Release Date 02 August 2012

Members of Parliament and of the House of Lords were among those who enjoyed seeing a unique take on ancient Greek art created by local schoolchildren with support from University of Reading students.

The innovative new work was chosen for an Arts in Parliament event at Westminster Hall held last week. The event showcased the ‘Stories of the World' initiative, which aims to get young people working with curators, filmmakers, artists, writers and musicians to explore and reinterpret museum collections, giving a new perspective on the stories that tell us about our place in the world.

In early 2012 University Classics students, the University's Ure Museum and pupils from Maiden Erlegh and Kendrick schools in Reading teamed up to create the ‘Ure-view' project for ‘Stories of the World'. The pupils created stories inspired by still figures on three Ure Museum pots (on loan from Reading Museum), prepared storyboards and worked with an animator to bring the stories to life through a digital production.

The pupils also designed and created giant versions of some of the ancient pots housed in the Ure Museum to act as projection screens for the animation.

One of the three resulting ‘Ure View' animations was shown in Parliament as part of a 45-minute performance. The Ure Museum, which houses around 2,000 ancient Greek and Egyptian objects, was the only southern museum outside of London represented at the event.

Dr Amy Smith, Curator of the Ure Museum, said: "It was a great honour that Ure-view was showcased in the 45-minute performance. Perhaps the most thrilling moment of the afternoon was when the master of ceremonies introduced the Ure animation as the finale to the performance, noting that it was finally time for 'museum objects to speak for themselves'. This is exactly what the young people of Reading had done with these animations. They should be very proud of their efforts."

Stories of the World is the largest youth participation project ever delivered by museums.  It is part of the Cultural Olympiad, led by Arts Council England in partnership with London 2012. Over the past four years 2,000 young people have been working world-class collections and expertise held within more than 80 Great British museums, culminating in a summer of exhibitions across the country.

Arts in Parliament is an innovative and unique programme which brings art, music, dance and poetry into the iconic setting of Westminster Hall in the Olympic year.

Ure -View is on display in the Humanities and Social Science building on the Whiteknights Campus until 31 August 2012. You can also watch the animation here http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/Museums/brightonmuseum/whattosee/WorldStoriesGallery/Regionalprojects/Pages/ure.aspx

The original vases that inspired the students to create Ure View are simultaneously displayed in the lobby of the main library through the end of August, after which they will return to play their part in the permanent display in the Ure Museum itself.

To contact the Ure Museum phone 0118 378 6990 or visit the Ure Museum website

ENDS