Follow the Star: World Nativities Exhibition

Friday, November 25, 2011 through Saturday, January 14, 2012

Hours: 12:00 to 4:30pm Mondays through Saturdays.
Sunday, December 4, 1:00 - 5:00pm during Glad Tidings: A Celebration of Christmas
Closed other Sundays and December 12 - 14, and 24.

Admission: Donations Welcome

See how Christians around the world have adapted the Nativity scene to represent their own national, regional and local cultures, in our third annual exhibition featuring crèches from around the world. The three-dimensional Nativity scenes, made from local materials with regionally distinctive clothing, animals and structures, complement the museum’s collection of Nativity art dating from medieval times through the early 20th century. The Glencairn collection includes crèches made in countries traditionally associated with production of Nativity sets, such as Germany, Italy, Poland and Latin America. It also includes some made in countries typically not associated with crèches, such as Laos, Nepal, Egypt and Ethiopia. Artistic settings for the Nativity figures have been created by Bryn Athyn artisan Kathleen Glenn Pitcairn.

In 2009 Glencairn Museum began an ongoing initiative to collect three-dimensional Nativity scenes made by artisans from around the world for its annual exhibition, “Follow the Star: World Nativities” (see slideshow below). We have also developed a special online resource, “Do You See What I See? Imagery in Nativity Scenes,” to provide visitors to the exhibition and others interested in Nativities with additional cultural, historical, and art historical information.

The Apocalypse of John: Twenty-Five Paintings by G. Roland Smith

Saturday, July 9 - Saturday, November 12, 2011

Saturdays 1 to 4:30pm; weekdays by appointment.

Admission: Donations Welcome

The Apocalypse of John, also known as the Book of Revelation, is the final book of the Bible. In it we find a kaleidoscope of striking images: a dragon that sweeps the stars from the sky, a locust army with scorpion stings, a golden city of light, a tree with leaves that can heal the nations. These are word-pictures, frequently multi-layered and startling, especially in the way disparate images are combined. Over the past ten years the British artist and graphic designer G. Roland Smith has attempted to translate these word-pictures into visual images. This exhibition features twenty-five of his paintings, illustrating subjects from nearly every chapter in the Apocalypse of John.

From Gutenberg to Kindle: The Art of Bible Making

Sunday, February 6 – Saturday, June 25, 2011

Saturdays 1 to 4:30pm; weekdays by appointment.

Admission: Donations Welcome

Before Johannes Gutenberg published his first Bible in the 1450s using his innovative moveable-type printing press, Bibles were generally available only in the form of expensive hand-lettered Latin manuscripts. Gutenberg’s invention marked the beginning of a revolution in printing that allowed everyday people to possess their own Bibles in their own native languages. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible (1611-2011), Glencairn’s exhibition illustrates the history of Bible making, using both hand-lettered and mechanically-printed Bible leaves from the Museum’s collection. Other highlights include a full-size working replica of a journeyman printer’s Gutenberg-style press (with live demonstrations available), and a Bible downloaded to an Amazon Kindle, a modern e-book reader with an e-paper display.

Follow the Star: World Nativities Exhibit

Sunday, December 5, 2010 through Saturday, January 15, 2011

Daily times subject to change. Call 267-502-2990 for up-to-date information.

Scheduled hours:
1 to 5pm Sunday, December 5, Glencairn's Glad Tidings: A Celebration of Christmas event
10am to 4pm Monday, December 6 through Friday, December 10
10am to 3pm December 16, 17, 20-23, 28-30, January 3-7 and 10, 12-14
1 to 4:30pm Saturdays, December 11 and 18, January 1, 8 and 15

Admission: Donations Welcome

See how Christians around the world have adapted the Nativity scene to represent their own national, regional and local cultures, in our second annual exhibit featuring crèches from around the world. The three-dimensional Nativity scenes, made from local materials with regionally distinctive clothing, animals and structures, compliment the museum’s collection of Nativity art dating from medieval times through the early 20th century. The Glencairn collection includes crèches made in countries traditionally associated with production of Nativity sets, such as Germany, Italy, Poland and Latin America. It also includes some made in countries typically not associated with crèches, such as Laos, Nepal, Egypt and Ethiopia. This year members of the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth, PA, will be setting up the Morris Family Putz, a 150-year old Nativity scene from Bethlehem, PA, in a free event open to the general public on Saturday, December 4th (1:00 to 4:30 pm).

1 to 4:30pm Saturdays, December 11 and 18, January 1, 8 and 15

In the Service of God: The Sacred Arts in the Middle Ages

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 – Sunday, October 31, 2010

Weekdays by appointment | Saturdays 1:00 to 4:30 pm | Sunday, October 31, 1:00 to 5:00 pm

Admission: Donations welcome.

Throughout medieval Europe, the Christian Church was the center of the art world. Using symbols and visual narrative, artists were commissioned to develop ways to embody Christian doctrine and serve Christian liturgy in sacred spaces. This exhibition gathers objects in a variety of media—including ivory, enamel, wood carving, stained glass, mosaic, and the book arts—to demonstrate and celebrate this fertile period when art was placed in the service of God.