Nepean Museum: War Craft Exhibit

I finally stopped by the War Craft exhibit at the Nepean Museum this week. In fact, that was the first time I had been to the Nepean Museum.

It’s a small building tucked on a side street in Nepean that packs a powerful historical punch. It didn’t take me long to realize that I would have to bring the family sometime, given their keen interest in history (especially war history) themselves.

War Craft, I was told, isn’t to be confused with Trench Art. Trench Art was actually made in the trenches and there is one piece like that on display at the Museum.

However, the focus is on War Craft.  The War Craft exhibit features reclaimed articles of war – bullets and shells for example – that, at the time, were crafted into something else.  These items were made by soldiers recovering in Red Cross hospitals, or crafty women in Europe and the UK who developed a cottage industry selling War Craft items while their husbands were at war, as examples.

What I didn’t expect was to see the intricacy of the work and the creativity. Children’s toys were made for example. The display of toys was really interesting and I think it will be neat to see what the kids think of them.

Other items include jewellery, wall art, postcards, kitchen items, lamps and more.

It was really fun to play ‘what’s this made from’ as I looked at each piece. Some were more obvious than others.

The displays were fascinating.  Without giving too much away, here are a few that caught my eye:

The War Craft Exhibit runs at the Nepean Museum from now until July 2015 and is worth a stop in to check it out.

You can also follow the Nepean Museum on Facebook to keep in the know with their special events and exhibits.