New director of Fairfax House highlights programme of exhibtions and events

3:04pm Friday 26th February 2010

By Charles Hutchinson

HANNAH Phillip’s first calendar of events as the new director of Fairfax House bears testament to York’s motto of “living with history”.

“I’m conscious that I’ve come into an organisation that has a strong history and reputation and it’s not something that you idly throw away or push to one side after 25 years, but you must not be totally bound by it either,” she says.

“We must always keep pushing the boundaries and I must lead the house into the next 25 years, taking what we already have here, such as our superb reputation for food history, and taking it forward in my own way.”

A snapshot of the year ahead reveals Hannah’s programme will indeed allow “visitors of all ages to experience Georgian life in a variety of different ways” at the 18th-century town house in Castlegate. You can look forward to exploring Lord Fairfax’s wine cellar; undertaking an unusual candlelit tour of Fairfax House After Dark; dipping into cinema’s past in the Silver Screen Week; and viewing the first costume exhibition at the house.

“This year we’ve managed to come up with a very good mixture, that certainly takes on board the best of what we’ve always done but also throws into the mix some new things that pick up on ‘living with history’, as we have to look for opportunities for York residents as well as visitors to experience the house in new and different ways.”

The Dress To Impress exhibition is a case in point. Running from June 18 to August 29, it will look at the clothing worn by members of 18th-century polite society and will reveal the exquisite fabrics and extravagant ornamentation used.

“This costume exhibition is something completely new for the house, and it’s something I’ve brought with me from Australia, where I ran the historic flagship mansion Ayers House, holding costume shows there. It’s another way to bring the past to life, showing what it was like to be living here at Fairfax House in the 18th century,” says Hannah.

“I’m putting that exhibition together myself, with loans from York Museums Trust, Leeds Museums and Galleries and Bankfield Museum, and we’re now exploring a number of further options as well.

“By seeking these loans, not only are we bringing new historic material into York, but we’re also exhibiting items that would not otherwise feature in an exhibition here.”

The exhibition programme is underway already with The Flowing Bowl (February 13 to May 30), whose focus on paintings and decorative objects incorporates early punch bowls and silver tankards made in York and English glass in the John Butler collection.

As with the costume show, the third exhibition of the year will be a new departure too.

“We’re going contemporary,” says Hannah, introducing the September 10 to December 31 run of Reflections: Fairfax House Through The Eyes Of Contemporary Artists.

“We’re approaching specific nationally renowned artists, with the help of Ann Petherick at Kentmere House Gallery, for a selling exhibition of new works inspired by the interior and exterior of the house.

“It could be an architectural detail, a piece of furniture or a view from the window; we’re hoping for a really diverse mix from the 12 artists involved.”