With Frances Yeo in the Council Chamber

 For our March talk, we were really pleased to meet Frances Yeo in the Civic Offices in the Council Chamber at 7.30pm to hear the latest information about Museum & Art Swindon. We gathered in the Civic Offices from 7pm for drinks and nibbles and looked round the exhibition downstairs called 'Landscape and Longing' thoroughly enjoying meeting in person and chatting to each other. I didn't take any photos sadly until Frances had started talking, so there's only one rushed photo of some of the 60 people in the audience:

When I sat down, I was left of the screen with slides Frances showed so was unable to take decent photographs, she talked about the new members of staff who will be employed, such as community engagement officer and visitor experience officer who I'm looking forward to meeting

The most visible things we have noticed are the rebranding. This has involved changing the name from Swindon Museum and Art Gallery or SM&AG to Museum & Art Swindon or MAS and a perky new logo has been developed with layers representing many different things, including layers of paint or geological strata. The five aspirations or aims: Discover, Enrich, Celebrate, Inspire and Share are laudable. It seems like a good idea to rethink the direction the museum and gallery are travelling in after not being open to the public for 4 years. The website is very attractive. 

This is another way of showing the logo and name. 

With this in mind, we changed our written logo to reflect the fact that our name has changed.

We have had to abandon the blue door watercolour painted for us by Tim Carroll which we formerly used as a Friends logo and are using the photograph of the Civic Offices door until something else is produced.

A reminder of the floor plan of the first floor:

Apologies for my hands casting shadows. The presentation was followed by questions which included the opening date, which is Spring 2024, opening hours, as before, a cafe which is not in the current plan and the whereabouts of the gharial and when will it make an appearance. It has returned from being repaired and restored and has a new eye, and is being stored somewhere and will be released after the museum has opened when some visitor experience will be conducted around the gharial: it's origins, its diet and life.

I'll end with a lovely quote which has lost an 'e' in a 'the', but is great all the same.

"The opening of Museum and Art Swindon is such an exciting eve"Th opening of Museum and Art Swindon is such an exciting event for Swindon. The fascinating exhibits and engaging temporary exhibitions housed in an impressive historical venue provide a new opportunity for people to learn about Swindon’s origins and its stunning collection of art."nt for Swindon. The fascinating exhibits and engaging temporary exhibitions housed in an impressive historical venue provide a new opportunity for people to learn about Swindon’s origins and its stunning collection of art."