Around 1820, American wildlife artist and naturalist John James Audubon declared his intention to paint every bird species in North America. The result of this ambition was Birds of America, published between 1827 and 1838, and featuring 435 life-size, hand-coloured prints. The book’s large size (almost 1m high) and its publication as a series of folios has resulted in very few complete volumes remaining to this day. Audubon was and is a controversial figure. Many of his practices were criticised by the naturalist community and he profited from the ownership of enslaved people during his life-time. However, the book itself...

2500 years ago Persia (modern day Iran) came into being under the guiding hand of Cyrus the Great whose empire, marked not by military expansion but by embracing other cultures through trade, reached from the Balkans and Egypt in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east.

Saturday 11th March at 7.30pm Part of Iconic Iran, March 2023. Traditional Iranian music is a beautiful and rich genre with a long history. This concert will consist of two parts, each lasting 30 minutes. The first part will be played in Mahoor (equivalent to western major scale) and the second in Esfahan (equivalent to western minor scale). The concert will feature a variety of Persian love songs played on traditional Iranian instruments such as Kamancheh, Tar and Tombak. Amir Behmanesh (Singer), Ali Rahmani (Tombak, Daf and handpan), Saeed Rezazadeh (Tar and Setar), Hiva (Tar), Rouzbeh Parsa (Kamancheh)  Tickets £12...

'The Sofreh of Kamo' by Ghasem Salimi and 'Chigh' by Reza Mohammad Aslani,  are explored in two excellent documentary films. Both subjects are part of our exhibition.