what's new 2008

18 April 2008

The Millennium Mosaic

Jersey’s Millennium Mosaic - the largest and most ambitious community project ever undertaken in the Island - is to be displayed in its entirety for the first time.

As part of the Millennium celebrations, Jersey Heritage, in partnership with the Jersey Evening Post, undertook a community project, which involved more than 20,000 Islanders over two years.

From 1 to 14 May, the 18 panels – each measuring two metres by 1.2 metres  – will be exhibited at the Sir Francis Cook Gallery at Oaklands, Trinity. Admission is free.

The Millennium Mosaic was the idea of Jersey Heritage’s Head of Design, local artist Wayne Audrain, who also designed the Occupation Tapestry Gallery commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary of the Liberation in 1995.

“So many people have a share in this project, it is really something to be proud of for everyone,” he said.

Jersey Heritage invited Islanders to help design the 18 panels by requesting their ideas for the future, which Wayne visually interpreted. The community involvement really took off when Islanders were invited to help by placing a tile and recording their names in special commemorative registers. The honour of placing first tile in April 1999 fell to the Island’s then oldest resident 108-year-old, Edith Burke. 

Unlike the Occupation Tapestry, which relied on parish-by-parish participation, the Millennium Mosaic was a truly Islandwide project. Volunteers were trained to supervise the work and panels were placed at public locations around Jersey, such as the General Hospital, the Airport and St Helier Harbour, parish halls and schools to allow as many people as possible to place a tile for posterity.

While the Occupation Tapestry is on permanent display in the gallery of the Maritime Museum, the Mosaic has remained in storage for seven years. Several attempts to put it on public display have been unsuccessful but Jersey Heritage has not given up hope.

Mr Audrain hopes that the forthcoming exhibition will result in them finding a suitable location where the Mosaic can be displayed to full effect for the public to enjoy seeing as much as they enjoyed taking part.

The Sir Francis Cook Gallery will be open from 10 am to 4 pm, Thursday 1 May to Wednesday 14 May. There is parking on site.

16 April 2008

The Passion and the Journey

Friday 16 May

6 - 8 pm, AV Theatre Jersey Museum

A Jersey-born falconer who has flown birds of prey in stunning locations worldwide is giving a talk next month at the Jersey Museum.

Alan Gates was born and raised in Jersey. Passionate about birds from a young age he took up falconry when he obtained a young Kestrel.  Many years later he became the owner of Ivan, a male Golden Eagle, with a flying weight of seven-and-a-half pounds, and a six-foot wingspan.  The relationship that developed with this eagle shaped the course of the rest of his life.

Join Alan for a fascinating talk on 16 May when he will recount his experiences flying and hunting with Ivan on Jersey’s west coast and his quest for a female to breed with the eagle, which led him to the highlands of Scotland. Here he discovered Maria, a stunning Golden Eagle, who subsequently went on to produce a male eaglet.  Learn about the culmination of a lifelong dream when Alan travelled to Western Mongolia to live and hunt with the Kazakh nomads and the secretive falconers in the Peoples’ Republic of China.

Sue Headdon, who plays the role of Tudor falconer, Lady Ann Hayden, at Mont Orgueil Castle, will join Alan.  Sue has developed an impressive display of Medieval and Tudor falconry in which she encourages the public to participate.  Sue also recently represented Jersey at the International Falconry Festival and has been much admired for her prowess with her own small eagle.

However, the star of the show is likely to be Sue’s magnificent Bay Winged Hawk, Skaoi, who will be flown as part of the evening’s presentation.

Monday 7 April

Alias Jack Higgins

Temporary Exhibition Gallery, Jersey Museum

Tuesday 15 April to Wednesday 16 July 2008

From the world-renowned author of The Eagle has Landed comes an exhibition crammed full of Jack Higgins memorabilia. 

Jack Higgins is the pen name of Island resident Harry Patterson, who has very generously loaned his personal collection to Jersey Heritage for the exhibition. These personal items include the cheque from the publishers of his first novel, Sad Wind from the Sea. To date, Jack Higgins has written 64 novels, many of which have topped the best sellers chart.

Other treasures include, the Red Book from This is Your Life, artwork and book covers from his well-known novels, film posters and the original draft of the The Eagle Has Landed.