Fishing for Clues!

 BEDFM 4970. Donated by R W Howe, 9 May 1923 

Among the items in The Collectors Gallery, there are three bony structures about the length of a hand. They’re labelled “FISH TUSK R AMAZON”, but look at a picture of a tusk fish on the web, and it just doesn’t seem right. So what are they?

I contacted Project Noah, an online platform which “harnesses the power of citizen scientists everywhere”. Could anyone solve the puzzle of the “tusks”?  And amazingly, they could! 

The answer came from a fish specialist in the Tasmania Museum. Our “tusks” are actually spines from the front fins of a catfish, probably the Megalodoras, also know as the Giant Talking Catfish. Result!

So if you come and pay us a visit, have a look for the "tusk fish" in our Collectors Gallery.

Written by Collections Volunteer Sarah

Saturday Stress Busting

Saturday 27th April
1pm- 4pm, Free

Enjoy a variety of relaxing and sociable activities including, arts & crafts, yoga, poetry writing and more to help improve feelings of wellbeing.

No need to book, just turn up.

Creative Arts Activities, 1pm - 4pm
Enjoy arts & crafts sessions  mindful colouring and drawing.
Traditional table-top games including Chess, Jigsaws, Dominoes and Scrabble.

Mindful Yoga, 1:30pm-2:30pm
Join Alex for relaxing Yoga sessions. All are welcome to join, no experience need. Mats are provided. Suitable for ages 17+.

Tea Party Poetry, 2:30pm - 4pm
Give voice to your thoughts and emotions in poetry writing sessions with Satwinder. No experience needed. Not suitable for young children.

More Saturday Stress Busting sessions are available on 18th May & 29th June. 

Download more details here.

Visit The Higgins Bedford website for more wellbeing activities. 

Spring Gardening Talks & Tours

Inspired by the current exhibition, Round and Round the Garden – A Celebration of Horticulture in Art, enjoy a variety of garden-themed talks and tours this Spring, at The Higgins Bedford.

Garden Tours - Transforming the Gardens at The Higgins Bedford
Tuesday 9th April, Wednesday 15 May

11:15am - Booking Essential

Explore the Castle Gardens in a free, half an hour tour  and discover more about the volunteer-led project to rejuvenate the gardens and grounds. Donations are welcome to aid in transforming the gardens. More tours are available here. 

Reminiscence Session: Round and Round the Garden

Thursday 11th April - 11am

Join the discussion, meet new people and be inspired by memories and stories of the past, based on newly opened exhibition Round and Round the Garden. This Reminiscence Session free to join, but refreshments are £1.

Lunchtime Lecture with Twigs Way – Art and the Suburban Garden

Wednesday 22nd May 12pm - 1pm

£5.90 (£4.70 Concessions) - Booking Essential

Join Twigs Way for a lunchtime lecture and explore the quirkier aspects of garden history, art works that reveal changing aspirations within the garden, and the rise of the suburban artist.

Booking is essential for Garden Tours and the Lunchtime Lecture with Twigs Way. To book your place, please email thehiggins@bedford.gov.uk.

Garden-themed events will be continue in the Summer, including garden tours, plant sales, lunchtime lectures, Summer Holiday Activities and Family Day.

Holiday Activities at The Higgins Bedford

Easter Holidays - Creatures in the Garden

Enjoy creative art and craft activities, inspired by the exhibition 'Round and Round the Garden - A Celebration of Horticulture in Art'.

Workshops start at 11am, 12:30pm and 2pm.

Tuesday 9th April - Creepy Crawly Clay (£5)
Make clay models with local artist Victoria Houghton.

Wednesday 10th April - Bug Hotels (£3)
Build and decorate a cosy home for garden bugs to live in.

Thursday 11th April - Garden Mosaics with Qemamu Mosaics (£5)
Create and decorate your very own mosaic to take home.

Tuesday 16th April - Clay Creatures (£5)
Make clay models with local artist Victoria Houghton.

Wednesday 17th April - Pebble Pals (£3)
Paint rocks to hide and seek in the garden.

Thursday 18th April - Birds and Butterflies (£3)
Create your own set of wings and let your imagination soar.

May Half Term - National Children's Gardening Week

Celebrate National Children's Gardening Week with creative and crafty workshops.

Workshops start at 11am and 2pm.

Tuesday 28th May - Cress Craft (£3)
Decorate a wooden house and garden, then plant and grow your own mini salad.

Wednesday 29th May - Garden Caddy (£3)
Assemble and decorate a little wooden caddy for carrying hand tools and small plants around the garden.

Friday 31st May - Herb Planters (£3)
Make and decorate a self-watering planter.

Visit The Higgins Bedford website to find out more. 

Visit The Higgins Bedford Facebook & Twitter pages to receive the most up-to-date information about these activities. 

New Exhibition: Round and Round the Garden - A Celebration of Horticulture in Art

6th April 2019 – 29th September 2019

Wixamtree Gallery – Free Entry

Celebrate all things gardens and gardening with The Higgins Bedford at the new exhibition ‘Round and Round the Garden: A Celebration of Horticulture in Art’. 

Featuring works by major artists from the internationally renowned Cecil Higgins Collection, this exhibition celebrates our human fascination with gardens and looks at how gardens and gardening have provided inspiration for artists.

Pre-Raphaelite John Everett Millais saw them as settings for tragic love stories. Walter Sickert brought the garden inside for his still life pieces, while Joan Eardley braved the weather to paint Scottish wild flowers. Edward Bawden depicted the large botanical gardens at Kew whilst Paul Nash painted village gardens. Camden Town artist Charles Ginner painted his own suburban garden, whilst Lucian Freud and Graham Sutherland travelled further afield to paint continental gardens and exotic plants

As part of the exhibition, there will also be a sensory installation in the gallery created by the Theatre of Widdershins with The Wynding Wixam Tree, a sculptural piece by local puppet maker and storyteller, Andy Lawrence.

There will also be garden-themed events including garden tours, a plant sale, a British Sign Language tour and workshop with Access Bedford, lunchtime lectures, Easter and May Half-Term holiday activities and more.

The exhibition has been organised in collaboration with Christiana Payne, Professor of History of Art at Oxford Brookes University.

Click here for more information about the exhibition.

New Exhibition: The Journey from Bunyan to the Brickworks

6 April 2019 – 29 September 2019

Connections Gallery – Free Entry

‘Fuelling the brick firing kilns, London Brick Company, Stewartby,
1952 © The Mutual Security Agency’

The Journey from Bunyan to the Brickworks exhibition explores the journeys of pride, inspiration and hope made by Bunyan who was imprisoned and persecuted for his beliefs, alongside the difficult journeys made by those who came to Bedford after the Second World War to work at the Brickworks. 

Many people have found inspiration in the life story of John Bunyan, who remained steadfast to his beliefs in spite of persecution and imprisonment. Many have been inspired by his most famous published work, The Pilgrim’s Progress which charts the story from despair to hope through faith. 

This story is mirrored in the stories of those that travelled to Bedford in the wake of the Second World War to work at the Brickworks. Many fled poverty, mass unemployment and persecution before coming to Bedford. Working conditions at the Brickworks were challenging, however many made new lives in Bedford.

A large 'stained-glass' effect window, in the style of the stunning windows in the Bunyan Meeting church forms the centre-piece of the exhibition. Films, recordings and objects collected from the community help to explore the stories of individuals that worked at the Brickworks.

There will be a variety of events including a programme of Brickworks-related talks and a Bedfordshire Brickworks Day on the 25^th May 2019. Bedfordshire Brickworks Day will include Brickworks-related talks, activities and folk music with local musicians in partnership with Invisible Folk. There will also be an interactive discussion panel where The Higgins Bedford will invite members of the public to share their Brickworks memories to contribute to The Higgins’ Wall of Inspiration.

This exhibition is the result of a collaborative Heritage Lottery funded project between John Bunyan Museum and the Bedford Chronicles.

Click here for more information about the exhibition.

Tibbs Dementia Art Activitea: Brushstrokes Art Exhibition

Closes 30th September 2019

Outside Settlement Gallery - Free

Image Courtesy of The Stroke Association

The Tibbs Dementia Art-Activitea: Brushstrokes Art Exhibition is an opportunity to view an incredible display of artworks created by people living with dementia, people recovering from strokes and their carers.

The theme of the artwork is based on the concept of recovery. The work conveys the individual nature of living with dementia and experiencing a stroke, alongside the importance of support and togetherness.

Brushstrokes and Tibbs Art Activitea art groups met weekly at The Higgins Bedford. The Activitea group has inspired those living with dementia, those who are recovering from a stroke and their carers to create a variety of pieces, from a Bedford river scene triptych to colourful claybowls and exotic face masks.

This exhibition is supported by The Stroke Association, the NHS and Tibbs Dementia Foundation.

Click here for more information.