Refugee Week is a nationwide initiative that celebrates the contributions of refugees to the UK and encourages better understanding between communities. This year’s events are inspired by the theme ‘We cannot Walk Alone’.

Knitting Together

Tuesday 15th June

11am – 3pm

Free, Virtual Event

The Higgins Knitting and Crochet Group is inviting crafters to join them on Zoom to knit or crochet a square that can be made into blankets and distributed to refugee families.

Creative Workshop with Leila Mehulić

Thursday 17th June

2pm – 3:30pm

Free, Virtual Event

Join curator and art historian, Leila Mehulić, for a creative workshop. Using objects from the collections, explore refugee stories and create your own piece of art inspired by Boîte-en-valise (box in a suitcase), a work by Marcel Duchamp that was dedicated to Walter Benjamin, a famous philosopher and refugee. As well as using The Higgins Bedford collections, you can add your own objects and photographs from your homeland to the artwork.

Please email gemma.hutton@bedford.gov.uk for more information and to access to the zoom link.

Image: Embroidered bag, made in Trogir near Split. Courtesy of The Higgins Bedford

Under the Same Sky

Continues until 27th June 2021

There’s just over two weeks left to visit the Under the Same Sky exhibition.

Explore the local impact of the weather alongside artists depictions of the sky above.

Discover storms, calm skies, drenched cities, sun worship and visions of the moon in the works of artists such as JMW Turner, Alfred Sisley, Paul Nash, Eric Ravilious and Edouard Manet.

In addition, celebrate the local pioneers and research organisations including the founders of the Royal Meteorological Society, the weather forecasters for the airships at Cardington and the recorders of rainfall. Explore the history of extreme weather in Bedfordshire and its effects on changing river levels and habitats for wildlife.

Pre-book your FREE timed entry ticket online to visit, or telephone the Box Office on 01234 718044 – line open Monday-Friday 11am to 3pm. 

Image: Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) Fete Day at Marly le-Roi, 1875 © The Higgins Bedford

Airship Dreams: Escaping Gravity

Opens Saturday 10th July 2021

Bedford Creative Arts, The Higgins Bedford, the Airship Heritage Trust and artist Mike Stubbs, have joined forces to launch this two-fold exhibition which celebrates Bedford’s airship heritage.

Part audio-visual installation, sometimes performance, Mike Stubbs’ contemporary new media artwork invites the viewer on a spectacular journey – weaving material generated in Unreal games software, immersive audio composition, choir, archive film, and interactive sculptural elements.

Alongside it and curated in partnership with the local community, visitors will discover community treasures, oral histories, artefacts, screened digital materials, animation, graphic design and young people’s responses to the themes.

Find out more here.

Image: The R101 moored to the mast, side view of one of the Cardington sheds in the distance and the surrounding buildings around the mast. Courtesy of The Higgins Bedford.

Going to Town – 200 Years of Bedford’s Art

Opens Saturday 10th July 2021

Celebrate artists views of Bedford and the surrounding area in this new exhibition displaying a number of watercolours, oils and prints from the past two centuries, some of which haven’t been seen by the public eye in several decades. The exhibition includes artworks by JMW Turner, Dora Carrington, Thomas Fisher and Stanley Orchart, highlighting their fascination of the town and River Great Ouse.

Find out more here.

Image: Unknown Artist, Bedford Regatta, 1851 © The Higgins Bedford