Newsletter of the Robert Owen Museum Newtown, Powys

Special Edition
You Are Cordially Invited to:

April 2012

Robert Owen Birthday Celebrations 11:30am at Robert Owens Tomb on May 12th 2012
For Music, Quotations and Laying Flowers. And afterwards at the Museum and the Town Council Chamber for refreshments, new paintings and the chance to see the new lighting Bring a friend!
A Double Celebration You are all invited! This year is the 200th anniversary of a very special year in Owens career. He was already a successful businessman at New Lanark, where he ran an exemplary factory in contrast to those Manchester cotton mills that had so shocked him as a teenager. In 1812 he decided to put his ideas on paper in essays entitled A New View of Society. Owen wanted co-operative communities to transform peoples lives and enjoyable education for children and adults to create a better and a happier society. 200 years later much as been achieved but we still have a long way to go! And there is a further reason to celebrate this year... We are in the middle of UNESCO Year of Cooperatives: A year to celebrate the Owenite idea of working together and the success of co-operation worldwide. It is thanks the continuing support of the Co-op Cymru that the Museum can pay its bills and provide refreshments for the birthday celebrations. View New Paintings Inspired by Robert Owen The 2012 Robert Owen birthday celebrations will see the unveiling of two new oil paintings of Newtown as Owen would have known it. They show the old church and Owens birthplace in Broad Street and have been closely based on old prints and photographs. They have been created by Newtown artist Brian Jones. Brian has a passion for art and a vast knowledge of different painting techniques. He worked as a textile designer for Laura Ashley and his print designs can be seen all over the world, with enduring popularity. He loves the beautiful countryside of mid Wales and its towns and he has kindly provided two paintings to go on display at the Robert Owen Museum. New Chairmans Vision by Rex Shayler For some time, the museum seems to have been the towns best kept secret to the point where little was known of the museum or the man himself. That has now changed. Work over the past few years has added sparkle to this jewel: the redecorating together with the new high efficiency energy saving lighting has transformed the museum into a bright and welcoming place to visit and browse, and we havent stopped there. The next project is an audio/visual room for people who wish to learn more. In my small way I have been proud to have been part of the management team and I am honoured to have been elected chairman. I can only hope my vision is fulfilled with the team continuing to polish Newtown's jewel in the crown further.

Chairman: Rex Shayler Company Registration No. 234247

Hon. Curator: Pat. Brandwood

Secretary: Pat Bufton Charity Registration No. 513821

Visitors to the Museum Every visitor who comes to the Museum is important to us and March brought a real range of visitors aged from 7 to 87 who really seemed to get a great deal out of their visits. 17 local Beavers had a look round the Museum and Town Hall. They were beautifully behaved and a credit to the town. The following Friday we had our first visit from Jordan a student at Tregynon Hall School. The young man might not have noticed but I was quite nervous. That afternoon I was expecting Tony Benn to visit and I have been a fan since my student days. Gemma and I had tea with him and then went to see his talk at Theatr Hafren. Tony is now 87 but he was very knowledgeable about Owen and his commitment and enthusiasm are unchanged. The next week I was expecting a small group from Midlands Co-op (Derby). Luckily Val was there to help when 42 people arrived. It is really gratifying to see the range of visitors and over the Bank Holiday, we have had visitors from as far as Pontypridd, Germany and Tennessee. David Pugh to the rescue Several times a year we are asked for permission to use images of Owen from the Museums collection. The last was our image of Owen in old age used on the front of The Legacy of Robert Owen*.This is good evidence of the national and international significance of the Museum. It is also good publicity for the Museum - and occasionally we get a small donation too. But very often the request cant be met because the enquirer wants high-definition photographs which we simply do not have. So we were delighted when David Pugh agreed to use his photographic expertise (and some considerable time) to create high-definition images of all the pictures on display. This is an important step in the professionalisation of the collection. It will allow us to share our unique collection more readily and we will add some of Davids images to the website. http://robert-owenmuseum.org.uk/ during this year. *The Legacy of Robert Owen, and Ian Donachies biography of Owen are on sale at the Museum. From the beginning of May there is 20% off marked prices. Amazon eat your heart out!

Pictures at an exhibition In January the Architecture Museum in Munich asked not just for images, but for the loan of 3 of our pictures for an exhibition they are holding on Committed Architecture. This was a difficult question because our Museum is small and we dont want to be without the pictures for 3 or 4 months. After discussing it with Eva Bredsdorff (our adviser at Powysland), we concluded that this was an important opportunity to promote Owens ideas (one of the Museums objectives) as well as a chance to form a partnership with a leading European institution. But there have been more tangible benefits too. The image of Owens schoolroom in New Lanark was mounted on an acid card and in need of some important (and expensive) conservation work. The Architecture Museum has agreed to fund this and, although only the expert will notice a visual difference, the picture has been stabilised and rescued for the future. Another of the images that Munich requested had lain unseen for nearly 200 years. Indeed, though Hatton, the previous Curator, knew the item, we werent aware we had it. It is a broadsheet from 1817 which details Owens plans for villages of mutual unity and co-operation. The broadsheet has been cleaned, mounted and framed ready for its trip to Germany. It is a fine example of how ambitious and idealistic Owens plans were. The pictures will be loaned to Munich from early June until mid September, so come and see them now, cleaned and ready for their European adventure. We welcome your views and we always try to answer questions about the Museum or about Owen. The usual channels are by phone on 0798 696 1819 or by email at: info@robert-owenmuseum.org.uk You can find news on our website or on our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Rob ert-Owen-Museum/159697950724103 If you would like to support the museum and help preserve Robert Owens legacy, please get in touch or visit http://robert-owenmuseum.org.uk/friends
Secretary: Pat Bufton Charity Registration No. 513821

Chairman: Rex Shayler Company Registration No. 234247

Hon. Curator: Pat. Brandwood