THE SUMMERFIELD DEBATE

What Are We Fracking For?

TUESDAY 3 JUNE 2014 
8:30PM - 9:30PM

PILLAR ROOM, CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL

Tickets go on sale Tue 22 Apr at 12:00pm

14 February to 10 August 2014

Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss, returns to Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum 80 years after its initial display. Its display in 2014 celebrates the centenary of Rodin’s visit to Cheltenham. In 1914, Rodin accompanied his friend and biographer, Judith Cladel on a visit to see her sister in Cheltenham and during his stay he came to the Art Gallery & Museum.

18 January to 24 April 2014

Notions of love and the embrace have fascinated artists across the centuries. This exhibition, the second in the newly reopened Art Gallery and Museum, will explore the work of artists of the 20th century and onwards whose work hints at their fascination with the human embrace.

Depicted through a range of media including painting, sculpture, photography and film, the exhibition will include work by Jacob Epstein, Marc Chagall, Eileen Agar, Gilbert and George, Charlie Murphy, Kenneth Armitage, Emma Critchley, Chris Ofili, David Inshaw and Eileen Cooper on loan from national museums, galleries and private collections.

At their last meeting in February 2014 the Trustees awarded a grant of £3,500 to Tirley Emergency Action Group to provide a storage shed for flood equipment.

TRUSTEE MEETING
February 2014
April 2014
July 2014
November 2014

DEADLINE DATE
20/12/2013
07/03/2014 * (amended) 
08/05/2014
To be confirmed

The Summerfield Trust awarded a grant of £45,000 in 2011, payable over two years, for a joint project between The Cotswold Canals Trust and the Stroud Valleys Canal Company . 

The aim of the project is to use spare water flowing down the canal to generate income to help support the future maintenance of the restored canal.

 In a typical year, the hydro scheme is expected to generate an income of £20,000 through the generation of over 100 Megawatt hours of electricity. 

The installation is expected to last many decades and a small team of volunteers has been formed to perform regular maintenance tasks.

Read more about the project in the report submitted to the Summerfield Trust in October 2013, or visit their website using the link below.  READ MORE

LINKS:
Cotswold Canals Trust

Cheltenham's Museum and Art Gallery is to be rebranded as The Wilson.

The building in Clarence Street is due to re-open on 5 October following a £6.3m refurbishment over the past 18 months. The Summerfield Trust awarded a special one-off grant of £750,000 in 2009 towards the cost of the project.

The new name is inspired by explorer Dr Edward Wilson, who was born in the town and who died on Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition in 1912.  

The Trustees visited the site on 12th September to view the progress of the building works and the new Summerfield Gallery.  

LINKS:  

• Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum website
  
• BBC News - article about The Wilson
  
• Ronald Summerfield's association with the Art Gallery and Museum
  

THE SUMMERFIELD LECTURE
Thursday 10th October 
NOREENA HERTZ
Eyes Wide Open: How to Make Smart Decisions in a Confusing World.
In a fast-moving world we're often overloaded with conflicting opinions and advice. In this absorbing lecture Noreena Hertz, author of The Silent Takeover, and described by The Observer as 'one of the world's leading thinkers' offers a practical method for making better, smarter decisions.

THE JAN URBAN-SMITH DEBATE 
Saturday 12th October 

MELVIN BURGESS, ANNE FINE, JAMILA GAVIN & GRAHAM TYRER
Do We Still Believe Books Matter to our Children?
Do we still believe that books matter to our children? If so, why are libraries closing and literature reduced to extracts in school, as if solely for the purpose of jumping through hoops? Is the chance to read widely being squeezed between the pressure of regimented schooling and an increasingly pervasive digital 'tablet culture'? And what can parents do? Join best-selling children's writers Melvin Burgess, Anne Fine, Jamila Gavin and school literacy guru Graham Tyrer to debate these challenging questions and find out the books that shaped them as they grew up.

This event is supported by the Summerfield Trust in memory of Jan Urban-Smith, who, in her role as a trustee, helped to make Gloucestershire a better place.

Pittville Gates are situated at the end of Winchcombe Street in Cheltenham, leading to Pittville Lawn, a residential street which leads to Pittville Park. The Gates were built in 1833 as the grand entrance to Pittville Estate, which was developed in the 1820s by Joseph Pitt. The Gates are listed Grade 2 by English Heritage. 

In 2010, the Friends of Pittville embarked on a long-term project to restore the Gates and improve the immediate area, as both were in very poor condition.  Phase one of the restoration work started in November 2012, which included the gates being dismantled. 

In February 2013 the Summerfield Trust awarded a grant of £20,000  towards Phase 1 of the project and, despite delays caused by bad weather during the winter months, the new stone pillars, renovated ironwork and enhanced landscaping including new pavements are now in place.  The final stages of Phase 1 should be completed in September 2013, and fundraising for Phase 2 continues. 

More information about the history of the gates can be found in the specially commissioned booklet, Pittville Gates: Cheltenham's 'Grand Entrance' by James Hodsden.  Combining old and new images with a specially researched text, it sets out the story of the gates from their origin in 1833 to the present day.  Proceeds from the sale of the book support the restoration campaign run by the Friends of Pittville.