The Royal Institution has been at the forefront of scientific innovation, discovery and communication since its founding in 1799. Illustrious figures associated with the Royal Institution include Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday and Ernest Rutherford.

In this latest addition to Scala’s Director’s Choice series, Katherine Mathieson shares some of her favourite aspects of the Royal Institution, including Faraday’s laboratory, books, pictures and objects. From its Grade 1-listed building in central London, the Royal Institution connects the public with scientists through talks, events and activities for people of all ages and backgrounds, including the famous Christmas Lectures. Founded by Michael Faraday, these lectures were an exciting new way of presenting science to young people and they continue today. This enjoyable, richly illustrated guide unlocks hidden histories of the Royal Institution and reveals how science transforms our lives.

The Royal Castle in Warsaw is one of the most important museums-residences in Poland. Its history and the provenance of its collections are extremely complex and symbolize the turbulent history of the country.
The last king of Poland, Stanisław August, created a great collection of works of art and commissioned the interior design in a classicist style. With the loss of independence by Poland, works of art and furnishings were transported to Russia, then later returned under the Treaty of Riga in 1921. Looted by the Germans during World War II, the Castle was blown up in 1944. The castle finished being rebuilt in 1984 and today is a museum of interiors and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The highlights of the Castle’s collections include paintings by Rembrandt and Canaletto as well as valuable objects of decorative arts and historical memorabilia, showcased in this latest Director’s Choice with the expertise of Director Wojciech Fałkowski.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is one of Scotland’s most visited tourist attractions and has been cultivating and studying plants for over three centuries.

Across its four garden sites, the Royal Botanic Garden’s living plant collection contains over 13,500 species from 156 countries, including some that are extinct in the wild and others new to science. The ever-growing Herbarium currently contains over three million dried specimens and the Library houses Scotland’s national collection of botanical and horticultural literature, including manuscripts dating back to the fifteenth century.

The highlights illustrated in this book provide a personal insight into one of the world’s greatest botanic gardens and reveals the invaluable contribution that it makes to the ongoing documentation and conservation of the world’s diverse plant life.

Embedded in the fabric of London since 1871, the Royal Albert Hall is the world’s most famous stage and embodies all that is fundamental to the arts – inspiring, aspirational and, most importantly, accessible. This official guide provides an illustrated account of the history of the building, the huge variety of events and people who have taken to the stage, and the Hall’s ongoing work to create memories, change lives and provide inspiration through music. It makes a perfect accompaniment to the many guided tours the Hall offers, or an attractive souvenir, providing a detailed insight into this iconic building and its unrivalled programme of events.

With a global membership of 14,000 and a presence in 84 countries, the Royal Academy of Dance has grown from its foundation in 1920 into one of the world’s most influential dance education organisations. This lavishly illustrated volume celebrates 100 years of dancing and education, performances and competitions, and the Academy’s many successful outreach projects. The book features special sections on music, choreography and costume, and on the traditions that many of those who have taken a ballet exam will remember.

Discover the ancient history of the city of Bath!
Welcome to Aquae Sulis! That’s what we Romans call Bath. The Romans built a town here because of its amazing Spring, where hot water gushes out from deep underground – a gift from the goddess Sulis Minerva.
In this book, kids will find lots of puzzles and activities to enjoy while learning all about the Sacred Spring and the temple and baths the Romans built beside it.

The collection of Roman art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the finest in the world. It contains more than 5,000 objects, including exquisite cameos, refined silver vessels and utensils, spectacular Pompeiian frescoes, monumental sculptures in stone and bronze and elaborate sarcophagi. This handsome guide features a selection of over 200 of the most important works that exemplify this rich and diverse collection, each presented in detail and illustrated with stunning colour photography. Every work is accompanied by an engaging text written by prominent scholars that establishes the object’s significance in antiquity, providing new insights for a contemporary understanding of ancient Roman art.

Contents: Acknowledgments; Director’s Foreword; Introduction; Roman Copies and Adaptations of Greek Sculpture; The Decoration of House and Villa; Luxury Art; Shrines of the Lares and Offerings to Other Divinities; Roman Egyptomania; Tombs and Funerary Monuments; Imperial and Private Portraits; Gladatorial Games, Sports, and the Military; Architectural Elements; A Selection of Roman Works and their Modern Histories; Bibliography; Index.

Robert Mars Futurelics: Past is Present is the first publication of the work of contemporary artist Robert Mars that earned comparisons with Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Diebenkorn, James Rosenquist, and other Pop Art masters. Taking inspiration from the golden age of American popular culture and the iconography of the 1950s and 60s, Mars employs a rich colour palette in collage art. Often tongue-in-cheek, his signature neon Futurelics Popforms pay homage to the power of iconic branding, gripping beauty, and whimsical imagery cultivated by the urgent pressures that evolved from post-WWII to the present. Mars’ optimism recalls a time when instant digital celebrity was inconceivable – when people lived with the myth of uniquely untouchable icons – the Futurelics – Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, Elvis Presley, and many others. Futurelics are what have lasting impact – what births a legacy, larger than life, larger than lifestyle. That is Futurelics.

The Road Untravelled began life as Sherin Aminossehe’s personal response to the geographical constraints of the COVID-19 lockdown – a drawing a day, providing relief from the daily routine of work and home-schooling. However, on a friend’s advice it became a much broader enterprise, as Sherin began to fulfil commissions in return for a charitable donation to SSAFA for people unable to travel, her art offering them an imaginative escape to the locations they longed for.This exquisite collection ranges from the United States to Nepal via London, Italy, Iran and many destinations besides. Alongside the drawings feature the personal responses of some of the people who commissioned them. Together they provide a moving record of the importance of place in our most precious memories and a testament to the consoling power of art in the most challenging times.

Proceeds from the sales of The Road Untravelled will be paid in support of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity. SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing lifelong support to the UK’s Armed Forces and their families since 1885. Last year their teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 79,000 people in need, from Second World War veterans to those who have served in more recent conflicts or are still currently serving, and their families.

Sárospatak, a peaceful little town in north-eastern Hungary, holds
legendary status within the country’s cultural landscape. Its school,
the Reformed Church College of Sárospatak, has trained several important
writers, artists and politicians across the Central-European region’s
500-year history. This volume presents the institution’s history through
the lens of 37 books, documents and items from the collection. What was
life like for a 17th century Hungarian student? Which physical
experiments were pioneering? Why did Béla Bartók want to enrol his son
in a countryside secondary school? These are only a few of the questions
raised by the authors that introduce the reader to the colourful
traditions of this remarkable school.

Expressing stories of Native American survival and resistance, Reclaiming Home: Contemporary Seminole Art explores the work of 12 contemporary artists of the Seminole diaspora. This stunning volume illustrates how Seminole and mixed-heritage artists combine traditional skills and techniques – knowledge passed down to them from elders, family members, and ancestors – with innovative modes of expression and varied materials, including photo-based and digital collage techniques, performance, video, installation art, and mixed media. Their work engages concepts of hybridity and image-making and highlights social issues impacting Native communities today, from environmental protection to public health imperatives. Accompanied by critical and personal essays by leading scholars as well as artists’ statements and an interview, Reclaiming Home: Contemporary Seminole Art proposes contemporary works of art as powerful expressions of Native sovereignty.

The Queen’s Window was designed by renowned artist David Hockney for Westminster Abbey and unveiled in autumn 2018. The work was commissioned to celebrate the reign of Queen Elizabeth II as England’s longest-serving monarch. The resulting design is a vibrantly coloured and quintessentially English country scene featuring a Yorkshire landscape with the hawthorn blossom that Hockney loves. In an extended conversation between Hockney and fellow-artist Tacita Dean, the artist reflects on his approach to the design and his use of colour, as well on the underlying themes that the window represents.