Saturday Spotlights
A programme of general interest
events on the third Saturday of the month, focusing on the displays and
their relevance today; find out more about the collections, meet curators,
hear specialist speakers, or join in workshops. These free events are suitable
for adults and older children.
17 December 14.30
Gallery Talk: A Pioneer of Prehistory: the life and excavations of Dorothy Garrod
The Museum’s Researcher in World Archaeology, Alice Stevenson, will introduce the Archive display of photographs taken by the pioneering archaeologist Dorothy Garrod 
(1892–1968). The Museum holds about 750 negatives taken by Garrod,mostly relating toarchaeological research in present-day Israel in the early 1930s. This fieldwork was ground-breaking and Garrod went on to become the first woman to be elected to a professorship at either Oxford or Cambridge. This talk will not only provide an overview of Garrod’s career as seen through the Museum’s photographic and archaeological collections, but will also discuss the influences and teamwork upon which her 
achievements were based.
2012
21 January 14.30
Gallery Talk: Made for Trade – Exhibition Talk
Join Faye Belsey, Assistant Curator and Co-Curator of the exhibition ‘Made for Trade’ to hear about the many complexities in selecting objects for the exhibition. Find out more about how an exhibition is put together from conception to completion. During this talk Faye will highlight some of the many interesting individual stories of objects that have travelled thousands of miles and exchanged through the hands of merchants, peddlers and customers to end up in the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum. From Indian silk textiles, a brick made of tea and lustrous Venetian beads this talk will provide insights into the history of how some of the objects were collected, manufactured and traded.
11 February 14.30 – Extra Event!
Gallery Talk: The Nature of Curious Objects: Sue Johnson’s Paper Museum
Join artist Sue Johnson as she discusses her work and its connections with General Pitt-Rivers' now disbanded second collection. The General’s second collection is currently the focus of the research project ‘Rethinking Pitt-Rivers’ being undertaken at the Museum. Sue's work is on display in the Long Gallery from 24 January until June 2012.
18 February 14.30
Gallery Talk: Photographing Bhutanese Dance: the Michael Aris Collection
An illustrated talk by Gerard Houghton, videographer of Himalayan dance. Michael Aris was a leading authority on Himalayan Studies and worked in Bhutan during the 60s and 70s. His photographs show this mountainous kingdom before the arrival of planes, tourism and television. The talk will explain elements of Bhutanese dance traditions by teasing out stories captured within the frozen frame of these still images. More recent film footage will be used to show the context of the dance images.
17 March 14.30
Gallery Talk: Anthropology and the Pitt Rivers Museum
In its early days the Pitt Rivers Museum was influenced by the science of anthropology and the theories developed by E.B. Tylor and General Pitt-Rivers himself. But how did these theories impact on the organisation of the displays? And what are the ideas expressed in the museum today? Assistant Curator Elin Bornemann will untangle the past 
from the present to give a clearer picture of the Pitt Rivers in the 21st Century.
21 April 14.30
Gallery Talk: London, Oxford and Farnham: The Pitt-Rivers Collections 1880-1900
Find out about Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, and his collections. Learn about the early beginnings of the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford and his other collection and museum in Farnham, Dorset. Alison Petch, Pitt Rivers Museum Project Researcher and Registrar
