It is sometimes said that Oldham’s weather allows you to experience all four seasons in one day.
Gallery Oldham’s latest exhibition aims to do exactly the same thing – using our spectacular collections of art, natural history and social history.
The exhibition will take visitors on a journey from Spring through to Winter in a celebration of the rhythms of the year.
From the art collections the selection includes: A Summer Idyll painted by Edward Hornel and Alfred East’s Autumn in the Valley of the Ouse.
Oldham artist Helen Bradley also features with her images and stories of Edwardian Wakes Week holidays in Blackpool and New Brighton.
Specimens from the natural history collections chart the different visitors that each season brings.
These range from the swifts and cuckoos who journey here from Africa each spring, to the migrating geese and swans which arrive in the autumn from their northern breeding grounds.
Other topics such as hibernation and winter camouflage will also feature in the displays.
And finally the social history collections are used to chart the rituals of the year – from banners used in Whit Walks, to a surprising selection of Christmas cards via a collection of summery seaside postcards.
Councillor Jean Stretton, Cabinet Member for Town Centres, Culture and Tourism, said: “Gallery Oldham has such fantastic collections and Season’s Best brings them together in a way that is fun and accessible.”
The exhibition opens on May 23 and will run through until October 3.
