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KIM Takeover Day 2022

20th Feb 2023

By Roz Meredith

Kids in Museums – Takeover Day

On 18 November 2022, a group of students from St Augustine Academy in Maidstone ‘took over’ part of the Museum. They had two objectives; to take over the Museum’s Twitter for the day, and to choose three artworks for a temporary exhibition.

This is what they did!

Taking over the Museum Twitter feed gave them a voice to share their interests and views on various exhibits around the museum. Find these by searching #TakeoverDay.

They also ‘took over’ the roles of Exhibitions Assistants to create this art exhibition, again giving them a voice to express their thoughts/views on their choice of artwork. The students had a tour of our art collections from our Collections Manager and created a long list of artworks that interested them. From this list they each chose one piece. This was narrowed down to those you see here based on condition for display. Following guidance from our Exhibitions Officer the students wrote their labels. All this on a single day!

Below are images of all the artworks chosen, along with each students’ label text.

For more information about Kids In Museums go to https://kidsinmuseums.org.uk/

Visit the museum between February and April 2023 to see the 3 artworks chosen.

Head and shoulders Portrait of Ellen Button (member of Dr Woodwards Blue Coat School) Jane Day C19th Oil on Canvas

I chose this piece because I found it inspiring that a woman of the time used her real name and didn’t hide behind a man’s name. It is also interesting that the name of the sitter is known – Ellen Button. Jane Day painted many people from the Blue Coats School, and most of them were women.

Lilly-Ella, St Augustine Academy

MNENG1894.32

A Kentish Church in Moonlight Vincent Henry Lines 1925 Oil on canvas

I chose this piece because it showcases the dark landscape, with the church on the hill and cottage further down as focal points. The only life in this piece is a person walking along the path. It has a gothic feel to it but still has a lot of greenery within the scene.

Dylan, St Augustine Academy

942

Maidstone Museum Elizabeth Plowman 1890-99 Oil on Canvas

I chose this piece because the mix of vibrant green colours on the peacocks and raw umber and brown shades of the museum building, creating an atmosphere of contrast, caught my eye. I thought it was a beautiful piece, and the brighter colours pop catching the viewer’s eye.

Amber, St Augustine Academy

MNENG1963.4

The Lunar Rainbow, Victoria Falls Eliza Goodwin Green 1904 Oil on Canvas

This piece really caught my attention as I love the shine on the river. I found it inspiring as the artist was a woman and most artists from this time were men. She chose to keep her name on the painting rather than hide it. Eliza Goodwin Green was also a writer as well as an artist, neither of which were normalised jobs for women at the time.

Ruby, St Augustine Academy

TA008

Windswept Girls Evelyn Dunbar 1906-60 Pencil on paper

This artwork is very minimal and basic which gives it a unique vibe. When I first looked at it I thought it was just lines on a piece of paper, but the closer I looked the more I could see the focus of the windswept girl and the more I liked it.

Lacey, St Augustine Academy

MNENG 2013.7.3

The Gypsy Mother Claude Bendall 1945 Watercolour Gouache

This painting was made in 1945 and is colourful and bold. Even though it was painted by a man it doesn’t seem like a normal female painting. I love how there is no set background and the artist uses different kinds of colours, but also how the corners and background look unfinished to draw attention to the mother and child’s bond.

Catherine, St Augustine Academy

MNENG 1954.27