Gallery’s first Culture Festival brings outdoor cinema, pop-ups and street food to South London
Dulwich Picture Gallery is delighted to announce its very first weekend culture festival ‘MayFest: Men of Mystery’ (15–17 May 2015) which includes two Vintage Evenings featuring outdoor cinema, exhibition tours, swing dancing and street food in the Gallery’s grounds. This year the festival will celebrate the work of the ‘Master of Suspense’ Alfred Hitchcock and the 20th century artist Eric Ravilious. Ravilious was said to be a big film fan and his images often evoke a sense of the uncanny through his use of angle, perspective and composition.
The Gallery will open late on Friday and Saturday nights with a line-up inspired by the intriguing similarities in the work of both Alfred Hitchcock and Eric Ravilious. Outdoor cinema screenings of Rear Window and The 39 Steps will follow exclusive ‘Ravilious: Man of Mystery’ tours of the new exhibition. Visitors can also enjoy a free swing dance lesson at 7.15pm from renowned dance school Swing Patrol followed by a show-stopping pre-film performance, as well as indulge in the latest street food trends courtesy of popular vendors from the West Norwood Feast. A pop-up vintage shop courtesy of East Dulwich’s ChiChiRaRa and make-up artist Billie MacKenzie will be on hand to help visitors get the vintage look. Visitors are encouraged to ‘dress the part’ in 1930s and 40s style dress with prizes for those with the best vintage style.
Over the weekend the Gallery will be inviting visitors to take part in a mass-installation drop-in workshop for all ages in the Gallery’s grounds. Families are invited to come along and take part in the session coordinated by a teaching artist. All creations will be hung on the outside walls or of Sir John Soane’s Gallery throughout the day. On Saturday morning an ‘Eye Spy’ Storytelling session in the Gallery will bring Ravilious’ paintings to life for young visitors with an animated teller using interactive techniques to help children engage.
'MayFest: Men of Mystery' is part of Museums at Night, the annual UK-wide weekend of late openings at arts and heritage venues, which captures people’s imaginations and encourages audiences to do something different with their evening.
-Ends
For more information visit /whats-on/
For press enquiries contact Louisa Bee, Press Officer l.bee@dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk / 020 8299 8710
Notes to editors
Museums at Night
Museums at Night is the annual after-hours celebration of arts, culture and heritage when hundreds of museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites open their doors for special evening events. It takes place over the weekend of Friday 18th – Sunday 20th May 2012. www.museumsatnight.org.uk
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery is the world’s first purpose-built public art gallery, founded in 1811 and designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane. It houses one of the finest collections of Old Masters in the country, especially rich in French, Italian and Spanish Baroque paintings and in British portraits from the Tudor period to the 19th century. The Gallery’s Permanent Collection is complemented by its diverse and critically acclaimed year round temporary exhibitions.
Full listings
MayFest 2015: Men of Mystery
Friday 15 May 2015
Eric Ravilious: man of mystery
6pm, 7pm, 8pm
Join us for an intriguing tour of Ravilious with one of our expert guides. The exhibition includes over 80 watercolours as well as archival material from the mid-1920s until the artist’s death in 1942 at the age of just 39. Ravilious' images rarely contain figures and yet his images often create a sense of palpable human presence. He said little about his work but his paintings and their themes offer an enticing starting point to get closer to one of the finest watercolourists of the 20th century.
Outdoor screening: Rear Window (112mins), Rating: PG
9pm
Considered by many to be Hitchcock’s finest film, murder-mystery Rear Window plays to the voyeur within us all. Photographer L.B. "Jeff" JefPGeries (James Stewart) is cooped up in his Greenwich Village apartment after breaking his leg. Convinced he has spied a murder, he calls upon the help of his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) and nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) to discover the truth.
Film only: £15 / Friends/Concessions £13
Exhibition and film: £20 / Concessions £18
Tour, exhibition and film: £25 / Friends/Concession £20
Saturday 16 May
Study Day: Made in China
10:30am - 1pm
Join the creators of Made in China:A Doug Fishbone Project, conceptual artist and Dr Xavier Bray, Chief Curator, for a morning of debate and discussion.
£19,(Concessions and Friends £14) including morning coffee
For Families: Eye Spy Storytelling, all ages
11am in gallery
Look up, look down, look all around. Discover how looking in different ways changes what you see. Families are invited to join a special session in the Gallery to experience the magic of storytelling and learn about the life and work of Eric Ravilious.
Free with 1 Gallery Adult ticket
For Families: Eye Spy Workshop
11-5pm, Sackler Centre and grounds
Join is for a day of family fun. If you could pierce the gallery walls from the outside, what would you find? Children of all ages are invited to contribute to a mass installation creating a “view through” the walls into the gallery. Hang your creations on the arches and on the building throughout the day.
Free with 1 Adult Gallery ticket
Look Closer Tour: Eric Ravilious: man of mystery
6pm, 7pm, 8pm
Join us for an intriguing tour of Ravilious with one of our expert guides. The exhibition includes over 80 watercolours as well as archival material from the mid-1920s until the artist’s death in 1942 at the age of just 39. Ravilious' images rarely contain figures and yet his images often create a sense of palpable human presence. He said little about his work but his paintings and their themes offer an enticing starting point to get closer to one of the finest watercolourists of the 20th century.
Outdoor screening: The 39 Steps (86mins), Rating U
9pm
A man is forced to go on the run after assisting a beautiful counterespionage agent. When Annabella (Lucie Mannheim) is stabbed in the night, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) has no choice but to follow her instructions to escape to Scotland. Hannay’s fleeing of the crime scene sparks a nationwide man-hunt, as he is wrongly accused as Annabella’s murderer. But what are the 39 Steps, and how will Hannay prove his innocence?
Film only: £15 / Friends/Concessions £13
Exhibition and film: £20 / Friends/Concessions £18
Tour, exhibition and film: £25 / Friends/Concession £20
Sunday 17 May
For Families: Eye Spy Workshop
11-5pm, Sackler Centre and grounds
Join is for a day of family fun. If you could pierce the gallery walls from the outside, what would you find? All ages are invited to contribute to a mass installation creation on the external walls of Sir John Soane’s famous building!
Free with Gallery ticket
Book launch: The Art of Forgery
2.30pm
Did you spot our Chinese replica? How can you spot a copy? How have some master forgers fooled the art market and what made them choose to do it? To mark the release The Art of Forgery (Phaidon Press), join art historian, art crime expert and author Noah Charney as he tells the stories of history’s master forgers exploring how and why they turned to a life of crime.
£8, £24 including signed copy of The Art of Forgery (RRP £19.95)
ALL WEEKEND!
Get the vintage look! We will have our very own make-up artist and pop-up vintage shop courtesy of ChiChiRara and vintage make-up artist Billie McKenzie to get you in the mood from 6pm Friday and 2pm Saturday. Book your make-up slot online!
Win! We’re looking for the best vintage outfits all weekend! Those with the best vintage style will win a selection of Ravilious gifts.
Swing! Join Swing Patrol/Swing Land (tbc) for a free dance lesson at 7pm, Friday and Saturday, followed by a pre-film performance.
Eat and drink! A selection of food will be on offer from Sugar Mountain, Proper Corn and select stalls from the West Norwood Feast.