The Ark is currently running an exhibition dedicated to the teddy bear. They have a range of antique bears on loan from the V&A museum along with a number from The Dolls Hospital. They also have a some bears donated by their own staff members and, as mentioned above, a few Irish made bears too. To compliment the exhibition they also have some fantastic photographs from Mark Nixon's beautiful book Much Loved.
Downstairs the V&A collection contains some really old bears from several well known bear manufacturers such as Steiff as well as some favourites that you'll recognize too. Some of my favourites were Sooty, Sweep and Sue which I loved watching on TV when growing up though I don't remember Scampi, was he a later addition?
Upstairs there's a cool chill out area and, unlike downstairs, none of the bears here are in glass cabinets! Feel free to hug and cuddle them to your heart's content! The Ark have designed a perfect multimedia area for kids to come and relax, there's opportunities to read books and color some pictures while the more technically minded can discover some bear stories on iPod! Adults won't be disappointed either, there are plenty of beanbags to crash on!
On the top floor you'll find the teddy bear workshop as well as some of the best loved teddies in the exhibition, the ones donated by the staff! These are very brave people, I don't know if I could lend out my teddy, even for just a few weeks!
My favorite part of the exhibition is Mark Nixon's fantastic teddy bear portraits. Pink Teddy, the first one above, had to be stitched back together after being ripped limb from limb at a house party! Greg's Bear was given to Mark to be photographed by Bono and Ali Hewson, it belonged to a friend of theirs called Greg who died. The U2 song One Tree Hill is written about Greg. Gerry Ryan's bear has also been photographed and is the final bear pictured above. His name is One Eyed Ted or Aloysius. Gerry often carried him around with his as an adult! Much loved I'd say!
The exhibition is a great way to spend a morning or afternoon whether you have children or not. It felt like a walk down memory lane for me! It was lovely to reminisce about all the older bears and I'm sure parents will enjoy introducing their children to some of the toys they played with when they were young.
The exhibition runs until the 6th of April and costs €5 to enter. Check out their website for more information. Unfortunately my favorite cuddly toy wasn't on display, probably because he isn't technically a teddy bear! Check out the picture below to find out who was my furry friend... and don't be shy, tell me what sort of a teddy you had!
Me and my favorite cuddly toy Mickey Mouse circa 1979. Later versions of Mickey were much plumper!