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Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery

@blackburnmuseum

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One of the first purpose built free museums to open outside of London in 1874. 🏛️

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🔔 Visitor notice 🔔

Please note we will be CLOSED from 03/11/2026 due to essential maintenance, and will be reopening 10/11/2026.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

@bwdcouncil @discoverblackburn by @blackburnmuseum

Day 4 of #Museum30 is #Lighting 💡

Product Designer, amateur Cloud Spotter and Creatives Of Blackburn member, Theresa has created 'Sky Gallery' as part of our 'COBinate of Curiosities' exhibition.

In both Theresa's creative practice and career, she explores the ways light can be a crucial part of interactive based artwork. ‘Sky Gallery’ is a light installation based on clouds she has encountered, replicating their shape by sketching and hand cutting out of tracing paper and Japanese paper - influenced by the Museum’s collection of delicate Japanese prints.

'COBinate of Curiosities' on until January 2027. 🏛

📅 Opening Times:
Tuesday - Saturday
11am - 4:45pm
Free Entry by @blackburnmuseum

Last week we managed to squeeze in a half-term visit to the fab @blackburnmuseum for a lovely workshop with @thependlewitchproject - all themed around their collection of bugs and insects! The Lino print became part of our spooky decorations 🎃🐞🪲 by @blackburnmuseum

Day 3 of #Museum30 is #NewTechnologies

Did you know we have our own free digital guide on @bloombergconnects?

The app offers information about current exhibitions at a portfolio of over 200 participating cultural partners through dynamic content tailored to each organisation. Bloomberg Connects can be downloaded for free via Google Play or the App Store! by @blackburnmuseum

Day 2 of #Museum30 is #Paint! 🎨

Have you paid a visit to our beautiful Victorian Art Gallery, which opened in 1894? by @blackburnmuseum

It's that time of year again! #Museum30 🏛️⭐

Day 1 is #MyMuseum, did you know we were one of the first purpose built free museums to open outside of London in 1874?

@magnifyzoology by @blackburnmuseum

Katsushika Hokusai was born #OnThisDay in 1760. Hokusai was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for his series, Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji, which capture the wonder of this iconic mountain from many different locations, across the four seasons & in a variety of weather conditions. 🌊

When the series was published in 1831, he gained worldwide recognition and influenced Art Nouveau artists such as Monet, Degas and Renoir. Despite this, Hokusai did not think of himself as an accomplished artist, he believed that he only began to ‘grasp the structures of birds & beasts, insects & fish’ at the age of 73.

Throughout his life Hokusai mentored at least 50 students and is believed to have produced around 30,000 works, many of which were destroyed in a fire in 1839. We are lucky enough at Blackburn Museum to have an amazing collection of Hokusai prints – here are a few of them.

🖼 Sekiya Village on the Sumida River
🖼 The Great Wave off Kanagawa
🖼 Fujimigahara
🖼 Fuji from Kajikazawa by @blackburnmuseum

by @blackburnmuseum

Basil Bradley died #OnThisDay in 1904. Bradley was a painter and illustrator who studied at Manchester School of Art, 1859-60, but received little formal painting tuition thereafter.

His paintings, mostly of animals and rural scenes, were exhibited and well received over the course of his career. He exhibited in major galleries across the UK and in Paris, being recognised for his fine attention to detail. 🐮

🖼 Scotch Rebels c.1887 by Basil Bradley
Purchased from Manchester Academy of Arts, 1887
@artukdotorg
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/scotch-rebels-153723 by @blackburnmuseum

Sir Godfrey Kneller was born #OTD in 1646. The German-born English painter was the leading portraitist in England during the late Stuart and early Georgian eras, he served as court painter to successive English and British monarchs, including Charles II of England and George I of Great Britain. 👑

Kneller concentrated almost entirely on portraiture and founded a studio which churned out portraits on an almost industrial scale. 👨‍🎨

🖼 Mary II (1662–1694) by Godfrey Kneller
Gift from William Duckworth, Kirkham, 1928
🔗 https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/mary-ii-16621694-153866
@artukdotorg by @blackburnmuseum

🦇🎃🏛 October Half Term at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery! 🏛🎃🦇

Join us for a series of free, drop-in family activities and creative workshops. 👩‍🎨

@themakingrooms x Blackburn Museum
Tuesday 27 October
FREE | Drop-in 12-3pm | Suitable for all ages

The team will be bringing one of their laser cutters to the museum, where visitors can decorate their own museum inspired Halloween magnet.

@printpaintandpixel
Wednesday 28 October
FREE | Drop-in 12-3pm | Suitable for all ages

Join the local artists for a free Halloween x Museum themed workshop! 👻

@thependlewitchproject
Thursday 29 October
FREE | Drop-in 12-3pm | Suitable for all ages

Learn the techniques of lino printing to make your own spooky mask inspired by our creepy crawly collection. 🪲

@cathintheattic
Friday 30 October
FREE | Drop-in 12-3pm | Suitable for all ages

Inspired by the art of Saul Steinberg, who created paper bag masks in the 1950s and 1960s, make your own mask and have your photograph taken in the gallery. 🛍

All Week - Get Crafty and museum activities
Tuesday 27 - Saturday 31 October
FREE | Drop-in 11am-4pm | Suitable for all ages

Please note: All children must be supervised by an adult.

@bwdcouncil @discoverblackburn by @blackburnmuseum

The world renowned Japanese ukiyo-e artist, Utagawa Hiroshige was born 1797 and died #OTD in 1858. He dedicated his life to creating wonderful art, even after ‘retiring from the world’ in 1856 when he became a Buddhist monk.

Before his death he wrote a farewell poem –
'I leave my brush in the East,
And set forth on my journey.
I shall see the famous places in the Western Land.'

We are lucky enough to have the full set of his series The 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road, here are some images for you to enjoy. #Hiroshige #japaneseprints by @blackburnmuseum