Our Bucks Black History Museum group invite you to share photos and the stories behind a special pair of shoes with Black History.

Everyone of us has a special pair of shoes, whether it is because they are beautiful, were worn on a special occasion or because they are super comfortable. Every pair of shoes has a story. They walked with you to your first interview or shared your happiest memories. We’d love to hear your stories and share them here on our website.

Featuring a selection of artists from the inspiring Muir Trust Residency programme which was founded in 1997. We are currently advertising for an artist-printmaker to be the 13th artist in residence for the 2022 residency. Discover more.

Also featuring a selection of original art prints from contemporary artists such as Diana Ashdown, Laura Boswell and Ivan Green and the Places artists’ book created by eight local artists as a collaborative art project.

The Contemporary Art and Artists exhibition will be available to view in the small art gallery on the 1st floor at the museum. It runs alongside the Reincarnated Rubbish – Endangered and Extinct 2 exhibition by Val Hunt.

We’re delighted to show work by Val Hunt once again. With inspiration, ingenuity, humour and skill, creative recycling artist Val Hunt has created a fascinating selection of large and small sculptural pieces which are both appealing and informative.

Animals, exotic birds, fish, dinosaurs and species of flora, all on the edge or now extinct, have been made from a selection of throwaway materials especially Val’s favourite medium, metal drink cans.

This exhibition is full of witty, humorous, imaginative and thought-provoking constructions. The exhibition presents a subtle message about recycling and preservation and hopefully it will inspire and encourage everyone to experience the fun of creative recycling.

Visitors loved the exhibition last time and found Val’s creations amazing. One visitor said that it was the most wonderful exhibition that she had ever visited! There are some new pieces including Val’s sculpture of the Queen.

40 local artists and residents, of all ages and abilities, were asked to decorate one 25 x 25cm canvas each, with their own unique style and ideas. The canvases were then assembled together, revealing the big picture – a portrait of Queen Ælfgifu, a real-life figure from 10th century England, who the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham is named after. Queen Ælfgifu is depicted here standing in an imagined version of 10th century Chesham. The picture is loaded with symbolism and historical references, researched by Emily Brown & Chesham Museum.

“When I initially pitched this idea, I wanted to collaborate with other local artists, to tell a story on a large scale. But due to the pandemic, I had to come up with a creative way for us to work together, separately, while social distancing. The answer was to orchestrate a huge, multi-canvas collaboration, that could be broken into parts, that we could each do in our own homes, and that would slot together to create a bigger picture of something important to Chesham.

No two canvases are the same, so when they are assembled together, they create a mosaic or patchwork effect, with the hidden, bigger design running across it, tying the canvases and artists together.

This project is about unity, as well as individual voices. It’s about coming together to create something bigger than the sum of its parts. It’s about the importance of being yourself and being proud to be different, of celebrating uniqueness and diversity, and being proud to stand next to other artists of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs”. Emily Brown

About Queen Ælfgifu

This painting celebrates a strong, inspirational heroine from Chesham and Buckinghamshire’s history. A figure who left a powerful legacy. Queen Ælfgifu was queen consort of King Eadwig of England, who reigned between 955 and 959, in sub-divided England. Queen Ælfgifu is an important figure in Chesham’s history. The first known recorded reference to Chesham, or ‘Caesteleshamm’, which in old English means “the river-meadow at the pile of stones”, turns up in her will, which was probably drawn up some time after 966, and is now held in the British Library. After her annulment, she became a wealthy and influential landowner, and made important changes to Chesham’s landscape, including diverting the river Chess to make a mill.

This Museum Can! is a sharing event presented by the Cultural Outreach Group. It is a day of learning to consult, collab and connect with communities. Join us to hear about tried and tested new models of engaging with wider community groups. Hear the Cultural Outreach Group partners speak about their experiences of their pilot activities and being part of a cultural outreach group in Buckinghamshire.

This event is open to museum and heritage professionals as well as the general public.

There will be opportunities to network and free lunch will be available. Our caterer will be Saf’s kitchen and the meat option will be halal. When booking please advise of any dietary requirements or access adjustments you need.

Learn how to grow big veg with Gerald Stratford, the gardening grandad loved by over a quarter of a million fans on Twitter.

Gerald’s book is packed with decades of gardening know-how and fully illustrated with photos from his Cotswolds garden. It includes a helpful month-by-month guide to sowing, planting and harvesting veg, as well as tips on how to grow Gerald’s speciality: really big veg.

Full of encouragement and Gerald’s infectious enthusiasm, Big Veg makes an ideal companion for anyone keen to grow-your-own.

*Copies of Big Veg will be available to purchase on the day for the special price of £12.99.

Britain’s SBS – or Special Boat Service – was the world’s first maritime special operations unit.

Founded in the dark days of 1940, it started as a small and inexperienced outfit that leaned heavily on volunteers’ raw courage and boyish enthusiasm. It went on to change the course of the Second World War – and has served as a model for special forces ever since.

The fledgling unit’s first mission was a daring beach reconnaissance of Rhodes in the spring of 1941. Over the next four years, the SBS and its affiliates would carry out many spectacular operations in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Channel and the Far East. 

Written with the full cooperation of the modern SBS – the first time this ultra-secretive unit has given its seal of approval to any book – and exclusive access to its archives, SBS: Silent Warriors allows Britain’s original special forces to emerge from the shadows and take their proper and deserved place in our island story.