The Sutton Subrang Dance Ensemble, Photo: Rolf Killius

The Museum of Croydon and the London Sitar Ensemble hosted a major exhibition in the Croydon NOW gallery of the Museum of Croydon, and other public display areas at Croydon Clocktower, from April to July 2009. The exhibition showcased the outputs of the ‘String and Dance Festival’ Project which was run by London Sitar Ensemble. The core exhibition comprised of oral history interviews (video), musical instruments and associated objects from the Community Groups involved and other donors (potentially the Horniman Museum), photographs and videos showing musical performances and dances from the Indian Sub-Continent as performed in the UK, costumes and associated musical instruments of all eight classical Indian dances and three folk dance genres from western India. Within the musical instruments display the emphasis was on string instruments like the sitar, sarangi, violin, veena, sarod, santoor and the supporting instruments like drums and cymbals.

Two photo exhibitions complemented the exhibition and were displayed in other public areas of the Clocktower: one showing Croydon-based dancers and musicians; and the other about a music instruments collection project in India. The exhibition was embedded in a string of events like workshops, rehearsals, oral tradition interviews and concerts. Taking and using a wealth of digital video, still photography and audio recordings constituted a major part of the activities and display.

Indian music and dance is one of the finest traditions in the world. Tracing its roots back to times immemorial, these art forms have an interesting pattern of evolutionary changes. Many changes, transformation and evolution have taken place, enriched by the contribution of the musicians and dancers, great and small, famous and unknown. The India – Britain story is a 400 year long tale of travel, migration and cultural exchange. This journey has made a significant influence on the cultural scene of British Arts. The ‘Indian Strings and Dances’ project, undertaken by London Sitar Ensemble and Croydon Museum and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, aims to explore the evolution and contribution made by the musicians and dancers in Britain.

The exhibition was curated by Lata Desai and Rolf Killius in close collaboration with Rob Shakespeare, Acting Museum Service Manager.

On Thursday 10th December 2009 at 6.30pm in The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EL

We would like to invite you to this year’s ICOMOS-UK Christmas Lecture and Wine Reception, in association with The Royal Institution of Great Britain:

The lecture will be given by Professor Clive Ruggles, Chair of the International Astronomical Union ’s Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage.

In today’s brightly lit world it is all too easy to forget just how overwhelming the dark night sky would have been to human societies in the past—a prominent part of the observed world that was impossible to ignore.

The objects and cycles seen there were vital to people striving to make sense of the world within which they dwelt and to keep their actions in harmony with the cosmos as they perceived it.

The Thirteen Towers, Peru

For the archaeoastronomer, certain ancient monuments provide tantalising glimpses of long lost beliefs and practices relating to the sky, although they have to be interpreted with considerable caution.

In this lecture Clive Ruggles, Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy at the University of Leicester, will describe some major new discoveries made in recent years, focusing on his own ongoing work in Peru, Polynesia, and prehistoric Europe.

Clive is Chair of the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage, which is working with UNESCO and ICOMOS to help identify, protect and preserve the most outstanding manifestations of global cultural heritage relating to the sky. Clive is also President of the Prehistoric Society, and President of IAU Commission 41 (History of Astronomy).  His books include Skywatching in the Ancient World: New Perspectives in Cultural Astronomy, edited with Gary Urton (Colorado, 2007), Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth (ABC-CLIO, 2005), and Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland (Yale UP, 1999).

Admission (including wine and mince pies after the lecture) is £15 for ICOMOS-UK or The Royal institution of Great Britain members.
Admission for non-members is £18 and for students it is £10.

We do hope you will join us on the 10th December, 

For more information and a booking form please contact:

Camilla Massara
Events Co-ordinator
International Council on Monuments & Sites UK

Tel 020 7566 0031
E-mail: camillamassara@icomos-uk.org

Membership is open to ICOMOS members able to demonstrate expertise in any field associated with protection, maintenance and conservation of monuments and sites that have intangible cultural heritage associations.

If you are interested in joining this Committee and you are a member of ICOMOS-UK, please contact Camilla Massara on camillamassara@icomos-uk.org for more information.

A study day organised in association with the British Museum, British Kazakh Society and the Royal Asiatic Society, focussing on the history and culture of Kazakhstan. It will include lectures by noted academics and writers of the archaeology, history, art and music of Kazakhstan, providing an introduction to this vast country of diverse landscapes and a rich cultural heritage. There will also be a performance by renowned Kazakh musicians of traditional music, a photographic exhibition and a reception at the end of the day.

For more information and bookings please click here.

Monpa Musician, Photo: Rolf Killius

Seven months ago the Horniman Museum opened its exhibition Utsavam – Music from India, exploring the rich and diverse music of India. It takes its name from the Sanscrit word “Utsavam”, meaning musical festivities.

Utsavam – Music from India explores the cultural and lingustic diversity of a land that is home to a sixth of the world’s population. Sound, film footage, musical instruments and objects including a spectacular Kathakali dance costume take you on a journey to India, where music traditions are under threat at a time of rapid change in the subcontinent.

Responding to the huge public demand, Rolf Killius, Co-curator of the exhibition, decided to invite for a special guided tour through the exhibition. On Sunday 21 September the Museum will host the Kala Chetana Kathakali Company with special guests (dancers and musicians) from Kerala. The special tour will take place on 21st September at 4.15pm directly after the Kathakali performance at the exhibition entrance. To see the line-up details, read the press reports and watch the programmes about the exhibition please follwo this link www.rolfkillius.com produced by Nigel Muris from Printstream.You might also be interested in an exciting new project, which in a way follows the path cleared by the Horniman’s Utsavam exhibition: an online sound project of the British Library Sound Archive in collaboration with the Horniman Museum, Traditional Music in India, where 100 music examples from recording trips to India starting in 1995 will be selcted and presented on the official British Library website and will be downloadable in mp3 format.

By Sarah Simmonds, Avebury World Heritage Site Officer

Avebury WHS Residents' Pack

One July evening in 2006 residents of the World Heritage Site were invited to appear in an aerial photograph of the Avebury henge. The evening marked the launch of a project to produce a Residents’ Pack for Avebury and the chance for local people to get involved and say what they would like to see in it. After two years hard work by a wide range of contributors the World Heritage Site Residents’ Pack was launched at the local Avebury Day celebrations on 19th July this year. The pack is the first of its kind produced specifically for those who live within one of the UK’s 27 World Heritage Sites.

The purpose of the Residents’ Pack is to raise awareness and understanding among local residents of the uniquely valuable nature of Avebury World Heritage Site.

It aims to encourage a sense of ownership and responsibility for sustaining the values associated with the site whilst providing residents with the information they need to assist in looking after it.

The pack includes a book, Voices and Values, that consists of a collection of pieces by people with unique personal and professional insight into the area many of whom are local residents. These pieces cover not only the archaeological and historical values of the site but also its ecological, spiritual and social significance. The accompanying leaflets provide practical information for both new and long-standing residents on the roles of the various organisations involved in looking after the World Heritage Site and how to contact them and get involved. The pack has been very well-received with residents keen to get hold of their copies.

The pack was generously sponsored by a number of national and local funders including the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding National Beauty, English Heritage, the National Trust and Kennet District Council.

For further information contact Sarah Simmonds, Avebury World Heritage Site Officer
sarah.simmonds@kennet.gov.uk

Sydney Opera House, photo: Chewy Chua

As part of this year’s Saltaire Festival, Bradford Council is organising the Inspired by World Heritage Photographic Competition.  The exhibition wants to present as diverse a picture of World Heritage as possible.  Please feel free to enter yourselves!

For further details, entry forms and posters please visit http://www.visitbradford.com/saltaire-airedale/

If you haven’t had chance to visit Saltaire this is an ideal time to see it at its most vibrant.  There is a fantastic continental market and the innovative Arts Trail offers the opportunity to see art works displayed in a variety of places including people’s homes!

Saltaire, photo: Roger Saunders

ICOMOS-UK Website goes live

Welcome to ICOMOS-UK’s new website!

Our new site is based around a blog which is an international heritage and conservation news service. Here you will find stories, features and reviews about our events, projects and members, as well as news from around the world on conferences, campaigns and reports.

ICOMOS-UK plays an essential role in advising on aspects of World Heritage and sites for nomination across the UK. Our new website will therefore focus on stories about World Heritage in the UK and internationally.

On our new site, you can find all the information you need about ICOMOS-UK and its specialist committees, as well as features on our recent projects (use the links at the top of the page, and for features visit the ‘In Focus‘ section). On the left hand side you will see our latest stories and underneath the latest news from the ICOMOS Documentation Centre and the World Heritage Centre.

On the right hand side you can use the links to browse the site by category (‘I’m looking for’) or by theme. The size of the themes (also known as Tags) indicate how many stories are associated with that topic. You can also browse the site through monthly archives. The new site is also fully searchable using the Search Box on the top right hand side.

The International Heritage News Service will also feature reports from our members who represent the UK on ICOMOS International Scientific Committees (read David Yeomans’ report on Standards for Historic Buildings).  We also welcome reviews of events and publications on internationally important subjects from our members (read Barry Joyce’s book review of Shayam Chainani’s Indian Diary).

We hope you’ll enjoy browsing our new site and continue to send us your stories from around the world. Remember you can leave comments after any of our stories and features.

Grave-stone, Southampton Old Cemetery, photo: Tom Goskar

Our Sacred Landscapes was an evening discussion event organised by ICOMOS-UK, the first in a new series called Conversations. It took place on 23 April 2008 at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University.

The panel of three speakers, Harbinder Singh (Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail), Elizabeth Perkins (Birmingham Conservation Trust) and Dr Richard Gale (University of Birmingham) spoke on various themes relating to where religious heritage can be found in our built landscapes and there was a particular focus on Birmingham. This was followed by conversation between the panel and the audience and addressed themes such as:

• How do sacred acts and religious beliefs impact on our built heritage?
• Where can we find the buildings and landscapes, big and small, of Britain’s diverse religious cultures?

Read the Review of Our Sacred Landscapes

The event formed the UK contribution to International Sites and Monuments Day 2008, on the theme ‘Religious Heritage and Sacred Places’.

Conversations is a new series of events which explores different aspects of how past and present cultural activities influence and change our historic surroundings. The events aim to reveal the importance of the interactions between tangible and intangible heritage and the next event is planned on the theme of Sporting Heritage in the Landscape, followed by another on the relationship between music and poetry and place.