Falmouth Art Gallery digital guide on Bloomberg Connects
Falmouth Art Gallery launches a new digital guide featuring audio descriptions and videos. The guide enriches access to the gallery’s collections for on-site and online visitors.
The free guide connects Falmouth Art Gallery with more than eighty other cultural institutions around the globe on the Bloomberg Connects app
Today, Falmouth Art Gallery launched a new, free digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Bloomberg Connects app, available for download from Google Play or the App Store, makes Falmouth Art Gallery accessible for either on-site or offsite visits through a variety of photo, audio and video features: staff and volunteers talk about the artworks; members of our community interview automata (moving mechanical device) makers and our youth climate activist group share their insights via the spoken word and creative soundscapes.
Falmouth Art Gallery is home to a broad collection of art and eccentric automata. It celebrates the arts and culture through vibrant exhibitions and a diverse learning programme. Falmouth is a historic coastal town in Cornwall, a peninsula on the southwest of the British Isles and Falmouth Art Gallery is a service of Falmouth Town Council.
Bloomberg Connects offers free digital guides to cultural organisations around the world. The app platform is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ longstanding commitment to supporting digital innovation in the arts. Bloomberg Connects makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices when visiting in person, or anytime from anywhere. With dynamic content exclusive to each partner organisation, the app provides a range of features including video, audio, and text; expert commentary and way-finding maps. Follow Bloomberg Connects on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for updates on new guide launches, exhibit highlights, and more.
Our digital guide is launched as part of the new exhibition
Hevva! Hevva! – Fishing in Cornwall
‘Hevva’ was a fishing term in the Cornish language for the traditional call used by the ‘huer’, who was employed to spot shoals of pilchards (now known as Cornish Sardines), and quickly rally the fishermen to their boats when fish were sighted. Fred Stephens (1832-1908) was a legendary ‘huer’ who spotted shoals of fish at Cadgwith for over forty years and the true story of his remarkable dream of pilchards is the inspiration for this exhibition which explores the highs and lows of fishing in Cornwall.
Fishing has been a vital source of food and income since people first settled on the Cornish coast from about 8000 BCE and is still a key part of the Cornish economy. It is a celebrated part of Cornish life, steeped in tradition and heritage, which has inspired artists for centuries. However, the romanticised images of idyllic fishing villages that many associate with the industry do not reflect the harsh realities of the day-to-day life of the fishermen and women and their communities, nor do they portray the many issues faced past and present. The Newlyn School painters decided to settle in the town not for the light, but due to the fact that most of the population was dependent on fishing and their tough working lives gave the artists plenty of subject matter. Meanwhile, contemporary artists are exploring wider issues such as the impact of the decline of the industry, sustainability and environmental issues.
The exhibition features the artwork of the Newlyn School including Stanhope Forbes, Harold Harvey, Percy Craft and Falmouth artists Charles Napier Hemy and Henry Scott Tuke. A selection of Automata, locally produced Films, Gansey knitware and ‘Mini Dave and Bird’, a sculpture created by Holly Bendall, part of the recently crowdfunded ‘Waiting for fish’ project, also on show. The Bloomberg Connects guide will enrich the experience for onsite users and will enable audiences across the globe to experience the exhibition virtually.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 941 cities and 173 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.
