Anniversary events at The Bowes Museum start to take shape

EXHIBITIONS on Napoleon and a Georgian actor will be among events marking the 125th anniversary of The Bowes Museum.
The museum will team up with the Georgian Theatre Royal, in Richmond, to offer an exhibition on 18th century actor and poet David Garrick next year.
A special second floor exhibition on Napoleon and a focus on Josephine Bowes will add to the 2017 roster.
Museum marketing officer Rachael Fletcher revealed the anniversary line-up to members of Barnard Castle Town Council.
She said a guest curator would help celebrate the existing Bowes collection.
Head of finance Richard Welsby added: “The collection itself is sometimes overshadowed but some of the textiles and ceramics are of international significance, so we want to shout about that a bit more.”
A one-off £2,000 grant from the town council will support the commemorations if approved in the January budget.
Cllr Emma Rowell asked if the benefits of the exhibitions would filter into the town.
Mr Welsby said previous high profile events had made a wider impact.
“We heard about the impact made and we’ve had similar feedback from shops,” he added.
Numbers from the Pleasure and Pain shoes exhibition were reported as “60 per cent higher than normal”.
Mr Welsby added that a V&A fashion exhibition is also being sought for 2018.
Cllr Sandra Moorhouse added: “The Bowes has done brilliantly and it’s fantastic for the town.”