{"id":8948,"date":"2012-03-05T17:51:14","date_gmt":"2012-03-05T16:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/driftsurfingmagazine.driftdigital.co.uk\/?p=8948"},"modified":"2012-03-05T17:51:14","modified_gmt":"2012-03-05T16:51:14","slug":"museum-to-open-in-devon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/driftsurfingmagazine.driftdigital.co.uk\/index.php\/archives\/8948","title":{"rendered":"Museum to open in Devon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> The Museum of British Surfing will open the doors to its new exhibition venue in Braunton, North Devon for the first time on Good Friday April 6.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Its inaugural exhibition is \u2018The Art of Surf\u2019 \u2013 displaying 200 years of art in surfing from the sketches of early explorers through to works by contemporary British surfing artists.<\/p>\n

Among the modern artists featured will be Conrad Shawcross, Ben Cook, Mark Haywood, Al Lindsay and Maria Rivans.<\/p>\n

\u201cExplorers and early travellers drew surfers, surfers decorated their boards \u2013 especially in the 60s & 70s, advertisers plundered surfing imagery right the way back to the early 1900s \u2013 and today there\u2019s a flourishing British surfing art scene<\/em>,\u201d said the charity\u2019s director and founder Pete Robinson. <\/p>\n

The first dedicated surfing museum in Europe was started in 2003, running successful touring exhibitions \u2013 it relocated to North Devon in 2009 and has spent the last 3 years securing the building and funding, completing the design work, and so far creating two new jobs.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s main funders are Leader 4 Torridge & North Devon, North Devon District Council and North Devon Areas of Outstanding natural Beauty.<\/p>\n

While \u2018The Art of Surf\u2019 exhibition will be the main feature, there\u2019s also a section on British surfing history, North Devon surfing and the local environment, and a timeline of British surfboards \u2013 displaying about a quarter of the museum\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t have done it without amazing support from surfers not just around the UK, but around the world \u2013 donating items and money<\/em>,\u201d said Pete, a former award-winning ITV News reporter. \u201cI\u2019d especially like to thank my wife Bianca and the charity\u2019s Trustees \u2013 they\u2019ve been truly amazing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Museum of British Surfing is believed to have the largest and most historically significant collection in Europe, with members of the public donating many key items to be kept for future generations to enjoy.<\/p>\n

Each year a new themed exhibition will be displayed, exploring different themes in surfing history and culture \u2013 and the museum will continue its popular touring shows around the UK.<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s researchers are part of a worldwide network of surf historians \u2013 their latest discovery to be revealed soon is that surfing took place in Britain in the 1800s.<\/p>\n

The Art of Surf runs until December 24th this year. Admission charges apply \u2013 see website for details and special events: museumofbritishsurfing.org.uk<\/p>\n

Recent surf history discoveries by the Museum of British Surfing:<\/p>\n

\u2022\tCrew members sailing with Captain James Cook tried Hawaiian\u2019s surfboards in 1779
\n\u2022\tAgatha Christie was a keen surfer in 1922
\n\u2022\tThe earliest known film of stand-up surfing in Britain c1929
\n\u2022\tPhotos of stand-up surfers in Britain in World War 2<\/p>\n

museumofbritishsurfing.org.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Museum of British Surfing will open the doors to its new exhibition venue in Braunton, North Devon for the first time on Good Friday April 6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,1052],"class_list":["post-8948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-devon","tag-the-museum-of-british-surfing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t