Local artist love...

I had to share with you the exciting talent of local artist Terry Brookes. As a huge fan of The Beatles, I fell in love with his piece 'When The Beatles came to Barnsley' His take on pop art with a local twist has become an instant hit. The playful nature of his work and bright colours, bring a beaming smile to my face every time. 

Terry explains his motivations to paint...

'I have always painted, self taught, and driven on by my dad who was, amongst other things, a semi-professional wrestler, painter, and signwriter.  Some of the stuff I'm doing now, I was doing when I was in my teens - pop art, music, comics related stuff; Andy Warhol, Lichtenstein, Peanuts, DC Comics, Tin Tin, ...

To say that I am a music fan is an understatement.  I have always loved and collected music; vinyl especially – The Beatles, Motown, Stax, Bowie, punk, Weller, Morrissey & The Smiths, etc, etc,

About 3 or 4 years ago I started painting prolifically mainly for my own interest – just for fun.  I decided to setup my own website that I could easily maintain and load up images of my artwork – nothing fancy, just for my own fun.

I decided to paint some quirky scenes of Barnsley and the area, starting off with a painting of the now defunct Casa Disco record shop.  The first one I did was Casa Disco 1977, with a punk (Sid Vicious?) looking in the window at the records that were issued that year; Bowie's Heroes, Blondie, The Police, Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop.  I am going to follow this series with, amongst others; Heavy Metal, Mods, Soul, etc – there's plenty of scope.'

It was his 'When The Beatles came to Barnsley' that first captured my imagination and here's a little bit more about the painting, by the man himself.

'I was looking through some old photos one day when one caught my eye of Barnsley's Market Hill, which, at one time, had a zebra crossing at the bottom of the hill, and the wonderful Town Hall building at the top.  This reminded me of the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road album – and hey presto the painting "when the Beatles came to Barnsley" was born.'  

Terry's work has already hung in a few local cafe's and restaurants. I am thrilled to announce he will be exhibiting his work in Experience Barnsley in January 2014, and hope you will all join me down there to support him. He is currently busy working on paintings for his new exhibition and promises for some quirky surprises, including a chance to "get inside a BROOKES painting".

For more of his artwork and further information, please visit his website here. 

Experience Barnsley Opening

On Thursday I went to the opening of Experience Barnsley. I was really excited to see what our new Barnsley museum was going to be like. Barnsley Town Hall is such a beautiful piece of architecture. Even though I pass the building most days, I still always stare at it. It looks far too grand for my little hometown. I hoped that the modification of this building had been done with great care and consideration. I wasn't sure what the museum would be like, but it exceeded all of my expectations.

The museum's opening was filled with pomp and ceremony. There was music, an animatronic dinosaur, children's carousel, cricket players walking on stilts...what more could you want from an opening! The Lord Mayor and Dickie Bird were also on hand, but they were not alone in cutting the red ribbon to unveil the museum. There was a huge red ribbon emblazoned with the Experience Barnsley emblem, which they invited people to cut and then keep a section of the ribbon. 

There has been a remodelling in front of the museum, which will feature fountains (This part of the building work is not complete). Not everyone is in love with the piece of modern art at the front of the town hall, which has been nicknamed the 'nit comb'. It had not been in situ a day before some bright sparks had attempted to scale its heights. Although it is not necessarily in keeping with the aesthetic of the town hall, I do think it adds something a little different to the town centre.

The museum has been filled with donations from the people of Barnsley, and I think this is what makes it so engaging for all ages. You feel the lovely warm glow of nostalgia from the second you enter the exhibits. Many of the pieces are personal to Barnsley, but there is also a wider narrative of key events in British history such as World Wars, Roman occupation and the Miner's Strikes. As part of my archaeology degree, I did a module on Modern Archaeology, which was fascinating. In this module, we looked at the importance of museums, and what we should preserve for future generations. As I walked round with my 11 week old son, I realised that my own childhood is now history and looked forward to a time when I can show him the artifacts from my youth. Looking at a school shirt that bad been signed by classmates on the last day of school took me back to my own school days. Museums give us chance to reflect on life throughout the ages. 

There was a wonderful atmosphere of community on the day. I enjoyed speaking to other visitors as I wandered round. One gentleman started quizzing me about a photograph of miners, and I was ashamed that my knowledge was scarce. He then went on to tell me many stories as we perused the exhibit. I really think this will be a lovely place for grandparents to take their grandchildren, and to teach them about their heritage. As a Christmas gift, I got my parents a book, available from amazon here, for them to complete for my son about their life, as I regret not sitting and learning more about my grandparent's lives. I cannot wait until my son is old enough to visit the museum with his grandparents.

The museum is free and open 7 days a week. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. There is so much to see that I didn't get chance to see half of it. It includes archives where you can look up your family history, investigate what resided on the land your home now inhabits, etc. There is a gallery holding works of art that have been commissioned and take their inspiration from photographs of old Barnsley residents. I was particularly moved by this part of the museum. There is a section that children will love that has a dress up box, puzzles to complete, and an area where children can dig up artifacts. It also has a blast from my own past - some carousel horses and a car that used to form part of the carousel ride in Barnsley market. The staff are knowledgeable and helpful. I was chatting to one member of staff Michael in the Discovery Centre, who answered my questions and enthused about all of the amazing things to see and experience.

I am in love with so many of the items in the gift shop! It has the standard teddybears, pencils, etc with the Experience Barnsley emblem, but also includes so many reproductions of retro and vintage items, and cute little crafty nick nacks. There is also a large range of books about Yorkshire. Speaking of Yorkshire books,  I have been asked to donate the children's books I have written as part of the Barnsley authors section and would be honoured to be included. (I am currently in the process of improving them, but will be donating once complete - plus excited to be creating a Bones The Dog in Yorkshire adventure!)

I really hope that the museum goes from strength to strength and that we all engage with this wonderful project and help it to evolve as our community evolves.

I urge you to go and visit. What is stopping you!