Ryedale Folk Museum is Making A Meal Of It in historic food production exhibition

Posting eggs allowed limited resources to be shared: one of the exhibits at Ryedale Folk Museum

RYEDALE Folk Museum is sharing the ingenuity and toil behind historic food production in the Making A Meal Of It exhibition until November 30.

From field to table, the story of food is one of resilience, ingenuity, and sheer hard work. This is the story behind Ryedale Folk Museum’s latest exhibition, ‘Making a Meal of It’, on display this season until Sunday 30 November.

Museum director Jennifer Smith says: “The exhibition really highlights the incredible resourcefulness of the people of the past. Food production was no easy task. From farmers and bakers to brewers and beekeepers, people relied on skill, knowledge and hard graft to put food on the table.”

From field to table, the story of food is one of resilience, as shown in the exhibition of  compelling Yorkshire stories, set against a national and, at times, global context of historic and contemporary food production.

The importance of Ryedale as a centre of food production has long been recognised. “Local food not only nourished the farmers and labourers of Ryedale but also found its way to the manufacturing hubs of the West Riding and beyond,” says Jennifer. “Food produced in North Yorkshire travelled by cart, barge and railway to feed people across the country and overseas.”

Making Bread, from the Making A Meal Of it exhibition at Ryedale Folk Museum

Making A Meal Of It delves into the lives of those who grafted to produce, preserve and prepare food across a range of historic periods. Jennifer explains: “The exhibition brings these stories to life, revealing not just what people ate, but how much effort went into every loaf of bread, every slice of ham, or even a spoonful of honey. These food items were so precious to the people of the past. It feels like a bit of a cliché to say it, but nothing was wasted.

“In the exhibition, we’ve really tried to get to the heart of why that was, and what life was like as ordinary people were buffeted by forces beyond their control – be that policy making and politics, or even the whims of the weather, all affecting how they were able to feed their families.”

The exhibition also reflects on how food production has evolved to meet the demands of an ever-growing global population. While modern technology and farming techniques have vastly increased food output, the challenges of sustainability and climate change, and the impact of mass production on food quality, remain pressing concerns for many.

“There are some interesting parallels and key differences between the past and present,” says Jennifer. “We often take food for granted today, but in the past it was a precious commodity, even a matter of life and death. We hope this exhibition may perhaps spark some ideas to help us make better use of our food supplies today.”

Entry to Making A Meal Of It is included in admission to the museum. Ryedale Folk Museum is open Saturday to Thursday (closed on Fridays).

Rural life author Sally Coulthard appointed patron at Ryedale Folk Museum

Author Sally Coulthard

AUTHOR, columnist and rural life enthusiast Sally Coulthard is the newest patron of Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole.

Sally has been a long-time supporter of the open-air museum, dedicated to sharing the rural life of the region, bringing a deeply held passion for the countryside and the stories it holds.

Museum director Jennifer Smith says: “We couldn’t be more thrilled! Sally’s writing is always so full of warmth and respect for rural life, qualities that we’re always striving to bring to the museum.

“We know Sally’s emboldened involvement with our work will be invaluable over the coming years – and we’re delighted to welcome her into this role.”

Working from her smallholding in Ryedale, Sally is respected for her wide range of meticulously researched and evocatively written non-fiction works.

She often explores vernacular life or the natural world – social history, anthropology, archaeology, design and nature writing – in such books as A Short History Of The World According To Sheep, The Barn and A Brief History Of The Countryside In 100 Objects.

Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole. Picture: Angela Waites

As a regular columnist, Sally’s range of countryside themes frequently have points of overlap with those explored at the museum, particularly the relationship between people and the land, seasons and rhythms of life.

Sally says: “Ryedale Folk Museum is a place very close to my heart. I’m absolutely delighted to become their newest patron. The museum celebrates the stories, skills and heritage that inspire so much of my writing.

“My books often delve into the traditions of rural life – from artisans to agriculture – the people, plants and creatures who make the countryside tick. There’s a really lovely alignment of my own interests with the values and ethos of Ryedale Folk Museum and I can’t wait to work with the team more closely.”

Jennifer adds: “Sally’s passion for historical insight and countryside stories makes her the perfect ambassador for Ryedale Folk Museum. We know that Sally’s support will help raise awareness of the ways we’re constantly working to preserve and share the rural heritage of the region.”

Ryedale Folk Museum is an independent charity that showcases its collection across 20 heritage buildings. Set in six acres of the North York Moors National Park, visitors can explore everything from an Iron Age roundhouse to a 1950s’ village store. The museum is dog friendly and welcomes picnickers.

42 artists and makers take part in Ryedale Open Studios over next two weekends

Ryedale Open Studios founders and directors Kirsty Kirk, left, Layla Khoo and Petra Young. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

ARTISTS across Ryedale are preparing to open their studios to the public on Saturday and Sunday and the following weekend from 10am to 5pm each day.

In the wake of last summer’s first ever Ryedale Open Studios, the sequel will give visitors the chance to explore the variety of creative talents and skills in the district, ranging from painting, printing, drawing and photography to ceramics, textiles, metalwork and willow weaving.

More than 40 artists will be participating in an event organised by Vault Arts Centre, a Community Interest Company founded to develop arts activities and events in the Ryedale area, with financial support from Ryedale District Council.

Ceramicist Iona Stock. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Its founders and directors are Layla Khoo, Kirsty Kirk and Petra Young. Ceramicist Layla will be taking part in the open weekends; former South London primary school art teacher Kirsty co-founded and ran makers’ markets in East London and now runs a holiday cottage complex near Pickering; Petra is Forestry England’s funding and development manager.

She was instrumental in developing the arts strategy for Dalby Forest, near Pickering, in 2017 and has been working on establishing Dalby as a destination for high-quality arts activities ever since.

Phillip Spurr, director of place and resources for Ryedale District Council, says: “Arts and culture in Ryedale is key to our identity. It nourishes the roots of our communities and helps make the district what it is. I’d encourage residents and visitors alike to attend the Open Studios event to support our arts and culture industry.”

Silversmith and jewellery designer Jen Ricketts. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

To find out more about all 42 artists, head to ryedaleopenstudios.com, where a printable map and handbook can be downloaded.

Taking part will be: Aeva Denham, mixed media; Alex Jones, wildlife oil paintings; Alice O’Neill, papercut and collage; Amanda Pickles, mixed media; Angela Cole, basket designs in willow; Anna Matyus, printmaking; Caleb Matyus, decorative blacksmith works; Carol Messham, garden watercolours and polymer clay pictures, jewellery and mobiles.

Charlotte Elizabeth Lane, large-scale sky and ocean paintings; Charlotte Salt, ceramics and still-life drawings; Christine Hughes, textiles and home interiors; Colin Culley, paintings of natural world; Eleanor Walker, textiles and weaving; Environmental Art, blacksmith sculpture and abstract textiles; Evanna Denham, pencil pieces full of meaning.

Hannah Turlington, mixed media, printmaking and textiles; Harry Oyston, drawings; Heather Niven, painting and ceramic sculpture; Helen Milen, Studio Milena textiles; Iona Stock, functional and sculptural ceramics; Ione Harrison, watercolour and gouache paintings; Janet Poole, plein-air paintings in oil, watercolour and pastel.

Painter and printmaker Meg Ricketts. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Jayne Hutchinson Raine, drawings, paintings and linocuts; Jen Ricketts, silversmithing and jewellery; Jo Naden, sculptures of myth, legend and culture; Kitty Bellamy, oil paintings and charcoal drawings of animals and people; Layla Khoo, ceramics; Meg Ricketts, collagraph prints, dry-point etchings and lino prints; Millie McCallum, paintings, collages and linocuts; Pamela Thorby, ceramics informed by Ryedale’s beauty.

Patrick Smith, painting and printmaking; Pauline Brown, paintings and drawings of Farndale; Philip Barraclough, art pencil works and watercolours; Rachel Rimell, photography on themes of identity and transition; Robert Broughton, fine art photography inspired by natural world; Ros Walker, functional and sculptural ceramics, jewellery and mixed-media paintings.

Ruth Kneeshaw, needlefelt landscapes and animal sculptures; Sally Tozer, ceramic sculptures; Sarah Cawthray, ceramics celebrating individuality; Susan Walsh, eco-printed textiles and paper; Suzie Devey, printmaking and automata; Tessa Bunney, rural life photography.

Photographer Tessa Bunney

In addition, all but four of the 42 artists are represented by one or two of their pieces in an accompanying exhibition at Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole until September 5. Only Charlotte Elizabeth Lane, Janet Poole, Jen Ricketts and Millie McCallum are absent.

“This is new for this year’s Open Studios and we’re very pleased to be able to show the fabulous talent of Ryedale in one place,” says Petra Young. “We hope this will bring more visitors to Ryedale Folk Museum, and at the same time we hope this will encourage museum visitors to explore Ryedale further through visits to artists’ homes.”

Admission to the exhibition is free; museum opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Saturday to Thursday; closed on Fridays.

Artists respond to impact of pandemic for In The Open show at Ryedale Folk Museum

Artist Amelia Baron with her thread on calico cotton work Connected at the In The Open exhibition at Ryedale Folk Museum

IN The Open explores the impact of the Covid-19 public health crisis on artists and their creative practice in an open exhibition at Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole, near Kirkbymoorside.

In 2021, in a desire to do something positive to support artists as the lockdown restrictions were lifted, the museum and artist Kane Cunningham came together to look at how artists were affected by the pandemic and how it changed their work.

The project finale is the exhibition of artistic responses to the northern landscape, on show in the art gallery and online via the museum’s website, ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk, until Sunday, November 14. 

Lockdown Feathers, monoprint, by Andrew Dalton

Funded by Arts Council England and selected by a panel featuring curator Jennifer Smith, photographer Joe Cornish, painter Kane Cunningham and ceramic artist Layla Khoo, In the Open assembles paintings, photographs, ceramics and textiles by more than 80 professional, amateur and hobby artists who have turned to the landscape for inspiration. 

Museum director Jennifer Smith says: “We are absolutely delighted by the quality and variety of entries. It is encouraging to witness the broad range of people turning to art to express their feelings about landscape and countryside during the pandemic. It has been my great pleasure to bring these individual perspectives together.” 

Museum staff also invited entrants to submit an accompanying piece of writing, reflecting on the effects of the events of the past 18 months on their artistic practice. 

Message In A Bottle – Yellow Peril III, embroidered fabric and cement, by Nerissa Cargill Thompson

“Many artists have taken the opportunity to discuss the role that their art has played in their lives during this time, supporting them through the lockdowns in a range of really significant ways,” explains Jennifer. 

As well as showcasing art produced during lockdown, a central aim of In The Open was to provide a platform for artists to speak openly and share their experiences. 

“During the selection process, we had a strong sense of the therapeutic aspects of making art, as well as the benefits of spending time out of doors,” says Jennifer.

Rievaulx Abbey, etching and collagraph, by Anna Matyus

“It’s very moving to learn how much both their artwork and the countryside have meant to artists in these times. Some artists have contributed very personal reflections. Taken together, they are poignant, touching and capture a particular moment in time. 

Ryedale Folk Museum is open from 10am to 5pm in September, then 10am to 4pm in October and November. For more information, go to: ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk/art-gallery/

In The Open curator Jennifer Smith, director of Ryedale Folk Museum

The In The Open artists:

Garth Bayley; Sandra Storey; Nerissa Cargill Thompson; Kevin Parker; Adele Froude; Gaby Lees; Jennifer Cottis; Diana Terry; Freya Horsley; Rebekah Staples; Andrew Dalton; Anna Matyus; Rachel Morrell; Margaret Geraghty.

Emma Paragreen; Jane Wilson; Sarah Roberts; Tim Bos; Zara Browne-Gilbert; Debra Snow; Gigi Dyer; Jill Setterington; Susan Noble; Annie Louvaine; Diane Eagles; Heather Burton; Rebecca Hughes; Jane Walker.

A Moment On The Road, oil and acrylic on canvas, by Louise Ventris

Ernest Newton; David Hope; Louise Ventris; Katy Doncaster; Sue Slack; Jane Taylor; Tessa Bunney; Sarah Connell; Nick Walters; Iona Stock; Catherine Hill; Peter Hicks; Kirsty Davis; Francesca Simon; Janine Baldwin; Alice O’Neill.

Chris Carbro; Judith Pollock; Colin Culley; Sarah Cawthray; Alex McArthur; Sarah Billany; Angela Summerfield; Louise Gardner; Claire Castle; Marion Atkinson; Sandra Oakins; Teddi Coutts; Lucy Saggers; Christian Bailey.

The In The Open exhibition on display at Ryedale Folk Museum

Natalie McKeown; Stef Mitchell; Ken Clarry; Kimberli Werner; Louise Goult; Alina Savko; Louise Lorimer; Lesley Wood, Christine Heath; June Appleton; Joe Cornish; Joan Currie; Alison Britton; Susan Plover; Rob Moore.

Caroline Clarke Green; Simon Dobbs; Louise Harrison; Jean Stephenson; Simon Thurlow; Kane Cunningham; Lindsey Tyson; Judith Glover; Margaret Robson; Fran Brammer; Sally Lister; Amelia Baron and Wendy Tate.

Sea View From Coastal Path, papercut/collage, by Alice O’Neill