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| Image courtesy University of Cumbria |
Lancaster’s University of Cumbria campus is celebrating its 50th anniversary year with a host of fun activities and events. Originally established as St Martin’s College, a teacher training facility, the Bowerham Road campus first opened its doors to its first intake of students 50 years ago this month.
To celebrate the half century milestone, staff and students of the university have planned a series of events, including reunions, tours, exhibitions, talks, arts events and community activities.
This Saturday (13th September), the university will open its doors to reveal some extraordinary artwork seldom seen by members of the public, with a Hidden Arts tour. The first principal of St Martin’s College, in the 1960s, Dr Hugh Pollard, was an avid collector of contemporary paintings and sculptures, and left a lasting legacy in the form of the many pieces which remain on the site to this day. On Saturday, as part of the national heritage open days programme, a free tour will give visitors a glimpse of a number of these paintings and sculptures, including a maquette of ‘Winged Figure’ by Barbara Hepworth, created in 1962, and ‘Golgotha’, a controversial large scale painting by acclaimed British ‘kitchen sink’ artist John Bratby. The tour, led by local artist Iain Sloan, formerly an art lecturer at St Martin’s College, will take visitors behind the scenes to see the pieces, and discover the fascinating stories behind them.
The first tour will begin at 12 noon and last for approximately an hour, and will be repeated at 2pm. Tours are free of charge. Meet at the University of Cumbria’s Bowerham Road campus, outside the chapel, opposite reception.
• To find out more about this event, and other events as part of University of Cumbria’s 50th anniversary celebrations, visit www.cumbria.ac.uk/50Years