House of Beasts Symposium

A fascinating exploration of the different relationships that exist between man and animal.

The House of Beasts Symposium: Enquiries into the Human and the Animal went down a storm at Shropshire Wildlife Trust's base, which was once part of Shrewsbury Abbey. A range of speakers, both academic and artistic, discussed a huge range of issues in a way that really brought the subject to life.

Each speaker brought something different to the discussion and the whole day was a really thought provoking experience, whether we were hearing about artwork, genetics, abbatoirs or any of the other of the subjects that came up. We hope to get some of the presentations and discussions on the Meadow Arts You Tube Channel very soon, so please keep an eye out for that.

So a big 'Thank You' to everyone who spoke on the day, all of you who attended the symposium and those who helped with the organisation and venue.

Anne de Charmant and Professor Joanna Latimer

Anne de Charmant, Meadow Arts' Director, opened the Symposium with Professor Joanna Latimer from Cardiff University. Joanna put a huge amount of work into the Symposium and came along with Professor David Kipling and Dr Mara Miele to see the House of Beasts exhibition in January, to prepare for the Symposium.

the Symposium in full swing

Curators' Tours

The next day we all arrived at Attingham Park bright and early to take the Symposium delegates and the academic speakers around the House of Beasts exhibition. We were lucky enough to have a beautiful sunny day, with a smattering of snow. A gorgeous day to visit this lovely part of Shropshire!

The front of Attingham's mansion before the tour

Anne de Charmant was joined by Attingham's Conservator Catriona Hughes to lead one of the tours and the second tour was given by Attingham's Curator Sarah Kay with Meadow Arts' Assistant Curator Louisa Mayor.

The start of the two Curators' Tours

The next thing happening at Meadow Arts is the reopening of the Attingham mansion for the summer season. The house has been partially closed over the winter, although the Attingham team have been leading a range of tours, including their special Beastly Tours. House of Beasts will be fully open from March 10th to July 2012. We have loads of exciting events lined up over the next few months, including workshops, talks and artist's performances so please keep an eye on our website for details soon.