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Events & exhibitions

Previous exhibitions

(Most recent first)

Protective Harbour - print by Pudlo Pudlat

Ice From Above

On display 1 November 2022 - 24 November 2023

Exploring our icy world from the sky and space

This exhibition investigated how scientists and artists observe our planet's poles using satellites, aircraft and drones. It included Zaria Forman's remarkable large-scale artwork, "Lincoln Sea", made after her time on NASA's Operation IceBridge, an airborne science mission. Forman joined flights over Antarctica, Greenland and Arctic Canada, and produced a series of extraordinary pastel drawings. Also on display was a selection of equipment used by scientists at the Scott Polar Research Institute to study the polar regions.

Visit Zaria Forman's website: www.zariaforman.com

Read about our research: www.spri.cam.ac.uk/research/

Protective Harbour - print by Pudlo Pudlat

Remembering Sir Ernest Shackleton

On display in 2022

Known for his resilience, leadership skills and loyalty to his crew, in even the direst of circumstances, Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton contributed greatly to the exploration of the Antarctic. In recent years, his legacy has influenced training programmes on the art of leadership and crisis management.

Shackleton participated in four Antarctic expeditions, leading three. Tragically, he died suddenly of heart failure on 5 January 1922, during the Shackleton-Rowett Antarctic Expedition 1921-22 (Quest), aged 47. He was buried in South Georgia following the request of his wife, Emily, that he be buried as far South as possible.

This small display presents Shackleton's Quest diary. The final four entries feature his notes on the difficulties faced by the crew on the journey, his concerns as a leader and, poignantly, his reflective mood upon arriving in South Georgia.

The final words of his last entry read:
"In the darkening twilight I saw a lone star hover, gem-like above the bay..."

Marking hte 50th anniversary of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment adopting a ten-year moratorium on commercial whaling and the 40th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission vote in 1982 to pause commercial whaling.

ReCover

On display 1 July - 4 November 2022

ReCover is about remembering and hope. Artist Caroline Hack has made a tarpaulin cover for the Institute's whaling harpoon gun, "taking it out of sight, if not out of mind, performing an act of decommissioning and closure. Also it is about hope, hope that the whale populations will recover as some already are, and hope that the industrialised killing of whales will one day cease entirely."

2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment adopting a proposal that recommended a ten-year moratorium on commercial whaling to allow whale stocks to recover. Subsequently (23 July 1982), members of the International Whaling Commission voted by the necessary three-quarters majority to implement a pause on commercial whaling.

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Bringing the Worst Journey in the World to Life

An exhibition by Sarah Airriess

In 1922, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, one of the youngest survivors of Captain Scott's ill-fated attempt to reach the South Pole, published his memoir of the expedition. The Worst Journey in the World humanised the epic tragedy with its sensitive observations of the men involved and evocative descriptions of Antarctic life.

A century later, this classic of travel literature is being adapted into a series of graphic novels by Disney veteran Sarah Airriess, who has spent over a decade researching the expedition in order to tell the story completely and faithfully. The personalities of the men, and the science they undertook, are equally as important to understanding the story as the famous feats of exploration.

In this exhibition, you can find out about Sarah's work as she brings this remarkable story to life through her graphic adaptation.

Visit the museum and the exhibition for free.

Find out more about the Sarah's work and the new adaption: www.worstjourney.com.

Open to the public from 31 August - 29 October 2022.

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Antarctica, A Creative Journey

An exhibition by Shelly Perkins

Shelly Perkins is a wildlife artist who aims to present the beauty and fragility of the natural world in an accessible way through her work. In 2017, Shelly travelled to Antarctica aboard the Royal Navy's ice patrol vessel, HMS Protector as the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute's Antarctic Artist in Residence.

Visit the museum and the exhibition for free.

Visit Shelly's website: https://www.shellyperkins.co.uk/

Read more about Shelly's time as Artist in Residence.

Opens to the public from 1 April 2022 - 28 July 2022

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A Century of Polar Research

Due to covid our visiting hours are limited, book your free in-person ticket to visit the museum or view exhibition highlights online.

On the side of an Antarctic volcano Frank Debenham realised that British polar explorers needed a headquarters – somewhere to share their findings and learn from each other.

The idea for the Scott Polar Research Institute was born, and in 1920 it was officially founded as part of the University of Cambridge. Find out about the Institute's origin as a memorial to Captain Scott and his men, and the pioneering research carried out at the Institute over the last 100 years.

March 2020 - 19 March 2022

Protective Harbour - print by Pudlo Pudlat

Silent Messages: Stamps and Sovereignty

13 August 2019 - 18 December 2021

Our Silent Messages special display is based upon the work of one of our Associates of the Scott Polar Research Institute, Corine Wood-Donnelly. Her research for this project focuses on how postage stamps, with their colourful symbols and imagery, can broadcast messages about how the governments of the Arctic states of Canada, Russia and the United States attempted to establish authority, exercise power and make claims to sovereignty over the Arctic territory.

If you're interested in reading more about stamps and sovereignty, Corine has also published a book where she covers the subject in greater depth: Wood-Donnelly, Corine. (2018) Performing Arctic Sovereignty: Policy & Visual Narratives.

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Walking on Thin Ice: Co-operation in the face of a changing climate

Opens 30th November 2019

Experience the vision of twelve teenagers selected from around the UK to work directly with polar researchers. 'Walking on Thin Ice: Co-operation in the face of a changing climate' is a co-curated exhibition about climate change as they see it.

Drop in for free, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm, and Sunday 12-4pm.

Protective Harbour - print by Pudlo Pudlat

TIKIĠAQ | POINT HOPE - life on Alaska's North Slope

1 May 2019 - 30 November 2019

This exhibition explores the long history of Point Hope, believed to be the longest continuously occupied settlement in North America, with over 2,500 years of recorded history.

Protective Harbour - print by Pudlo Pudlat

Polar Encounters

18 September 2018 - 13 April 2019

Polar Encounters features 200 years of Arctic art by Inuit artists and European travellers to the far north, showing different interpretations of life at home, at camp and at sea.

Exhibition Curator, Charlotte Connelly says, "For the communities who have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years, the polar regions are homely, while for European explorers first encounters with the far north felt bleak and difficult. These different perspectives are revealed through the art on display, which spans 200 years and artists from a range of backgrounds."

winter camp scene by Pitseolak Ashoona 1969

Painting of ship trapped in ice, by Edward Adams

Polar Encounters: 200 years of contemporary and historical polar art

30 July - 17 August

Bonhams, New Bond Street, London - FREE ENTRY

"You can't comprehend the sheer scale of the icebergs and blue bergs out there"

- Nicholas Romeril, 2017-18 Friends of SPRI Antarctic Artist in Residence.

On 30 July, an exhibition showcasing artists' responses to some of the most extreme places on Earth will open to the public. Polar Encounters, hosted by Bonhams, will feature contemporary art from the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute's Artist in Residence programme. Alongside these modern interpretations, 200 years of Arctic art by Inuit artists and European travellers to the far north will be displayed, showing different interpretations of life at home, at camp and at sea.

Exhibition Curator, Charlotte Connelly says, "For the communities who have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years, the polar regions are homely, while for European explorers first encounters with the far north felt bleak and difficult. These different perspectives are revealed through the art on display, which spans 200 years and artists from a range of backgrounds."

Image of mapscapes by Jane Rushton

Arctic Dialogue(s): Conversations between Art & Science' by Jane Rushton

Wednesday 25 April – Saturday 1 September

An exhibition of art by Jane Rushton, inspired by the Arctic, and informed by science.

Recently Jane Rushton's focus has been on remote Northern areas including the Arctic, where she has undertaken extended field trips, sometimes with scientists. The Arctic environment is emblematic in terms of current concerns with climate change, and it provides the focus of much scientific work that tries to understand the processes at play, and their significance. Her work reflects her interest in drawing on the knowledge and methodologies of science as a means of expanding her approach to material investigations, with the ultimate aim of making visually poetic work that provokes a different type of engagement: of seeing, valuing, knowing and understanding.

Frozen Worlds

Uummannaq

A century of exploration in Greenland
Wednesday 27 September – Saturday 31 March 2018

This exhibition shows photographs taken on an expedition of Swiss explorer and meteorologist Alfred de Quervain to the Uummannaq fjord and ice cap in Greenland. The photographs are partnered with images and instruments from this year's expedition to Uummannaq by researchers from the Scott Polar Research Institute. Our researchers are still active in the region, thanks to the ongoing support of the local community, and continue to study the glaciers that surround Uummannaq.

Frozen Worlds

The Year That Made Antarctica

People, politics & the International Geophysical Year
Wednesday 26 April – Saturday 9 September 2017

Over dinner in the spring of 1950 a party of scientists produced an ambitious proposal for a global year of science: the International Geophysical Year was born. With a heavy emphasis on Antarctica, thousands of people from dozens of countries came together to learn about our planet. Among many other achievements, the year laid the foundations for the Antarctic Treaty which has preserved the continent for science and peaceful activity for almost sixty years.

Frozen Worlds

Frozen Worlds: Hands-on Exhibition for Families

with The Cambridge Science Centre

Wednesday 5 April – Monday 17 April

Join The Cambridge Science Centre on location as they bring the wonders of Space to The Polar Museum! Explore the Frozen Worlds of our Solar System with this collaborative hands-on exhibition for the whole family to enjoy this Easter holiday!

Operation Deep Freeze - smashing through the ice

Dick Laws: Antarctic Scientist and Artist, A retrospective

1 March 2017 - 25 March 2017

Dick Laws (1926-2014) was the leading marine mammal scientist of his generation, working in the Antarctic to develop new techniques and approaches to population studies of seals and whales. After pioneering similar approaches with large mammals in Africa he returned to the UK as Head of Life Sciences, then Director, of the British Antarctic Survey. As well as his scientific credentials, Dick Laws was also a very fine self-taught artist. This exhibition seeks to illustrate the progressive development of his art and its two main applications, first in providing technical illustrations for his scientific publications, and second as a recreational hobby.

Operation Deep Freeze - smashing through the ice

Ice Bound: Impressions of the Far South

18 January 2017 - 23 February 2017

Darren Rees was the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute Antarctic Artist in Residence for 2014/15. From February 26th to March 30th 2015 he travelled with the Royal Navy on HMS Protector from the Falkland Islands to the Antarctic Peninsula, with visits to Port Lockroy, Horseshoe, Rothera, Stonington, and Deception Islands. His exhibition and book, Ice Bound, documents his journey in the far south with a collection of over 150 sketches, watercolour and acrylic paintings executed in situ.

Operation Deep Freeze - smashing through the ice

Operation Deep Freeze

20 September 2016 - 16 December 2016

With the Cold War rumbling in the background, America set out to build Antarctica's most ambitious bases for science. Through artwork and photography, this exhibition explores the perilous journey south undertaken by 1,800 men with 9,000 tons of supplies, and their race against time to get the bases built before the harsh Antarctic winter set in.

Emma Stibbon, 'Night Bergs' 197 x 152.8cms (watercolour, graphite and aluminium powder)

By Endurance We Conquer: Shackleton and his Men

22 September 2015 - 3 September 2016

Shackleton and his men survived one of the worst disasters in Antarctic history: their ship was crushed and sank, and the outside world was unaware of their predicament or location. This major centenary exhibition will commemorate all the men that sailed with Shackleton aboard the Endurance. The exhibition will also honour the Ross Sea Party, three of whom lost their lives, that laid the supply depots for the planned crossing of the Antarctic continent.

Ponting's photograph - Beautiful Broken Ice

Visions of the Great White South

2 August - 19 August

Bonhams, New Bond Street, London - FREE ENTRY

"Uncle Bill handed me a parcel which contained all his sketches. He asked me to take charge of it, and deliver it to his wife, telling me it was his earnest hope that we might have a joint exhibition of our work – his sketches and my photographs"

Herbert Ponting, Camera Artist on the Terra Nova expedition

In August 2016 "Visions of the Great White South", an exhibition to be held at Bonhams will reunite the iconic photography of Herbert Ponting with the evocative watercolours of Edward Wilson over a century after the two men first dreamt up their plan for a joint exhibition. The British Antarctic Expedition, better known by the name of its ship the Terra Nova, took place from 1910-1913. Captain Robert Falcon Scott appointed Dr Edward Wilson, a close friend and a fine watercolourist, as his chief scientist. He also invited camera artist Herbert Ponting to join the expedition as official photographer, in a bold move in an era when high quality photography required great skill and careful attention in ordinary circumstances, let alone in the extreme environment of the Antarctic. Both Wilson and Ponting captured expedition life as well as keeping a visual record of scientific phenomena that the crew were studying.

Alongside the historic artworks, visitors will have the opportunity to see contemporary interpretations of the 'great white south'. For several years the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute, with the support of Bonhams and the Royal Navy, have run an artist in residence scheme which sends an artist to the Antarctic on board the icebreaker HMS Protector.

Emma Stibbon, 'Night Bergs' 197 x 152.8cms (watercolour, graphite and aluminium powder)

'Ice Limit' - an exhibition of drawings and prints by Emma Stibbon, RA

11 June - 5 September 2015

Presented alongside the historic collections at the Polar Museum, Emma Stibbon's work responds to her recent fieldwork in Svalbard in the High Arctic and on the Antarctic Peninsula, as the Friends of SPRI Antarctic Artist in Residence courtesy of the Royal Navy.

Shackleton

Shackleton: Life and Leadership

To mark the centenary of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic (Endurance) Expedition, 1914–17, The Polar Museum has unveiled a redesigned and expanded display in its permanent galleries covering Shackleton's life and career.

The re-worked displays explore the life of the young merchant sailor who went on to achieve fame as one of the great Antarctic explorers. He was knighted, received the Polar Medal with three clasps and the Royal Geographical Society's special Gold Medal. Thirteen other nations honoured him with a total of 27 awards. The exhibition examines his leadership in braving the extreme challenges of the Antarctic.

Portrait of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Copyright Nigel Cox

Portrait of Sir Ranulph Fiennes

27 January - 28 February 2015

This almost life sized portrait of Antarctic explorer, Ranulph Fiennes will be on display in January 2015 along with a number of other objects from his Transglobe Expedition, 1979-82.

The figurative artist, Nigel Cox, was ship's Radio Officer on the 'Benjamin Bowring' during the Transglobe Expedition. This is the only official portrait of Fiennes yet produced.

2014
Detail, image by Gareth Rees

The Polar Muse

24 September 2014- 28 February 2015

The Polar Muse is a collaboration between The Polar Museum, PN Review and eight of Cambridge's most exciting and innovative poets. The poets have been commissioned to select an object from the collection as inspiration for a new poem, and given access to the full breadth of the Scott Polar Research Institute's library and archive resources to conduct research. From 24 September, their poems will be presented on the glass of the display cases, in front of the object about which they are written, as an added layer of curation and interpretation. The Polar Muse seeks to harness the power of poetry to do what conventional museum interpretation can't do: to engage with objects imaginatively, going beyond the handful of facts you can fit on a musuem label.

Read a review of the exhibition by Dr Catherine Morris.

The project is funded by Arts Council England. ACE logo

Thinking of Flying

The Thing Is...

24 September - 20 December 2014

This exhibition explored the many ways in which we consider and care for museum objects, how and why objects gain meaning and why we collect them and their accompanying stories.

Pairing an object from each of the University of Cambridge Museums and the Botanic Gardens with an object taken from the reserve collections at the Polar Museum, The Thing Is … used innovative touch screen technology to explore the relationships between each pair and invites the public to contribute to the curatorial process. The dialogue between the objects highlighted the often surprising correspondences between things and audiences.

Visitors were able to choose between video, audio and text descriptions to find out about the objects, their histories and connections, and the ways in which we care for them.

Wicker Bal

Sawdust & Threads - Caroline Wright

28 October - 5 November

Come and meet Caroline Wright as she begins to deconstruct and draw objects that have been de-accessioned by The Polar Museum.

From 28 October to 5 November, artist Caroline Wright will be resident at The Polar Museum deconstructing and drawing objects that have been de-accessioned by The Polar Museum.

Visitors are welcome to contribute by watching, commenting and participating in the process of recording the deconstruction.

Wheel in snow

Reinventing the Wheel: Bicycles in the Polar Regions

1 July – 6 September

This exhibition celebrates the arrival of Le Tour de France in Cambridge with a look at the surprising history of bicycles in the Arctic and Antarctic. The display will explore the role bicycles and bicycle wheels have played in the exploration of the Poles, both as indispensable tools and as items of fun.

red ship

Delivery by design: Stamps in Antarctica

12 June - 6 September

Antarctic stamps are more than payment for postage, historic items or artwork to be collected; they are statements that an area is claimed by a nation as part of its territory. These stamps highlight Antarctic flora and fauna, and commemorate many of the British expeditions that have undertaken Antarctic exploration and science. This exhibition explores the history of stamps from the British Antarctic Territory, drawing from the Scott Polar Research Institute's archives and highlights the recent gift of stamps, printing proofs and original artworks made by Crown Agents to the Scott Polar Research Institute with the kind assistance of the Polar Regions Unit, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Portrait of Charles Royds

Lt Charles Royds and his Sporting Medal

13 May - 21 July

The Polar Museum is delighted to display a Sporting Medal and tally from the British National Antarctic (Discovery) Expedition, 1901–04, led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, kindly lent to us by Lucy Care.

Charles William Rawson Royds volunteered as first lieutenant on board Discovery. He was a meteorologist, and took part in the sledging programme, leading a sledging journey of exploration across the Ross Ice Shelf. Cape Royds on Ross Island was named for him.

When he returned from the expedition, the sporting medal and tally were given to Marguerite Makowski by Charles Royds during their courtship. Marguerite and Charles already knew each other, and first met when Royds was tutoring her brothers in maths. The story told by Marguerite in later life wass that the Royds family did not approve of their relationship and their engagement was subsequently broken off. Marguerite kept the love tokens and passed them down to her grandchildren who have kindly loaned them for this exhibition.

The medal and tally will be featured in a forthcoming edition of the BBC's Antiques Roadshow.

Sea monster Ziphius eating a seal (courtesy www.laphamsquarterly.org)

Sea Monsters to Sonar: Charting the Polar Oceans

Wednesday 5 March - Saturday 31 May 2014

This exhibition traces the development and use of maps of the Polar oceans and coastlines. Hydrography, the mapping of the seafloor and coast, has been an essential aspect of humanity's engagement with these hostile and frequently contested regions during times of exploration, speculation, science and the pursuit of economic resources. Maps are crucial tools for survival. For this exhibition the gallery space will be transformed into a trail of discovery revealing imagined and established trade routes, and journeys made for scientific discovery. Objects of significant interest on display include replica Greenlandic driftwood maps, a life-size submarine control room, hand drawn charts produced at the cost of many lives, electronic charts in the modern era and an original 16th century atlas depicting fictional Arctic islands.
Portrait of Cherry Garrard by Herbert Ponting (SPRI P2005/5/814)

The Cherry-Garrard letters

8 January - 17 May 2014


This collection of letters by Apsley Cherry-Garrard is on temporary loan to The Polar Museum. Written to his mother during the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910–13, the letters cover the voyage south, life in the Antarctic, the tragic end of the Polar Party and the expedition's return to New Zealand.

This collection was lent by The Richard C Dehmel Trust.

2013

Image of Girl in Traditional Dress, Magadan

Magadan: Life in the Russian North


Friday 6 December 2013 - Saturday 15 February 2014


Exploring the stories, culture and history of the Russian North, this exhibition looks at the City of Magadan from its communist past to its vibrant present. Combining images from two outstanding Russian photographers, Pavel Zhdanov and Andrey Osipov, and artefacts collected by Professor Lawrence H. Khlinovski Rockhill and Dr Elena Khlinovskaya Rockhill, the exhibition will intrigue and inform, revealing features of the region and its people through emotive photographs and evocative objects.

Dr Simpson at the telephone and Sidereal Clock. July 14th 1911 (Photo: Herbert Ponting) SPRI P2005/5/459

Captain Scott's Field Telephone

26 November - 7 December 2013

Captain Scott's field telephone, used during the British Antarctic Expedition (1910–13).

Chris Drury Image

Landscapes of Exploration
Art from the British Antarctic Survey Artists and Writers Programme 2001 - 2009

Thursday 3 October - Saturday 16 November at The Polar Museum
Thursday 3 October - Thursday 24 October at the Ruskin Gallery, Anglia Ruskin University

Landscapes of Exploration is a joint exhibition presented by The Polar Museum and the Ruskin Gallery. The forbidding environment of Antarctica is examined through the work of ten contemporary visual artists and one musician who undertook residencies in the Antarctic between 2001 and 2009 as part of the British Antarctic Survey's Artists and Writers in Residence Scheme, supported by Arts Council England.

Curated by Liz Wells, Professor in Photographic Culture at Plymouth University, and first shown at Peninsula Arts, Plymouth, in 2012, these works are to be exhibited together in Cambridge, home of the British Antarctic Survey and the Scott Polar Research Institute.

Landscapes of Exploration foregrounds the role of contemporary art in examining Antarctica. It brings together the work which resulted from their various investigations, offering an opportunity to reflect upon the very different subject matter, media and artistic responses evident in the range of work produced.

Benjamin Leigh Smith

Benjamin Leigh Smith 1828 - 1913

27 - 28 September 2013

Benjamin Leigh Smith was one of the most successful private Arctic explorers of the Victorian Age. After travelling extensively in his youth and receiving the Board of Trade Licence to command his own ships, Smith sailed the arctic waters from 1871 to 1882 undertaking scientific research including valuable oceanographic work on the Gulf Stream and mapping areas of Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land.

This exhibition commemorates Leigh Smith's centenary and brings together documents and mementos from the family, with items from the Scott Polar Research Institute's collections.

Sharing the hunt by Helen Kalvak, Ulukhaktok, 1985 (Y: 2010/10/46)

Life on the Land

3 September - 24 September 2013

Back by popular demand! An exhibition of Inuit art works featuring domestic and hunting scenes which capture a vanishing way of life and reveal the daily struggle to survive. In a culture where keen observation of wildlife was essential to survival, the artists depict the animals and birds which sustain the community, skilfully capturing their form and personality.

compass

The Snow Queen Retold

Friday 16 August - Saturday 31 August 2013

Inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen's story, The Snow Queen Retold is a collaboration between SPRI Invited Poet Kaddy Benyon and Textile Artist Lindsey Holmes. Benyon's poetry re-imagines the narrative journey to the North Pole in this classic tale; Holmes' art installation has been created as a textile response to these written works. More information is featured in our short post.

Paul Coldwell

Re-Imagining Scott: Objects and Journeys

Friday 31 May - Saturday 20 July 2013

Re-Imagining Scott: Objects and Journeys is a new exhibition of work by artist Paul Coldwell, exploring Scott's final expedition and how it might be possible to re-imagine aspects of the tragic final journey through the objects left behind.

Frozen Worlds

Frozen Worlds

27 February 2013 - 18 May 2013

"After all, to go into outer space is not so much worse, if at all, than a polar expedition. Men go on polar expeditions." H.G. Wells 'The First Men in the Moon', 1901.

The Polar Museum premiers Frozen Worlds, an exhibition that explores the links between polar exploration and science on Earth, and the exploration of other ice worlds in our Solar System.

Find out about how scientists investigate life in the polar extremes to understand what life may be present within Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, or Mars. Learn about experiments in Antarctica to test space suits for use on other planets, and how human adaptation to the extreme conditions at the Poles are an analogue to the challenges faced by astronauts.

Join us to explore some of the most inhospitable places in the universe.

2012

Captain Scott with sledge by Herbert Ponting (SPRI ref P2009/5/369)

Robert Falcon Scott: A Century On

17 October 2012 - 2 February 2013

Exploring the impact of Captain Scott's achievements - Antarctic science and exploration, a century of art and literature and the wider cultural legacy of his expeditions.

Tent - Jacqui Chanarin

Jacqui Chanarin: An Expedition in Porcelain

21 August - 20 October 2012

Ice Floes, Halley Bay, Antarctica by David Smith (SPRI ref Y: 79/1/2)

Reflections on ice: David Smith in Antarctica

8 August - 6 October 2012

A retrospective of work from SPRI's art collections and from the British Antarctic Survey

Dafila Scott: Four gentoo penguins, Port Lockroy (pastel)

The edge of beyond: Dafila Scott's Antarctic paintings

The Friends of SPRI Artist in Residence on board HMS SCOTT in 2011, Dafila's work conveys her response to the landscape and wildlife of the Antarctic.

Contact Dafila Scott for details of paintings for sale.

15 May - 30 June 2012

P2005/5/1686 At the South Pole (Photo: H.R. Bowers)

These rough notes: Captain Scott's last expedition

Manuscripts and photographs from the British Antarctic (Terra Nova) Expedition 1910-13

BAT crest

7 December 2011 - 5 May 2012

Exhibition kindly sponsored by the Government of the British Antarctic Territory

2011

Roald Amundsen, image courtesy of the Norwegian National Library

Roald Amundsen

An exhibition on the life of the great Polar explorer
In collaboration with the Fram Museum, Oslo

BAT crest

2 September - 19 November 2011

Sponsored by the Government of the British Antarctic Territory

Edward Whymper

Edward Whymper (1840 - 1911)

A retrospective exhibition to mark the centenary of the pioneering mountaineer and wood engraver
1 September - 31 October 2011

Dolls by Sarah Clearly

Sewing our traditions: dolls of Canada's North

Organized and circulated by the Yukon Arts Centre with the generous support of the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut Governments
18 May - 20 August 2011

HLF logoNunavut logoYukon logoNorthwest Territories logoYukon Arts Centre logo

Drawing of a dog by Colin Bertram

British Graham Land Expedition

Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the 1934-37 expedition to Antarctica
20 January - 29 April 2011

2010

Scientist 1964, Sidney Nolan.

Sidney Nolan: Antarctica

An exhibition organised in collaboration with the Sidney Nolan Trust
(30 September - 18 December 2010)

Dancing owl, Palaya Qiatsuq

Inuit Art: Masterworks from the Arctic

(2 June - 10 September 2010)

Dancing bear, Pauta Saila

Sananguaq: Inuit art in Britain

2 June - 10 September 2010

An exhibition organised by the Polar Museum at Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London, courtesy of the Canadian High Commission.

2009

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Flood Cycle: Visual Impressions of a Changing Planet – artwork by John Kelly

25 February – 4 April 2009

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Nimrod

An exhibition celebrating the centenary of Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-1909

21 October 2008 – 4 April 2009

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John Gale & Sons

An exhibition of oil paintings from Antarctica and the Southern Ocean by Britain's leading bird illustrator, John Gale

14 January – 14 February 2009

2008

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Glacial Shift: Drawn to the Alps - recent drawings and prints by Emma Stibbon

(13 November 2008 – 10 January 2009)

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Chris and Vikky Furse – etchings and paintings from their polar travels

(18 September – 8 November 2008)

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Maybe Tomorrow / Immaqa Aqagu – photography by Tiina Itkonen

(9 September – 8 November 2008)

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South Georgia: A Centenary of Good Government

(17 July – 24 September 2008)

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Face to Face: Polar Portraits

Historic photography from the SPRI collections with modern portraits from leading expedition photographer Martin Hartley

(25 July – 13 September 2008)

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nanoq – photographs by Snæbjörnsdóttir/Wilson

(13 May – 30 August 2008)

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Jörg Schmeisser - etchings from Breaking the Ice: Works from the Antarctic

(30 May - 19 July 2008)

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Melt Down: The Changing Arctic - photography by Louise Murray

(20 March - 17 May 2008)

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First Across: 1955-58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition

(17 January - 26 April 2008)

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Ships & Shoes & Snow Goggles

Polar history inspires paintings and sketches by Vincent Alexander Booth

(12 January - 15 March 2008)

2007

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Art of Exploration: The Polar Vision of Sir Wally Herbert

(25 October - 20 December 2007)

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Antarctica: Ice and Light

An exhibition of paintings by Malize McBride

(10 July - 30 September 2007)

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Keith Shackleton: A Polar Retrospective

(1 May - 30 June 2007)

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SPRI at Bonhams

A selection of items from the Scott Polar Research Institute collections on display alongside the Antarctic paintings of Edward Seago at Bonhams (Gallery 1), 101 New Bond Street, London (27 May - 15 June 2007)

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Survivants des Glaces

An exhibition in partnership with La Corderie Royale, Rochefort, France

(9 December 2006 - 30 June 2007)

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Trine Lotte Krogseth: Svalbard

An exhibition of watercolours by Trine Lotte Krogseth

(15 March - 21 April 2007)

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Scott's Last Letters Home

An exhibition of the moving correspondence of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and members of the Pole Party

(17 January - 14 April 2007)

2006

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Frobisher's Gold

(26 October - 30 November 2006)

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The Autobiography of John Rae (1813-1893)

(23 August 2006 - 30 September 2006)

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Arctic Encounters

The material culture of northern Canada, Greenland and Alaska

(3 May - 16 December 2006)

2005

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The Antarctic Photographs of Herbert Ponting

Exhibition supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (30 September 2005 - 31 March 2006)

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The Life and Work of Professor Frank Debenham

Founder of the Scott Polar Research Institute (21 July 2005 - 21 September 2005)

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Edward Seago: The Antarctic Paintings

(18 May 2005 - 7 July 2005)

2004

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Shackleton: The Hidden Collections

(1 May 2004 - 31 March 2005)