Housewarming: A Museum Late
Join us for the launch evening for an exciting new season of Museum Lates, celebrating the many stories and histories in our new gallery, Rooms Through Time: 1878-2049.
Unpack the stories of our seven new Rooms Through Time and explore what Home can mean at this Museum Late.
Our galleries will stay open later, offering you the chance to explore our newly opened rooms, Rooms Through Time: 1878-2049.
For the first in a series of Housewarming Lates throughout the year, we are excited to collaborate with the London Design Festival and Shoreditch Design Triangle, providing evening access to the Museum’s galleries and exciting programme.
Entry to the late is free, with some paid elements.
What's On
6pm to 9pm | Explore our galleries
Discover 400 years of home with our interactive Home Galleries, exploring both contemporary and historical experience of home and Rooms Through Time, where evolving furniture, textiles, and decor reflect the changing trends of each era.
7pm to 9pm | DJ set from Auntie Maureen
Much loved music and nature Matriarch, Auntie Maureen, is back for another DJ set! Enjoy as background music or hit the atrium dancefloor.
6.15pm to 7.30pm | Mini Geometric Pająki Workshop | £15
Celebrating craft, home and design create your own mini pajaki (mobile). Karolina Merska will introduce you to the rich history of unique Polish rye and straw chandeliers called “pajaki.” Learn how to build traditional straw modules, and turn them into your own unique decorative structure, perfect to decorate your home!
Karolina will also be signing her book—pick up a copy and get inspired to create more pajaki in the future.
About Pajaki
Pajaki (pah-yonk-ee) are traditional Polish chandeliers made from rye straw and paper. Their history dates back to the mid-18th century. Made by country women as decorations for their homes especially for Christmas, Easter, as well as for weddings and christenings. Suspended from a ceiling in a main room, amongst colourful paper cut-outs, paintings and paper flowers they became a popular decoration in polish village houses. They were a symbol of harvest and happiness in the New Year.
Today the tradition is practised less and less. Karolina keeps the pajaki tradition alive.
6.45 to 7.15pm | Tour of Rooms Through Time: 1878-2049 | £5
Tour our newest permanent gallery with Curator, Louis Platman. Uncover the process behind the creation of our seven latest rooms and explore the many stories, objects and themes in the gallery.
7.30pm to 8.15pm | From Life-size to Miniature: Curating Room Sets | £5
Join Danielle Patten in conversation with Lucy Clayton, founder of The Kensington Dollshouse Company as they discuss the creative process behind the Museum's new gallery and the unique challenges of designing life-size room sets versus miniature dollhouse interiors.
In response to a surging interest in dollhouses, Vinterior and The Kensington Dollshouse Company have restored a mid-century modern dollhouse, now on display at Museum of the Home, giving visitors the change to see mid-century design in minature.
The conversation will delve into how sustainability, community collaboration, object and furniture acquisition, and the role of color are all part of the creative process.
Discover more about Vinterior's Mid-Century Modern Dollshouse.
Bios
Auntie Maureen
Theatrical electronic DJ and queer music curator, Auntie Maureen likes to dig deep, for multi-genre music and for rendering audible the sonic stories of the invisible, the forgotten and the erased.
Queering up DJ sets, they/she has swayed dancefloors at proud events such as Kew Garden’s Queer Nature exhibition and their Pride ’24 Silent Disco, Tate Britain’s Queer Britannia, The Wallace’s Look OUT LGBQIA+ history celebration plus at festival dates for Wilderness, Bestival, Homotopia's Homovision and today Risen. Auntie Maureen is currently the resident music curator and co-performer for the Big Bingo Show which has made a rowdy appearance at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, The Divine plus Hebden Bridge’s Happy Valley Pride.
Karolina Merska
Karolina Merska is originally from Poland and moved to the UK in 2007 shortly after obtaining an MA in History of Art at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.
Inspired by Polish folk art, she started making Pajaki chandeliers in 2015. Her work has been celebrated internationally and publicised by Channel 4, The World of Interiors, House and Garden, Elle Decoration, The Telegraph, Time Out, Harper’s Bazaar and many more. Exhibitions featuring Karolina’s work include the London Design Festival, London Craft Week, Bengaluru ByDesign Festival.
Karolina loves sharing her knowledge and teaches pajaki workshops in her studio in East London and around the world. Since 2019 she also runs her online shop, Folka, where she presents unique crafts including pajaki.
Her first book “Making Mobiles. Create Beautiful Polish Pajaki from Natural Materials” has been published in May 2021.
The Kensington Dollshouse Company
The Kensington Dollshouse Company is a distinguished creator of bespoke, heirloom-quality dollshouses. Known for their attention to detail and craftsmanship, they produce exquisite miniature houses that delight collectors and enthusiasts alike.
@mslucyclayton
https://www.kensingtondollshousecompany.co.uk/about
What else is on this London Design Week?
Ceramics in the City
Join us this September for our annual market celebrating the world of ceramics, showcasing everything from functional tableware to decorative objects and unique collector's pieces.
Czech Glass Stories
Daniela Vrabcová Chodilová presents a new playful collection of their LAOKON brand at Museum of the Home.
Project 3000 : Miniature pottery
An exhibition of 3,000 miniature pots created by SGW Lab, a London-based ceramics studio led by ceramics designer Yuta Segawa.
Date
Tuesday 17 September 2024
Time
6pm to 9pm
Cost
Free (with some paid elements)
Location
Museum of the Home - 136 Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA