Take a trip down memory lane...

The public are invited to take a trip down memory lane this afternoon and evening, when the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), Swansea hosts an archive exhibition focusing on its Mount Pleasant campus.Everyone is invited to attend the event, which is open between 4pm and 8pm.

The archive exhibition will explore the history of the campus through the University's numerous archive materials. It will show some of the history of the Technical College, the first ten years of West Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education and a brief summary of the Mount Pleasant campus. West Glamorgan Institute became Swansea Institute of Higher Education in 1992 and Swansea Metropolitan University in 2008. In 2012, the University merged with UWTSD.

A call is also being made for any new contributions to the University's archive. Those with items relating to the campus are invited to bring them to the Open Day.

The University's Mount Pleasant campus has a long history dating back to 1890 when the Swansea Education Committee adopted the Technical Instruction Act of 1889. From the start, the Swansea Technical College was very closely associated with the Swansea Grammar School, sharing premises on Mount Pleasant until the school relocated to a new site in Sketty in April 1951.

The Technical College continued to operate at the Mount Pleasant site and, over a number of decades, the campus developed further with new buildings to meet the needs of increasing student numbers. In 1976, Swansea College of Technology (as it was named then) merged with Swansea College of Art and Swansea Education College to form West Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education.

University Archivist Gill Fildes said: "This event is open to everyone. The Archive team would also welcome new contributions to the University collections, so dig out any items you have kept that relate to the Mount Pleasant campus, or the College of Technology, and bring them along with you."

Hollywood Costume

 

During the Christmas vacation I was lucky enough to visit the Hollywood Costume exhibition at London’s V&A museum. The exhibition occupies 3 display halls and houses over 100 of the most iconic costumes from almost a century of cinematic history. The themed halls explore various aspects of costume design and its impact on cinema storytelling. Some of the costumes on show have been painstakingly restored and are on public display for the very first time. There are costumes from the ‘golden age’ of Hollywood such as Dorothy’s blue gingham dress and ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (my personal favourite!), Marilyn Monroe’s infamous white dress from the Seven Year Itch, along with classic costumes from Cleopatra and Gone with the Wind as worn by Elizabeth Taylor and Vivien Leigh. If that doesn’t take your fancy there are also contemporary classics from films such as Superman (it took me a while to spot that one…as it was above our heads!), Twilight, and the Bond movies.

 

 

The exhibition runs from 20^th October 2012 until 27^th January 2013 so there’s still time for you to pay a visit…but if London is too far to travel, I have a solution – get yourself along to the Griffith library at our Dynevor campus because we have a copy of the fantastic exhibition book! You can find it at shelfmark 791.43026/HOL (I enjoyed the exhibition so much I bought the book for myself in the museum gift shop afterwards!).