages and making do – it arrived in the collection alongside a booklet on the 1940 , and a chilling pamphlet about working after the air raid siren has sounded…

06/10/2026

‘Radical Shifts: Freedom and Innovation in Studio Ceramics’, A Curator Tour of ‘Beneath the Surface’ with Katie Ackrill

Thursday 22 October at 2pm

Tickets: £7.00

Join curator Katie Ackrill for our latest curator tour of Beneath the Surface: A Century of Studio Ceramics in Britain exhibition.

In the 1930s William Staite Murray said, ‘Pottery stands between painting and sculpture in the plastic arts, it inclines to either and includes both.’ Taking Murray’s quote as a starting point, this talk explores the relationship between studio ceramics and sculpture through artworks on display in ‘Beneath the Surface: A Century of Studio Ceramics in Britain’.

‘Radical Shifts’ explores artists who have challenged traditional methods of creating pottery from the post-war era up to the 2000s. It begins with pioneering artists like Hans Coper and Gordon Baldwin, who led the way with new sculptural approaches in the 1960s and ‘70s. We then look at how artists gained the freedom to move beyond domestic pottery and experiment more freely with clay, and the flourishing of female ceramists like Alison Britton and Carol McNicoll.

The tour also takes in some of the most recent artworks in the collection, made by artists who are still finding radical new ways to work with clay as an exciting sculptural medium, including Tessa Eastman, Fenella Elms and Grant Aston.

The tour lasts approximately 30 minutes, with time for questions afterwards.

Limited spaces so book now to avoid disappointment!

https://www.museumartswindon.com/shop/shop-online/tickets/radical-shifts-curator-tour-of-beneath-the-surface/

Image: ‘Baby Cloud Bundle’ (2015) by Tessa Eastman

04/10/2026

We are delighted to have new art from another local artist for sale at Museum & Swindon.

Bogusława Bryska is a contemporary visual artist whose work explores the relationship between memory, light, shadow, and emotional landscape.

Working across abstract and expressive forms, her paintings investigate the dialogue between colour, texture, and atmosphere, inviting viewers to reflect on personal experience and shared human emotion.

Her work has been exhibited internationally across Europe and North America and has received recognition through juried exhibitions, international art competitions, and publications.

Come and see this and other local artists work for sale at Museum & Art Swindon which is open on Euclid Street in Swindon.⁠
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The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am to 4.30pm. Entry to the museum is FREE.

02/10/2026

Fabrics! Think past fashions are dull? Think again!

Look at some of the fabulous fabrics we’ve been discovering while inventorying our costume collections – here dating from the mid-Victorian period up to the 1970s, we’ve got something for everyone – bold florals, zany stripes, intricate smocking, rustling ruching – it’s been thrilling exploring what we have.

30/09/2026

Have you had chance to look at our September Object of the Month yet?
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To celebrate our exhibition ‘How You See Me: 400 Years of Portraiture from Swindon’s Museums’, we are taking a closer look at the Albert Beaney Collection, where a number of photographs are currently on display until 31st January 2027.⁠
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This extensive photographic archive was created by local photographer Albert Beaney between the 1940s and late 1970s. The collection shows ordinary people of Swindon on the streets they lived. Some tell us what certain neighbourhoods were like years ago, while others reveal the types of sports or play that children enjoyed and even their favourite toys. It is interesting to witness how people’s clothes change and the varied ways people interact with the camera.⁠
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Read the full article on our website⁠
https://www.museumartswindon.com/collections/item-of-the-month/⁠
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How You See Me: 400 Years of Portraiture from Swindon’s Museums is on at Museum & Art Swindon until 31 January 2027.

Museum & Art Swindon is open on Euclid Street in Swindon.

The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am to 4.30pm. Entry to the museum is FREE.