As part of The Year of Wright, our popular Life Drawing Classes return to The Wardwick at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, a celebration of all bodies and the human form. From 12-1pm there will be a facilitated one hour session designed for beginners and from 2-4pm there will be an unfacilitated intermediate session designed for those with experience of life drawing. Materials will be provided but participants are welcome to bring their own materials should they choose to. Suitable for those 18+ Limited places advanced booking essential Accessibility at Derby Museums [https://derbymuseums.org/accessibility/] Produced by Derby Museums, supported by Derby College

Famed for its innovative fire-proof iron framed cotton mill, the Belper Mill complex also incorporated innovative developments in waterpower. William Strutts improvement of the waterwheel, waterpower control and management of the River Derwent, enabled the mass manufacturing of textile thread at the complex, which today sits at the heart of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Recent research has uncovered the stewardship of the rivers by the Georgian proprietors of the mills along Englands waterways, including the management of floods and distribution of salmon. The use of water to generate hydroelectric power, c.1900, encouraged the new owners of the Belper Mills, the English Sewing Cotton Company, to invest in their Derwent Valley businesses and, whilst most industrial sites on the Derwent connected to the national grid to purchase electricity in the mid-20th century, the Belper site continued to invest in new turbines. The 18th century weir, mill leats and wheel pits are still in use today (harnessing the power of the river, almost continuously, for 250 years), supplying the national grid with renewable energy. Ian Jackson is a Chartered mechanical engineer who has worked in multinational manufacturing businesses for 35 years, latterly as an independent ESOS Lead Assessor, and now is a waterpower researcher. In 2012 he set up Amber and Derwent Valley Community Energy to try to reinstate Hydroelectric Power (HEP) at a former industrial site, at the heart of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. In 2014 it was a feasible project but changes in government support and EA requirements halted the project in 2018. Living in the DVMWHS and trying to identify HEP opportunities, led to his research into the historic use of waterpower, the primary energy source for the early industrial revolution. Seeing the untapped HEP resource in the valley, and his role on the strategy board of the DVMWHS, led to an approach to the University of Nottingham. Ian started a full time PhD in 2020, titled Climate Change mitigation: Learning from the past to unlock the hydropower potential of the Derbyshire Derwent catchment, graduating in July 2025. Suitable for Adults (18+) Booking essential. Limited places. Accessibility at Derby Museums [https://derbymuseums.org/accessibility/]

Joseph Wright's 1782 portrait of Ellen Morewood of Alfreton Hall shows an elite woman in a landscape. What is not immediately obvious is the significant contribution Morewood made to the industrial revolution in Derbyshire nor her determination to control her life on her terms. Join Dr Collinge as he explores Morewood's portrait and her eventful life. Dr Peter Collinge is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His research focuses on female enterprise in Georgian Derbyshire, the poor laws, and health, leisure and tourism. Recent publications include articles on Kedleston spa and inn, and country house visitors in the eighteenth century. Suitable for Adults (18+) Booking essential. Limited places. Accessibility at Derby Museums [https://derbymuseums.org/accessibility/]

Marking World Dracula Day, join The Kirk Ireton Light Program as they present a new reimagining of Bram Stokers classic tale performed by just two actors. Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula" needs no introduction... but how many people have read it? It would take eighteen hours to read aloud, which is a bit much. Instead, we offer you an abridged version lasting one hour and forty five minutes. The text is still Mr. Stoker's, as are the references to Kodak cameras, hypnotism, brain surgery, voice recordings, morphine, stakes, beheadings, etc., etc... and, of course, the big D. Very Gothic, and, occasionally, very funny. Presented as part of Dracula Returns To Derby: 101 Years and Counting. Suitable for Adults (18+) Booking essential. Limited places. Accessibility at Derby Museums [https://derbymuseums.org/accessibility/] Image courtesy of Fotoblitz

Inspired by The Year of Wright, join Derby Museums for a special after-hours addition of our popular Life Drawing class, complete with a glass of wine on arrival! Socialise, learn new, or develop your skills and enjoy a relaxed two-hour workshop, with a facilitated introduction, followed by a free draw to finish off the night. Ideal for absolute beginners and experienced sketchers alike. Suitable for those 18+ Limited places - advanced booking essential Accessibility at Derby Museums [https://derbymuseums.org/accessibility/] Produced by Derby Museums, supported by Derby College

Author and playwright Elaine Pritchard tells the story of Vale Rawlings, a World War One conscientious objector from Burton-on-Trent in this talk with dramatic, live performance elements. Why was this man, just four feet, 11 inches tall, who suffered from congenital heart disease and severe rheumatism, passed for active service in Category A? Does the answer lie in a note found in Staffordshire archives saying: It is against the national interest for this man to remain in civil employment? Is there a connection with anti-war activists the Wheeldons of Derby now widely believed to have been framed and subjected to a show trial for their support for conscientious objectors? Elaine will explore these questions in a presentation that blends a traditional talk with dramatic, live performance elements. Actors will bring Vales story to life using letters he and his sister Lily wrote in 1917 and original statements made to court cases and military tribunals. Presented as part of Derby Peace Week 2026, all proceeds raised split between Derby Museums and Derby Peace Week partners Suitable for adults Accessibility at Derby Museums [https://derbymuseums.org/accessibility/]

Celebrating 20 years of fantastic events, Derby Folk Festival returns to the city centre. The Weekend Pass gives access to all of the ticketed concerts, taking place across the whole weekend in Derby Museum’s Wardwick, The Old Bell Hotel, and Chapel Street Arts Centre, giving you the chance to enjoy artists in different venues, as well as experiencing the variety of shops, food and drink that the city’s Cathedral Quarter offers. Derby’s Cathedral Quarter will host a packed weekend of entertainment, including concerts, dances, workshops and crafts. With a mix of ticketed and free events, all in the city centre, there’s lots of options for everyone to experience the festival whether they’re a seasoned festival goer, or passing shopper. Derby Market Hall will be the festival hub, with dance displays, ceilidhs, workshops, the Artisans Uncovered market – and more! Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands in Derby Market Hall, or at Chapel Street Arts Centre.

Celebrating 20 years of fantastic events, Derby Folk Festival returns to the city centre. The Weekend Pass gives access to all of the ticketed concerts, taking place across the whole weekend in Derby Museum’s Wardwick, The Old Bell Hotel, and Chapel Street Arts Centre, giving you the chance to enjoy artists in different venues, as well as experiencing the variety of shops, food and drink that the city’s Cathedral Quarter offers. Derby’s Cathedral Quarter will host a packed weekend of entertainment, including concerts, dances, workshops and crafts. With a mix of ticketed and free events, all in the city centre, there’s lots of options for everyone to experience the festival whether they’re a seasoned festival goer, or passing shopper. Derby Market Hall will be the festival hub, with dance displays, ceilidhs, workshops, the Artisans Uncovered market – and more! Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands in Derby Market Hall, or at Chapel Street Arts Centre.

Celebrating 20 years of fantastic events, Derby Folk Festival returns to the city centre. The Weekend Pass gives access to all of the ticketed concerts, taking place across the whole weekend in Derby Museum’s Wardwick, The Old Bell Hotel, and Chapel Street Arts Centre, giving you the chance to enjoy artists in different venues, as well as experiencing the variety of shops, food and drink that the city’s Cathedral Quarter offers. Derby’s Cathedral Quarter will host a packed weekend of entertainment, including concerts, dances, workshops and crafts. With a mix of ticketed and free events, all in the city centre, there’s lots of options for everyone to experience the festival whether they’re a seasoned festival goer, or passing shopper. Derby Market Hall will be the festival hub, with dance displays, ceilidhs, workshops, the Artisans Uncovered market – and more! Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands in Derby Market Hall, or at Chapel Street Arts Centre.

Celebrating 20 years of fantastic events, Derby Folk Festival returns to the city centre. The Weekend Pass gives access to all of the ticketed concerts, taking place across the whole weekend in Derby Museum’s Wardwick, The Old Bell Hotel, and Chapel Street Arts Centre, giving you the chance to enjoy artists in different venues, as well as experiencing the variety of shops, food and drink that the city’s Cathedral Quarter offers. Derby’s Cathedral Quarter will host a packed weekend of entertainment, including concerts, dances, workshops and crafts. With a mix of ticketed and free events, all in the city centre, there’s lots of options for everyone to experience the festival whether they’re a seasoned festival goer, or passing shopper. Derby Market Hall will be the festival hub, with dance displays, ceilidhs, workshops, the Artisans Uncovered market – and more! Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands in Derby Market Hall, or at Chapel Street Arts Centre.

Celebrating 20 years of fantastic events, Derby Folk Festival returns to the city centre. The Weekend Pass gives access to all of the ticketed concerts, taking place across the whole weekend in Derby Museum’s Wardwick, The Old Bell Hotel, and Chapel Street Arts Centre, giving you the chance to enjoy artists in different venues, as well as experiencing the variety of shops, food and drink that the city’s Cathedral Quarter offers. Derby’s Cathedral Quarter will host a packed weekend of entertainment, including concerts, dances, workshops and crafts. With a mix of ticketed and free events, all in the city centre, there’s lots of options for everyone to experience the festival whether they’re a seasoned festival goer, or passing shopper. Derby Market Hall will be the festival hub, with dance displays, ceilidhs, workshops, the Artisans Uncovered market – and more! Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands in Derby Market Hall, or at Chapel Street Arts Centre.

Celebrating 20 years of fantastic events, Derby Folk Festival returns to the city centre. The Weekend Pass gives access to all of the ticketed concerts, taking place across the whole weekend in Derby Museum’s Wardwick, The Old Bell Hotel, and Chapel Street Arts Centre, giving you the chance to enjoy artists in different venues, as well as experiencing the variety of shops, food and drink that the city’s Cathedral Quarter offers. Derby’s Cathedral Quarter will host a packed weekend of entertainment, including concerts, dances, workshops and crafts. With a mix of ticketed and free events, all in the city centre, there’s lots of options for everyone to experience the festival whether they’re a seasoned festival goer, or passing shopper. Derby Market Hall will be the festival hub, with dance displays, ceilidhs, workshops, the Artisans Uncovered market – and more! Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands in Derby Market Hall, or at Chapel Street Arts Centre.

In this session, you will explore our newly refurbished Unearthed galleries, learning about the history and wonders of the collections pieces on display. You will then get a unique opportunity to explore our collections up close through observational drawing with unusual and unexpected materials to draw, creating a body of work that you can take home with you!This session will be delivered at our Museum and Art Gallery site and led by Derby Museums Programmer and maker, Rachael Wayne. For more information please contact [email protected]. EMERGENCY CONTACT DETAILS In the event of an emergency, you will be contacted as soon as possible by Derby Museums. So that this can be done quickly, we need to have up-to-date details of possible contacts. Please fill in all relevant information when completing the booking. Derby Museums would like to ask for your permission to take images and/or recordings (photographs, video or audio) of your child/the person in your care for the purposes of publicity, fundraising and evaluation. How will the images and/or recordings be used? Images and recordings (photographs, video or audio) are used in a variety of ways to promote Derby Museums , to evaluate our work, for fundraising, and to illustrate particular areas of activity, e.g. exhibitions and community workshops. This includes (but is not limited to) advertisements and other publicity materials such as leaflets, brochures and posters, direct mail, books, newspapers, magazine articles, television programmes, podcasts, social media, web articles, press releases and funding applications. The images and recordings we capture may be published immediately or used in future to illustrate our work. We will not include names in connection with any of the images or recordings we use. How long does consent last? Consent continues with no time limit, however the majority of images and recordings we capture are used for around five years. They are then archived for possible future use. We cannot withdraw images and recordings that have already published, but image consent can be changed or withdrawn at any time by notifying Derby Museums in writing either by email: [email protected] or at the following address: Museum & Art Gallery, The Strand, Derby, DE1 1BS. Please answer all questions regarding consent when processing your booking. Please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend to allow other young people to access the session: [email protected] Please note that sessions are limited to two sessions per person. Please let us know if you would like to be added to a waiting list for any other sessions that don't sell out. Images - CC Pictoria Pictures

In this session, you will explore our title exhibition 'From The Shadows', Featuring the works of Derby's very own Joseph Wright. You will then get a unique opportunity to explore the exhibition with the team and like Joseph Wright, will play with the feelings from light and dark by creating cave dioramas. you will make a piece of work that you can take home with you! This session will be delivered at our Museum and Art Gallery site and led by Derby Museums Programmer and maker, Rachael Wayne. For more information please contact [email protected]. EMERGENCY CONTACT DETAILS In the event of an emergency, you will be contacted as soon as possible by Derby Museums. So that this can be done quickly, we need to have up-to-date details of possible contacts. Please fill in all relevant information when completing the booking. Derby Museums would like to ask for your permission to take images and/or recordings (photographs, video or audio) of your child/the person in your care for the purposes of publicity, fundraising and evaluation. How will the images and/or recordings be used? Images and recordings (photographs, video or audio) are used in a variety of ways to promote Derby Museums , to evaluate our work, for fundraising, and to illustrate particular areas of activity, e.g. exhibitions and community workshops. This includes (but is not limited to) advertisements and other publicity materials such as leaflets, brochures and posters, direct mail, books, newspapers, magazine articles, television programmes, podcasts, social media, web articles, press releases and funding applications. The images and recordings we capture may be published immediately or used in future to illustrate our work. We will not include names in connection with any of the images or recordings we use. How long does consent last? Consent continues with no time limit, however the majority of images and recordings we capture are used for around five years. They are then archived for possible future use. We cannot withdraw images and recordings that have already published, but image consent can be changed or withdrawn at any time by notifying Derby Museums in writing either by email: [email protected] or at the following address: Museum & Art Gallery, The Strand, Derby, DE1 1BS. Please answer all questions regarding consent when processing your booking. Please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend to allow other young people to access the session: [email protected] Please note that sessions are limited to two sessions per person. Please let us know if you would like to be added to a waiting list for any other sessions that don't sell out.

Discover the incredible stories of astonishing treasures found by everyday people and delve into how they are reshaping our understanding of British archaeology and history. Every day, new archaeological discoveries are transforming our knowledge of Britains rich past. Most of these finds are made by ordinary members of the public rather than by professional archaeologists. Some are chance finds; others are recovered by the thousands of hobbyist metal detectorists, fieldwalkers, and mudlarks who scour Britains countryside and waterways looking for artefacts as a way into the past. Beneath Our Feet is a celebration of this growing public involvement in archaeology, and of the groundbreaking work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme managed by the British Museum in England and Amgueddfa Cymru Museum Wales in Wales. Its mission is to encourage public finders to report their discoveries so they can be recorded on a national database to share this new knowledge about the past. From the 3,500-year-old Ringlemere Cup to the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard, a heart pendant connected to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, and a jar of American gold coins buried by a Jewish refugee fleeing the Nazis, these are the stories of astonishing treasures, the people who found them, and how they are reshaping British history Suitable for Adults (18+) Booking essential. Limited places. Accessibility at Derby Museums [https://derbymuseums.org/accessibility/]