A pop-up exhibition to showcase St Albans’ new £7.75million museum will appear at four locations in the city this summer.
The exhibition, titled A Curious Conversation is organised by artist Lyndall Phelps and will feature objects from the St Albans Museums’ collection, as well as new artwork by her.
St Albans Museums’ collection is currently in storage while the Town Hall in St Peter’s Street is converted into the new museum and art gallery.
Ms Phelps has chosen artefacts which highlight the archaeology, art, environment and social history of St Albans.
She was inspired by an 1880 exhibition which marked the opening of a new school of science and art in Victoria Street, now the Maltings Surgery.
The exhibition brought together objects from private collections and was such a success, it led to the creation of the Museum of St Albans.
Ms Phelps has used the list of objects from the original exhibition to inspire her own. Some of the objects she has chosen were donated by people who were also involved in the 1880 exhibition.
One of the objects in the display, a leather wallet with flint and steel that was used as a lighter, was donated by Mrs Cherry 137 years ago.
A Curious Conversation has already visited UH Galleries at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield and St Albans City Hospital.
It will also be appearing at St Paul’s Church in Blandford Road on Thursday, July 13, the Maltings Shopping Centre, outside the library, on Saturday, July 15, St Albans Cathedral on Saturday, August 26 and St Julian’s Church in Abbot’s Avenue on Saturday, October 7.
The exhibition is free, with opening times scheduled for 11am to 3pm.
It was jointly commissioned by St Albans Museum and UH Galleries, with funding from Arts Council England, and is part of a larger project to engage artists and new audiences with fresh aspects of the collection.
Cllr Annie Brewster, St Albans District Council portfolio holder for sport and culture, said: “A Curious Conversation is a wonderful chance to bring the museum’s collections out in St Albans.
“People will be able to see the objects and Lyndall’s artwork up close, and be able to see how history and art will work together in the new museum when it opens next year.”
The new museum and art gallery is due to open late next year.
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