By Endurance We Conquer: Shackleton and his Men

sjr81 — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 15:01:42 +0000

By Endurance We Conquer: Shackleton and his Men draws on the world’s largest and pre-eminent collection of Shackleton and Endurance artefacts and archives, held in Cambridge, and is the major international exhibition of the centenary celebrations.

Running at Scott Polar Research Institute’s Polar Museum until June 2016, the unique exhibition puts on display many rarely seen objects such as Shackleton’s diaries, and for the first time, letters by Huberht Hudson, the ship’s navigator.

̽��ֱ��Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-17 set out to cross Antarctica via the South Pole. However, in November 1915, Shackleton and his 28-man crew were confronted with one of the worst disasters in Antarctic history when Endurance was trapped, crushed and sunk by pack ice. ̽��ֱ��outside world was unaware of their predicament or location, food was scarce and the chance of survival was remote.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge exhibition draws together, for the first time in decades, the navigation equipment used by Shackleton and a five-man crew on their remarkable 800-mile open boat journey in the James Caird. ̽��ֱ��23ft lifeboat had to battle deadly storms in the Southern Ocean as it sailed to South Georgia to raise the alarm. A replica of the vessel sits outside the Polar Museum – serving as a poignant reminder of the challenges faced as Shackleton sought rescue for his trapped crew.

Alexandra Shackleton, granddaughter of Sir Ernest, said: “This exhibition captures the spirit of Shackleton and his men as they endured unspeakable hardship. Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to explore this extraordinary story of human courage. ”

As well as Shackleton’s technical logs, other archive material on display includes Shackleton’s engraved pannikin (drinking tankard), a memory map drawn by Frank Worsley -showing the route taken during the South Georgia crossing - and the hunting knife belonging to the geologist James Wordie, used to explore the contents of penguin stomachs for gizzard stones that revealed the geology underneath the sea ice.

While the majority of Endurance now sits more than 10,000ft below the sea ice of the Weddell Sea, a tiny handful of remnants of the doomed ship do remain. By far the largest single surviving piece of Endurance (9ft long) is going on display in Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��‘Endurance spar’ was part of Endurance’s mast and brought back from Antarctica by James Wordie where it had been used to build an observation tower to hunt for food. For many years, this last great piece of Shackleton’s ship hung in the Friends room of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge and is on public display for the first time.

SPRI Director Julian Dowdeswell said: “Shackleton's Endurance expedition and modern polar research share the essential characteristic that only as a team can you operate successfully in the harsh conditions of the Antarctic and Arctic.”

Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance diaries and boots – as well as the largest remaining piece of the doomed vessel – have gone on display in Cambridge, almost 100 years since the ship was crushed and sunk by pack ice in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea.

This exhibition captures the spirit of Shackleton and his men as they endured unspeakable hardship.

Alexandra Shackleton

Credit: Scott Polar Research Institute

Sir Ernest Shackleton, pictured during the Endurance expedition

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Major Partner Museum status for UCM

sjr81 — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 16:39:51 +0000

Over the last three years, Cambridge has made full use of previous Arts Council funding to transform the way its eight major museums work in partnership, and to unlock their world-class collections for both Cambridge and the wider world.

Major successes have included the Thresholds poetry project, curated by Carol Ann Duffy, and Discoveries at 2 Temple Place in London.

Discoveries, now transferred to ̽��ֱ��Fitzwilliam Museum, is the first-ever joint exhibition to involve all ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums and the first exhibition of Cambridge’s globally important research collections to be held outside the city.

And there was further good news today as Kettle’s Yard received first stage backing from Arts Council England to support the creation of a new Education Wing. ̽��ֱ��Arts Council funding, totalling £3.5m, is a substantial step towards the campaign target of £8.7m. Arts Council England have also renewed Kettle’s Yard National Portfolio Organisation status and committed £446,271 funding for the next three years.

Dr Jennifer Barnes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International Strategy), and Chair of the General Board Museums Committee, said: “These significant awards announced on the same day, recognize the essential role museums and collections play in research, teaching and understanding. Each collection is of global significance, adding an extraordinary dimension to our university, community and region. Cambridge Museums, whether working as a single collection or together, demonstrate that curating the past is about understanding the present and creating new futures. These awards allow us to share that future with all who come to Cambridge, of all ages, whether as visitors, students or researchers.”

UCM plan to use the next round of Arts Council funding to consolidate ongoing progress into understanding, widening and diversifying its audience. Major steps to achieving this have already been undertaken with imaginative learning programmes, digital innovation and deeper connections with communities both in and beyond Cambridge.

UCM is also taking the lead in joining up arts and cultural provision across the city, with Curating Cambridge – a five-week programme of cultural events and activities from October 20 – typifying this new approach.

Tim Knox, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, said: “Being afforded Major Partner Museum status is a huge privilege and one we take very seriously. Arts Council England has fully supported the great strides we’ve made in recent years and, with their continued support, there is plenty of exciting work yet to be undertaken.”

Liz Hide, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums Officer, said: “Here in Cambridge, we are lucky in having many exceptional museums, each of which contribute to the academic, social and community work of the ̽��ֱ��. Our ongoing goal now is to open up the cultural riches of Cambridge to as wide and diverse an audience as possible.”

Hedley Swain, Area Director, South East, Arts Council England, said: “We are pleased to continue supporting ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums. It proposes to deliver an ambitious and broad ranging programme of activity that will support transformational access to its key collections. Its programme of activity will help further develop its position as a leading centre of excellence for conservation and collections based research. It will also continue to build on its pioneering community and lifelong learning programmes, whilst also establishing itself as a centre for innovative digital engagement. ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums also plans to reach more children and young people, with a particular emphasis on using digital platforms, ensuring they have the opportunity to engage with and be inspired by its collections. This work will be underpinned by its exemplar commitment to environmental sustainability, resilience and its support for museums and gallery career and workforce development.”

̽��ֱ��vision of securing Cambridge’s reputation as an international centre of museums excellence received a major boost today when Arts Council England awarded ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums (UCM) nearly £4.5m for 2015-18 and continuing Major Partner Museum status.

Each collection is of global significance, adding an extraordinary dimension to our university, community and region.

Jennifer Barnes

Sir Cam

Polar snow goggles from Discoveries at London’s 2 Temple Place, the first joint exhibition from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums, and the first to be held outside the city.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page. For image rights, please see the credits associated with each individual image.

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - ̽��ֱ��Polar Museum

By Endurance We Conquer: Shackleton and his Men

Major Partner Museum status for UCM