Established in 2004, the Warwickshire visitor attraction is also celebrating being named just one of five finalists in the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award.
For Compton Verney’s director of creative programme Abby Viner, the accolade recognises the immense work the museum and art gallery has undertaken over the past 20 years to offer attractions for everyone.
“As soon as you step into our grounds from the sculpture park, where you are welcomed by art, to the wildflower meadows and the trees that are everywhere it really is a place where you feel this direct connection between art and nature,” she explains.
“And then on top of that we work really hard to think about creativity and how we connect people to how you make and understand the artwork. That means it's a really brilliant, multi-generational family day out where you can be running through the meadows, there’s outdoor sculpture, there are the collections, there are interactive activities for kids, there are guided nature or archaeology walks, there’s the café. There really is something for everyone.”
The museum houses six core collections including 18th century Neapolitan art, 14-15th century Northern European work, British portraits and miniatures, ancient Chinese bronzes, folk art and the Marx-Lambert collection of popular British art.
In addition to the core collections, this summer sees a host of additional displays and activities kicking off with Stourbridge-born artist Emma Talbot’s How We Learn To Love exhibition from July 5 which features sculpture, animation, drawing and large-scale paintings on silk.
“Emma Talbot is an international artist but she was born in the Midlands,” says Abby. “Her work deals with quite big themes, she makes these enormous silk paintings that are hard-hitting but also romantic.”
Emma’s work looks at the connections between human grief and joy, and the cycle of nature – themes visitors can also explore through additional events and activities. For children, Stratford-upon-Avon authors The Brothers McLeod have written a special book for the museum, The Compton Verney Quest.
Inspired by the popular Knight Sir Louis series, the book tells an adventure story and invites families to follow a quest across the gallery and gardens. To celebrate the launch of the quest, the Brothers McLeod will lead a series of workshops on July 19-20 encouraging youngsters to tell their own stories and draw animations.
Further family events include Children’s Building Society by Woodland Tribe on July 4-6 - back by popular demand.
“Woodland Tribe is all about kids coming to the site and making their own creations,” says Abby. “They give the kids saws and drills and hammers and the children are able to take a few risks but in a safe way and they collaboratively make big builds. This really encapsulates everything we are about.”
Compton Verney also celebrates National Play Day on August 6 with a host of events for children and the launch of the Play Wagon, a new commission from Studio Hardie.
“Will Hardie will be known to many readers from the television series George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces,” Abby says. “He has created this Play Wagon especially for us and the design is inspired by the architecture and the art you might see here. It will be totally interactive so you’ll be able to climb into it and out of it, there are blocks, a slide and it can be moved around the site - and then children with their imaginations can transform it into anything they like.”
The week following Play Day will see a range of workshops and events leading up to the Big Play Weekend on August 9-10 when the site will be scattered with building blocks and giant inflatable sculptures created by Ringworld.
Alongside the fun, Compton Verney is also inviting visitors to dig a bit deeper when it hosts the internationally acclaimed artwork Gilt by Hew Locke from July 5. Commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this will be the first time the four large sculptures which comprise the exhibit have been displayed in the UK.
“Gilt will be installed on the portico of Compton Verney so as you walk over the bridge it’s there,” explains Abby. “They are enormous sculptures so you will see these beautiful glistening trophies sitting on Compton Verney. But then if you go round the back of them, you will see they are hollow edifices and are made of fibreglass, they are not actually these gold trophies at all.
“And that starts the questions. Hew’s work starts to gently prod and ask ‘so why is this place, this beautiful 18thcentury mansion, here? Where did all the money for this come from? And all the objects that are in the museum, where did they come from and why are they here?’”
All of the summer activities aim to encourage people from all backgrounds to visit.
“There is space for everybody at Compton Verney and we are working really hard to think about who lives in our region and how we can engage with them,” says Abby. “We might have international artists and other conversations but we are a place for the Midlands. We constantly think about who lives here and how we can provide something unique within the context of the Midlands.”
For more on all events and activities or to book workshops at Compton Verney see www.comptonverney.org.uk