Arts
Essex's Aztec success
A groundbreaking exhibition of ancient Aztec artefacts,
which has been co-curated by Essex graduate Dr Adrian Locke, is proving to
be one of the Royal Academy's most successful exhibitions.
Over 100,000 visitors streamed through the doors to see Aztecs,
which was featured in the November issue of Wyvern, during its first six
weeks. The exhibition is the first ever show completely devoted to the art
and culture of the Aztec Empire, which dated from 1325 to 1521. Over 60
per cent of the works on show are on loan from Mexico and many have never
been shown in public before.
Dr Locke, who completed his undergraduate and masters degree here at
Essex, as well as his PhD, said: 'I always knew Aztecs would be a
popular exhibition but I never anticipated that it would be quite so
popular. I think it has been so well received because it is an historic
moment. Thanks to approximately 60 lenders we have now been able to bring
together 380 objects that have not sat alongside one another since the
decline of the Aztec Empire some 500 years ago.'
The exhibition, at the Royal Academy, has run alongside an extensive
educational programme which featured events led by Essex's Professor Dawn
Ades, Dr Tim Laughton, and Dr Joanne Harwood, as well as former Essex
Professor, Gordon Brotherstone, and Essex graduate Eleanor Wake.
Mask, c.300-600
Aztecs will be at the Royal Academy of Arts until 11 April.
Tickets are available on the door, or you can call 0870 830 0201 or visit
www.aztecs.org.uk/tickets. Opening times are as follows: Sunday to
Thursday 10am to 6pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 10pm.
Mastering Russian for Snape concert
The University Choir will team up with Essex Sinfonia for its annual
concert at Snape Maltings on Sunday 11 May, starting at 7pm.
Rehearsals are underway as members struggle to master mouthfuls of
multiple consonants to perform in Russian.
The full concert programme is: Richard Wagner Overture to Die
Meistersinger, Brahms Alto Rhapsody, Borodin Polovtsian
Dances from Prince Igor, and Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky.
The soloist is Croatian Alenka Ponjavic, and the concert will be
conducted by Richard Cooke.
Ticket prices range from £16 to £6, and they are available from the
University Gallery, the Arts Office on 01206 873261 or the Aldeburgh
Foundation Box Office on 01728 453543.
The University Choir was founded in 1977, and currently numbers some
175 singers, drawn from staff and students and from the local community.
After Snape, its next concert will be in Chelmsford Cathedral in
November, with the London Handel Orchestra, when the central work will be
Mozart's Mass in C minor. Looking ahead to 2004, the choir's
programme will include Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and hopefully a
return to Snape and Chelmsford.
The choir rehearses on Thursday evenings during the autumn and
spring terms, and new members are always welcome. For more information,
contact Professor Valerie Fraser in Art History on 01206 873004, e-mail vfraser@essex.ac.uk
