Visiting Leighton House and the Object in Focus reception (Roqaya Khamis AL Shokri, Oman, ITP 2024)
Written by Roqaya Khamis AL Shokri, Head of Information Department, Oman Across Ages Museum (Oman, ITP 2024)
The 15th August was a big day for the 2024 ITP fellows. It was really a great day. However, let me tell you first about my visit in the morning to Leighton House with my departmental colleague Abdulrhman and fellows from the other departments. We took the bus towards Holland Park, and met with Noorah Al-Gailani from the Middle East department, and continued on our way to Leighton House.
This house dates back to the late Victorian era, built by a British artist named Frederic Leighton, the architecture, decoration and the contents of his house were all an expression of his artistic spirit.
This artist worked with one of his friends on a series of extensions and embellishments, which is why the house evolved into a palace of art, combining domestic accommodation, a large painting studio, spaces for entertainment and a setting for his collections.
I was impressed by the interior design of one of the rooms on the ground floor. The artist visited Egypt, Syria, and Turkey and was inspired by the interior designs of houses there. He dedicated a beautiful room in his house, inspired by these countries architecture.
After we finished the visit, we returned to the British Museum, and some of us went back to Schafer House. We are all preparing for the Object in focus reception.
I went with my colleagues Abdulrhman and Noorah to the Middle East department to complete printing some documents and finalize the last touches.
At three o’clock, we headed to the presentation room with the other teams. We enjoyed setting up the display area and hanging the paintings. Everyone was busy arranging their corner as planned. I had a great time watching others, excited to welcome visitors and present the projects they worked so hard to prepare.
By 5 o’clock, visitors began arriving and took the time to visit each team individually. It was evident that they enjoyed the presentations and appreciated the efforts of the various teams. Each team interpreted their object in unique ways, employed multiple display techniques, and designed materials tailored to different age groups.
For me, the Object in focus experience was truly special. I learned a lot from it, and everyone competed to be more creative.
We left the museum that evening full of pride in our achievements and met with the other ITP fellows at the information desk, where we took a group of photos for memories.
