10+ hour ago (625+ words) A man who crafted a replica Viking shield in his garden shed before donating it to a museum on the Isle of Man said the process was a "labour of love". Chris Clayton, who lives in Rotherham and works as an outdoor activity instructor in Nottingham, has a keen interest in Viking history and goes into schools to teach children about the time period. A regular visitor to the island, he took his inspiration for the replica from a shield found in a Viking burial site in Ballateare, in Jurby, in the 1940s. The piece of armour, which had been put on display at the House of Manannan in Peel, was made using historically accurate materials and techniques and took eight weeks to complete. Helping to fuel his interest in the Viking era, Chris said he would visit the museums whilst…...

2+ day, 21+ hour ago (411+ words) The winning design for a planned statue of Nelson Mandela in Glasgow has been announced. Sculptor Alan B Herriot has been selected to create the statue which will stand in the city's Nelson Mandela Place. Glasgow was the first city in the world to award its freedom to Mandela in 1981, at a time when he was still in prison in South Africa. The leader of the country's anti-apartheid struggle later visited Glasgow in 1993 - three years after he was released from jail. The Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation (NMSMF) has set a target date for the unveiling of the completed statue of 9 October next year. Herriot was chosen following a competition which led to five artists being shortlisted to produce a maquette, or model, for the statue. He said he felt "honoured and privileged to have have been entrusted with the…...

3+ day, 10+ hour ago (411+ words) The winning design for a planned statue of Nelson Mandela in Glasgow has been announced. Sculptor Alan B Herriot has been selected to create the statue which will stand in the city's Nelson Mandela Place. Glasgow was the first city in the world to award its freedom to Mandela in 1981, at a time when he was still in prison in South Africa. The leader of the country's anti-apartheid struggle later visited Glasgow in 1993 - three years after he was released from jail. The Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation (NMSMF) has set a target date for the unveiling of the completed statue of 9 October next year. Herriot was chosen following a competition which led to five artists being shortlisted to produce a maquette, or model, for the statue. He said he felt "honoured and privileged to have have been entrusted with the…...

6+ day, 11+ hour ago (331+ words) An architect has been selected to design a memorial on the site of the Grenfell Tower. The west London building - where a deadly fire broke out in June 2017, claiming the lives of 72 people - is currently being brought down floor-by-floor. The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission (GTMC) and Royal Institute of British Architects have chosen Freehaus from a shortlist of five firms. More than 25 applications were submitted to design the memorial. A spokesperson for the commission said the decision brought them closer to having a "bold, fitting, and lasting memorial to our 72 loved ones, and to our Grenfell community, whose lives were forever-changed by the devastating tragedy". A final design is expected to be announced in mid-2027, while the process of dismantling the tower is expected to take two years. GTMC's community representatives added: "We feel confident that the right team has been…...

1+ week, 18+ min ago (331+ words) An architect has been selected to design a memorial on the site of the Grenfell Tower. The west London building - where a deadly fire broke out in June 2017, claiming the lives of 72 people - is currently being brought down floor-by-floor. The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission (GTMC) and Royal Institute of British Architects have chosen Freehaus from a shortlist of five firms. More than 25 applications were submitted to design the memorial. A spokesperson for the commission said the decision brought them closer to having a "bold, fitting, and lasting memorial to our 72 loved ones, and to our Grenfell community, whose lives were forever-changed by the devastating tragedy". A final design is expected to be announced in mid-2027, while the process of dismantling the tower is expected to take two years. GTMC's community representatives added: "We feel confident that the right team has been…...

1+ week, 15+ hour ago (940+ words) It was at a landmark architecture exhibition in Paris in 1925 that the Art Deco aesthetic first exploded on the scene. In the 100 years since, the glamorous building style - evocative of neon-lit jazz bars and the golden age of big motion pictures - rapidly spread around the world. It moved from the famous pastel hotel facades of Miami's South Beach to the sprawling necklace of mansion apartments along Mumbai's Marine Drive seafront. Art Deco's distinct motifs - typified by geometrical ziggurats (step towers), sweeping curves, sunburst designs, nautical elements and circular or turreted rooftops - symbolised an unequivocal break from the past, celebrating the dawn of a new, unabashed, post-war 20th Century modern age. In a short time, the style transcended architecture to influence the design sensibility of home interiors, furniture, fonts, jewellery and some of the world's most iconic cinema halls - from Radio City…...

1+ week, 15+ hour ago (923+ words) It was at a landmark architecture exhibition in Paris in 1925 that the Art Deco aesthetic first exploded on the scene. In the 100 years since, the glamorous building style - evocative of neon-lit jazz bars and the golden age of big motion pictures - rapidly spread around the world. It moved from the famous pastel hotel facades of Miami's South Beach to the sprawling necklace of mansion apartments along Mumbai's Marine Drive seafront. Art Deco's distinct motifs - typified by geometrical ziggurats (step towers), sweeping curves, sunburst designs, nautical elements and circular or turreted rooftops - symbolised an unequivocal break from the past, celebrating the dawn of a new, unabashed, post-war 20th Century modern age. In a short time, the style transcended architecture to influence the design sensibility of home interiors, furniture, fonts, jewellery and some of the world's most iconic cinema halls - from Radio City…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (602+ words) Some of the first graphic art posters displayed on the London Underground in the 1920s and 1930s have gone on show. The posters were created in distinctive Art Deco style at the peak of the design movement and were put up at Tube stations a century ago to encourage people to travel on the network to explore the city. The artworks typically feature London landmarks and depict aspirational scenes of high living and glamorous pastimes that the era is famed for. London Transport Museum, which is holding the exhibition of the posters, said they had become part of London Transport's world-famous visual identity. The Art Deco: The Golden Age of Poster Design exhibition in the Global Poster Gallery features more than 100 posters that were used on the network during this era. About a third of these have never been displayed in public,…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (529+ words) Some of the first graphic art posters displayed on the London Underground in the 1920s and 1930s have gone on show. The posters were created in distinctive Art Deco style at the peak of the design movement and were put up at Tube stations a century ago to encourage people to travel on the network to explore the city. The artworks typically feature London landmarks and depict aspirational scenes of high living and glamorous pastimes that the era is famed for. London Transport Museum, which is holding the exhibition of the posters, said they had become part of London Transport's world-famous visual identity. The Art Deco: The Golden Age of Poster Design exhibition in the Global Poster Gallery features more than 100 posters that were used on the network during this era. About a third of these have never been displayed in public,…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (603+ words) Some of the first graphic art posters displayed on the London Underground in the 1920s and 1930s have gone on show. The posters were created in distinctive Art Deco style at the peak of the design movement and were put up at Tube stations a century ago to encourage people to travel on the network to explore the city. The artworks typically feature London landmarks and depict aspirational scenes of high living and glamourous pastimes that the era is famed for. London Transport Museum, which is holding the exhibition of the posters, said they had become part of London Transport's world-famous visual identity. The Art Deco: The Golden Age of Poster Design exhibition in the Global Poster Gallery features more than 100 posters that were used on the network during this era. About a third of these have never been displayed in public,…...