Hi everyone,

What a fantastic summer we’ve had – and we’ve really enjoyed welcoming so many people to Museum & Art Swindon during the warmer weather – including in our air conditioned galleries!

Keep reading to discover our latest and forthcoming exhibitions!

We look forward to seeing you soon!

The Museum & Art Swindon Team

Until 3 January 2026

Don’t miss our current exhibition celebrating the life and work of Swindon-born war artist Leslie Cole.

Commissioned by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee, Cole left an important visual record of the Second World War, and is known for his unflinching depictions of wartime devastation. Opened to mark the 80^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Leslie Cole: Recording Conflict explores Cole’s work before, during and after the war. It combines artworks from the Museum & Art Swindon collections and generous loans from the Imperial War Museums and private lenders.

Learn more about the artist and his work by joining one of our curator-led tours, bookable through our What’s On pages. On Friday 19 September and Saturday 1 November, join Katie Ackrill to hear about the wartime commissions of Leslie Cole and his contemporaries. Or learn about the context of Cole’s early training and career in Swindon and Hull, by joining Philip Garrahan on 3 October or 22 November.

Image: Leslie Cole: Self Portrait, 1933, ©Estate of Leslie Cole

Until 18 October 2025

Ignite the spark of your memories of Swindon nights out!

Co-curated as part of our Arts Council England-funded Unlocking Collections project, this exhibition reveals research undertaken by one of our volunteer teams. This exhibition explores 170 years of Swindon’s theatres, dance halls, music venues and cinemas. Our volunteer team has delved into Museum & Art Swindon’s collections and collaborated with Swindon Libraries Local Studies to discover the stories behind going out in Swindon. They’ve investigated theatre, cinema and music venues around the town, discovering famous names performing in Swindon from Laurel and Hardy to Lily Allen - not to mention the monkey – or the elephant?! While there have only ever been a few theatres such as the Empire and the Wyvern, from the beginning of the 20th century, cinemas appeared all over Swindon, and there have always lots of places to go and listen to music – and maybe have a dance. They’ve found jazz bands at the Arts Centre, frisky club nights at the Brunel Rooms, glee singing at the Mechanics’ Institute, musicals at The Empire and the Wyvern – some put on by Swindon’s own company, SALOS – and much more! We also celebrate one of Swindon’s own celebrities, Diana Dors.

We’re keen to develop our collections around going out in Swindon. We’d love to hear from you if you have material – perhaps programmes, posters, tickets, t-shirts, photographs – from the 1960s up to the present day. If you think you might have something that would interest us, please contact the collections team on: MASCuratorial@swindon.gov.uk

This exhibition is FREE to view and is open Tuesday to Saturday 10:30am to 4:30pm until 18 October.

Coming Soon!

We’re currently working really hard on our new exhibition, Fossil Hunters – Unlocking Swindon’s Jurassic Past – which will open on Saturday 4 October 2025.

This exhibition is part of Arts Council England-funded Unlocking Collections project, and has been co-curated with the members of the Museum’s Jurassic Swindon volunteer group. Fossil Hunters explores Jurassic fossils uncovered in Swindon and the individuals that were inspired by, or came to study the town’s geology.

The exhibition will showcase the Museum’s collection of Jurassic marine creatures, as well as the newly acquired Swindon Stegosaur vertebra. Also on display will be specimens from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Children visiting the exhibition can take part in the activity trail or relax in the Dino Den reading corner!

This exhibition is FREE to view and is open Tuesday to Saturday 10:30am to 4:30pm 4 October 2025 to 11 April 2026.

Coming Soon!

24 October 2025 to 14 March 2026

In partnership with Winsor Birch, this landmark exhibition showcases artworks spanning Orlik’s career which has, until recently, taken place behind closed doors.

Following training at Swindon School of Art and the Gloucestershire College of Art, Orlik arrived on the art scene in the 1970s. He quickly established a reputation as an exciting and technically brilliant surrealist artist, his dream-like worlds fizzing and humming with energy. However, he soon chose to retreat from the commercial art world, and spent the next 50 years painting in solitude. Recent exhibitions held by Windsor Birch have gained national overage, and helped Orlik to achieve the reputation he deserves as a “surrealist master” and a “surrealist art star”. In a celebration of Orlik’s life and career to date, this exhibition brings together a collection of significant artworks from private lenders, to a public museum for the very first time. It will also reveal an exciting new acquisition to the Museum & Art Swindon collection!

Book Souvenirs for Leslie Cole: Recording Conflict in the Second World War

‘Today I worked well – the picture fell off the brush’ The Artistry of Leslie Cole, by Malcolm Yorke, £75.00

If you’re interested in our Leslie Cole exhibition, then perhaps this book containing over 130 colour illustrations is for you! The book is quarter bound in cloth and beautiful blue marbled paper, made by Louise Brockman. Only 500 copies were produced. Secure your perfect souvenir to the Leslie Cole exhibition today.

Made in Swindon: A Social History 1840s – 1940s, edited by Philip Garrahan, £16.95

Behind Swindon’s international reputation as home of the GWR Works and as an engineering powerhouse, is the story of the people behind the work. With specific chapters on entitled The Swindon School of Art: Picking Up Steam by Philip Dearden and Worker as Artist: Creativity in a Company Town by Philip Garrahan, Cole’s work is covered alongside that of his local contemporaries.

Both books are available from the Museum & Art Swindon Shop. E-mail MASRetail@Swindon.gov.uk to reserve your copy!

Remember to follow us on social media for the latest updates and sneak peeks of what’s to come!

We look forward to seeing you at Museum & Art Swindon and sharing our new space with you.

Best regards,

The Museum & Art Swindon Team