We have had two committee meetings since the last blog entry. Things are happening at a fast pace now.
Invitiations have been and still are going out for the March 1st Opening Event.
6 pm Preview of Works of Art located in Allhallowgate Church,
6.30 pm Cathedral open for viewing.(Following Evensong).
7 pm Light refreshments,
7.30 Lecture by Rev Graham Kent.
(If you feel you would like to attend contact us for ticket availabilty)
Exhibition opens Monday March 3rd to March 31st 10-4pm each day except Sunday.
The art works arrive late February and the media are to be invited to photograph and interview personalities soon after.
Three new Links have been added to the Links page (see Navigation Bar top left.)
The first is to Guilford Cathedral, where the balance of 6 works from the MCCMCA are over Lent. See the quote from their diary.
The second is to an earlier exhibition of the MCCMCA at Brighton, a quote from which is as follows:-
"It (the MCCMCA) has been described as the most outstanding collection of modern religious art in Europe outside the Vatican and is based at the Wesley and Methodist Studies Centre, Oxford Brookes University."
The third link relates to an excellent article on
by MCCMCA Trustee Sarah Middleton.
The newly extended meeting rooms at Allhallowgate are just in process of being handed back from the builder who has been in since August. Just a bit close for comfort re the exhibition! Other contractors are to seal floors and paint walls in the next week or two, but this will not affect the Exhibition areas.
Meantime we have Stewards notes to write up, Press releases to devise, and maps to and from the Cathedral & Allhallowgate to make.
There is also an Ecumenical Eucharist for the Cathedral and Methodist Clergy to plan together for Easter week.
Just enough to keep us all busy!
MCCMCA = Methodist Church Collection of Modern Christian Art.
Ripon North Yorkshire 08.01.2008.
A further meeting was held today at the Methodist Superintendant's Manse as well as another meeting in early December.
It has become evident that this is quite a large project we have taken on.
We needed to decide on transport arrangements for the Art works, which are based in Oxford and for some stands, previously made especially for the collection, and based in Milton Keynes. A specialist transport company in Birmingham area has quoted us.
An alternative for stands and hanging the works was a Company believed to be local to Ripon. It appears this company has now moved away.
The original plan seems favourite.
Costs are becoming clearer now.There is also a possibility of Grants to help defray them, but we will need sponsorship if we are to cover all the costs.
So far we have had no response to requests for volunteers to steward the Exhibition.Although it is early days, more positive response was to be sought. We need up to 48 people per week to cover both locations. However the Cathedral does have guides on duty each day, which could reduce the coverage needed.
North Yorkshire schools are to be sent an e-mail with details of the Exhibition and value to schools. Leeds Schools will also be circulated.
Posters are to be sent out to Churches in the Ripon & Leeds Diocese, and leaflets sent to 250 local Methodist Churches with a letter from the Ripon Circuit Superintendant.
Thanks to all the people who have given us advice and help.
So far we have no real idea how many people to expect. It could be a trickle, or it could be a flood.
We have done a Powerpoint presentation about the art collection for the Ripon Launch of "HOPE 2008" at Holy Trinity Church Sunday Jan 20th 6.30.
We are in process of deciding the division of the Works of Art between the Cathedral and Allhallowgate Church. Size of the works and how they will fit, and requests for certain titles at each location will be taken into account.
Once this is finalised the Website will be updated to reflect this.
Allhallowgate Methodist Church premises are in the process of having a makeover of the Halls, Kitchen,Vestries and Toilets with a new side extension. We have been off site since August 2007, hoping to return during February!
Ripon North Yorkshire 22.11.2007
We had a committee meeting on Wednesday Nov 21st with representation from Ripon Methodist Circuit and the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds making further plans for the Exhibition of the Methodist Art Collection.
Provisionally the Opening event on March 1st 2008 is likely to begin at 6pm with a viewing of the 35 Works of Art which will be split between Allhallowgate Methodist Church, Ripon, and Ripon Cathedral. This will be followed by the opening ceremony at 7.30 pm when Rev Graham Kent, secretary to the Trustees of the Art Collection, will be the Speaker.
We considered the different possiblilities for "hanging" the works at the two locations, and further discussions were to take place, reporting back to the next meeting.
Posters were to be printed and a leaflet design finalised to circulate to Churches Schools Clubs Visitor centres etc.
There was a need for additional people to help with various areas for the execution of the Exhibition i.e.Catering, Unpacking, Checking, Hanging, Regular inventory checks,
Stewards for each Exhibition Day. (Probably Mon to Sat 10am to 4pm for all of March 2008 with certain exceptions-eg Funerals and Special events)
VOLUNTEERS PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FULL DETAILS VIA THE CONTACT PAGE. ENTER E-MAIL ADDRESS AND WHAT YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN. (E.G. Volunteer for Steward)
Schools were to book in advance to ensure their needs could be dealt with efficiently. The leaflet will have contact details and website info listed, plus some images of the works to be shown.
Clubs and organisations may also prefer to book in advance and we would hope to be able to cater for a light meal at reasonable rates if required.
