In Focus: Ed Burkes talks to Janine Derbyshire about life as an artist during ‘lockdown’.

Ed in his Banks Mill Studio © Ed Burkes

Ed shares his creative influences in art and music, his forthcoming solo exhibition at the Museum & Art Gallery and the exciting journey that lies ahead.

Since graduating from Falmouth University in 2016 with a BA in Fine Art, Burkes’ work has been selected for a number of group exhibitions, including Saatchi Invest in Art and FBA Futures 2017, shortlisted for Bloomberg New Contemporaries and exhibited at London Art Fair with Arusha Gallery.

 In 2016, he won the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Travel to Italy Award and in 2019 he became the winner of the eighth Jonathan Vickers Fine Art Award. This biennial award, established by Foundation Derbyshire in 1998, has seen Ed take up a nine-month residency in Derbyshire where he has produced work inspired by the county’s landscape, heritage and people, under the broad theme “Sense of Place”. 

His show Dandelion opens in September 2020 and will showcase paintings and sculpture created during a very unusual residency. With added challenges such as a pandemic and weeks of lockdown, Ed discusses how this experience has actually enriched his creative thought and how he has adapted his practice to produce a truly vibrant body of work.

Dandelion opens to the public on Friday 11 September - Sunday 21 February 2021

You can listen to the conversation here or download to your device (25mb). A transcript of the conversation can be downloaded here (word document).

To find out more about the artists who have inspired Ed, see more about Mary Tillman Smith here, and Rose Wylie here.

To read more about the Derbyshire well dressings tradition Ed mentions in the interview, click here.

'Bulldog' 120x180cm oil on canvas. © Ed Burkes

A3 work on paper collage. © Ed Burkes

In Focus: Sculptor Robert Erskine discusses the life and work of Ronald Pope, with Lucy Bamford

Robert Erskine ©Robert Erskine

Robert Erskine is an English sculptor, designer and broadcaster, known for his monumental public works. Robert was mentored by Ronald Pope through his early career and they enjoyed a life-long friendship. In this fascinating conversation with curator Lucy Bamford, Robert shares memories of first meeting Ronald, understanding his practice, and the influence he still has on Robert today.

Robert Erskine currently lives and works in Suffolk, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors, and a recipient of the Otto Beit Award (OBA) for outstanding public sculpture.

Having created a number of landmark sculptures for commercial, public and regeneration schemes, Erskine's sculptures have been awarded the status of 'permanent public monuments' by The Public Monuments Sculpture Association and The Courtauld Institute, for contributing to the heritage and culture of the nation. 

Visit www.roberterskine.com to find out more about Robert’s work.

You can listen to the conversation here or download to your device (66mb). A transcript of the conversation can be downloaded here (word document).

To take a virtual tour of the Process and Progress: The Work of Ronald Pope 2020 exhibition, or to view some of the works of Ronald Pope in Derby Museums’ collection, click here.

The Mission of Mercy - A Discussion with Lucy Bamford and guest Dr. Mike Hinton

In this second instalment of our In Focus series to mark the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, we present an audio discussion between Lucy Bamford (Senior Curator) and Dr. Mike Hinton (a retired biomedical scientist) who look at the wider context behind the production of the famous The Mission of Mercy: Florence Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari by Jerry Barrett, 1857. Dr. Mike Hinton’s book ‘Victory over Disease: Resolving the Medical Crisis in the Crimean War’ was published by Helion Books last year.

Derby Museums is marking the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth this year with a number of special exhibits celebrating her life and work, including this rare portrait on loan from the National Portrait Gallery, London as part of the COMING HOME project.

COMING HOME is a project which sees the National Portrait Gallery lend 50 portraits of iconic individuals to places across the UK with which they are most closely associated. These artworks will be available for audiences to see in local museums, galleries and other venues, along with special programming available for families and communities.

The Mission of Mercy (image below), painted by artist Jerry Barrett in 1857 – portrays Florence Nightingale attending wounded soldiers at Scutari, Turkey, during her time there as a nurse during the Crimean War.

An English social reformer and statistician, Florence Nightingale is credited as a founder of modern nursing, and came from a wealthy, reformist Derbyshire family who had a home at Lea Hurst near Matlock. This is the first time the painting will be returned to Derbyshire since having been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1993.

Listen to the discussion online, or download to listen on your device – you can also download the transcript by clicking here.  Kindly transcribed by Derby Museums’ Co-production Volunteer Stephen Hill.

Image - The Mission of Mercy: Florence Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari by Jerry Barrett, 1857 © National Portrait Gallery, London

The Mission of Mercy - A Discussion with Lucy Bamford and Anne Ishikawa

Audio Discussion between Lucy Bamford (Senior Curator) and Anne Ishikawa (Co-production Volunteer) about the famous The Mission of Mercy: Florence Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari by Jerry Barrett, 1857.

Derby Museums is marking the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth this year with a number of special exhibits celebrating her life and work, including this rare portrait on loan from the National Portrait Gallery, London as part of the COMING HOME project.

COMING HOME is a project which sees the National Portrait Gallery lend 50 portraits of iconic individuals to places across the UK with which they are most closely associated. These artworks will be available for audiences to see in local museums, galleries and other venues, along with special programming available for families and communities.

The Mission of Mercy, painted by artist Jerry Barrett in 1857 – portrays Florence Nightingale attending wounded soldiers at Scutari, Turkey, during her time there as a nurse during the Crimean War. See an image and more about the painting here.

An English social reformer and statistician, Florence Nightingale is credited as a founder of modern nursing, and came from a wealthy, reformist Derbyshire family who had a home at Lea Hurst near Matlock. This is the first time the painting will be returned to Derbyshire since having been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1993.

Listen to the discussion online, or download to listen on your device - or watch the video for a subtitled and illustrated version.