Summer of fun at museum

The family programme will be running alongside the two exciting exhibitions featuring unseen work by the Pitmen Painters group and a new collection of work by Narbi Price, winner of Contemporary British Painting Prize 2017, inspired by the artists.

The former Colliery Cage Shop will provide a dedicated space for the summer art activities.

Young people will be able to enjoy creative activities and at the same time find out why miners had a tally and a lamp, and why they were so important.

Artist Louise Bradley will lead the fun as youngsters make their own lamp and tallies. Just as the miners did when they went underground, the children will take one tally home and leave another behind on the wall. It will run until August 5.

Fancy That! will run from August 6 to 12. This will celebrate the tradition of keeping pigeons, and the Cage Shop will be transformed into a pigeon cree.

Miners and their families often grew their own vegetables either in the yard or in an allotment. Between August 13 and 19, there’s an invitation to join artist Paul Merrick to build Woodhorn’s first allotment.

Attention turns to music from August 20 when young people are invited to make an instrument linked to the brass band heritage.

And rounding the summer off from August 27, the focus will be on making posters or placards reminiscent of the miners’ banners on display.

Activities will run from 11am to 3pm each day.