The Wiltshire Heritage Museum has extended it’s White Horses and Hill Figures exhibition until 27 February 2011.
The exhibition opened on 27 March 2010 and has enjoyed a fantastic response having been a huge hit with visitors from across the county, all over Britain and the world. Building on this success, the Museum has decided to give more visitors the opportunity to see this immensely popular and vibrant exploration of the chalk figures that are carved into the landscape of Wiltshire and beyond.
The exhibition focuses primarily on the chalk figures of Wiltshire where spirited white horses can be seen galloping across the chalk downlands and military badges stamp poignant memories of the past into the landscape. However, it also explores chalk figures from all over Britain, including the Uffington White Horse, the Cerne Abbas Giant and the Long Man of Wilmington. The exhibition looks at how chalk figures are created, their locations, their design, the stories of their history, and associated legends and folklore, as well as the continuing maintenance needed to preserve them.
Featured in the exhibition are historical items and ephemera related to white horses and hill figures as well as artistic interpretations such as photography, artwork, ceramics and poetry created by local, national and international artists. The items include normally unseen pieces from the Museum’s collection, other organisations, private collectors and artists. Also featured throughout the exhibition are stunning aerial photographs by Last Refuge Ltd.
The Museum’s Exhibition Officer, Jenna Spellane, said, “We are delighted that the exhibition has been such a tremendous success. We are so pleased to be able to give even more visitors the opportunity to see this fascinating and visually stunning exploration of some of the most beautiful and iconic features of the landscape. I can also reveal that later in the autumn we will be transforming the exhibition by adding a whole host of exciting and original new artworks by locally, nationally and internationally important artists.”
Usual Museum admission charges apply.
Image: Wiltshire Heritage Museum
The Wiltshire Heritage Museum has an international reputation and attracts visitors from all over the world. The archaeology collections, which are among the finest in Britain, trace the history of people living in Wiltshire in a series of galleries – Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval. The collections on display include important finds associated with the World Heritage Sites of Avebury and Stonehenge.
The Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Gallery and Library, and the headquarters of WANHS, can be found in the town of Devizes in the very heart of Wiltshire, at the convergence of the A361, A342, A4361 and A360. Although no direct rail link exists, frequent regular buses run to nearby Bath, Swindon and Salisbury and more infrequently to Chippenham, Trowbridge and Pewsey. All the buses stop at the Market Square.
www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk