Guest
blog by Helen Thomas
I’m
a visual artist based in Wakefield. I’ve worked on
several projects with Wakefield Museums and Wakefield Libraries. In autumn 2017
Wakefield Museums asked me to work with communities as part of an Arts Council
England funded project to deliver activities in the South East of
the district.
I
started the project by catching the train to South Elmsall and walking to Moorthorpe
station. Along the way I took photos to use in the project. I visited South
Elmsall Library to see the museum case that Wakefield Museums installed in
2017. If you haven’t seen the display yet, do check it out next time you’re in
the area. This micro museum features a fascinating collection of ancient and
modern objects specific to the area - from Anglo-Saxon archaeological finds, to
original John Godber scripts.
South
Elmsall Library is staffed by a great team who make it a welcoming place where
people can socialise, learn, relax… and even borrow books. In January 2018 I
invited people to two ‘Drawing on Memories’ sessions at the library: one for
the regular Monday Crafternoon group and a drop in session on a Saturday for
families and anyone who wanted to come along.
The
South East of the district area has a rich history that is well documented
thanks to the work and generosity of local historians. For this project I was
interested to hear people’s memories stories of everyday places and things they
care about.
I
invited people to share their memories through a range of activities. Some
people brought an object or photo with them and told us their story - we were
surprised and delighted when one participant brought in a miniature bronze
statue of a miner, by sculptor Graham Ibbotson. The piece was one of an edition made in memory of the
miners who lost their lives in the South Kirkby mining disaster. Wakefield Museums were interested in
objects from the area that they could loan or that could be donated. The event
generated donations to the museum service, from a 1970s Christmas Decoration
given to a child at school, to one resident’s 1950s TV licenses, nostalgic old
money and working man’s club vouchers. One visitor even donated a Bronze Age
axe head found locally that is thousands of years old.
John Welding https://johnwelding.blogspot.co.uk has
worked on several illustration projects for Wakefield Museums including: The
Battle of Wakefield, Stanley Ferry Log Boat, and ‘The Extraordinary Life Of
Charles Waterton’ comic book. John is great at bringing people’s words to life
through pictures. At the two ‘Drawing on Memories’ activity sessions John made
wonderful quick sketches of people’s memories that they were able to keep and
take home.
There were objects from Wakefield Museum’s handling collection, themed around
leisure & celebration. We chatted about what you might find in a museum… is
it just old valuable things? Is there a place for new things? How do we know
what to keep for future museums? We talked about our favourite things, drew
pictures of them and made our own mini museum on the library wall. We stuck
photos and wrote memories on a large hand drawn map of the area.
Participants
were invited to visit Wakefield Museum with me. The visits were a wonderful
opportunity for both museum staff and visitors to swap and share stories
sparked by objects in the collection. During one visit we noticed a map showing
an artefact that had been found in South Elmsall. When we noticed that object
was missing from the accompanying display case we were pleased to learn that
the object is now displayed in the museum case in South Elmsall Library.
In
March 2018 I took one of Wakefield Museum’s Memory Boxes to Westfield Centre
Children’s Day Care. I chatted to parents and carers about the free children’s
activities on offer at the district’s museums. The toddlers had lots of fun
dressing up, playing picnics, taking pretend photos on the old camera, dancing
and singing to the vintage radio and looking at things (and at each other)
through the magnifying glass. Children had a great time drawing and sticking
things in their ‘my mini museum’ books and everyone went away with a little
Wakefield Museums goody bag and a copy of the latest museums ‘what’s on’ guide.
I
really enjoyed meeting people and hearing their stories through this project. I
learned about dolphins in the swimming pool in the 1970’s. I heard stories of
discos and beat nights at The Chequers, playing billiards before going to ‘2nd
house’ at The Palace and, of course, where to get the best fish and chips in
the area and I learned that trying on a 60’s Crimpolene frock made toddlers,
parents and staff giggle at me. I’ve realised that, for me, it’s people’s
stories that make museums interesting, that help me understand and connect with
the displays.
I’m
writing this at in the final week of ‘Mini Museums &
Drawing on Memories’. I’ve just had a lovely conversation with my contact from
the Crafternoon group. A combination of bad weather and winter flu meant that
several people missed out on the original dates that we’d arranged to visit
Wakefield Museum. Group members were
very keen to take up the invitation, so we’ve arranged another date. I’m really
looking forward to meeting them all again later this week at the museum,
hearing stories inspired by the museum displays… and rounding the project off
with a cuppa together at Create Café.
It’s
clear that people welcome the opportunity to get
involved, to try something, to share and to learn. People responded to an
informal approach, to being invited. It’s also clear that Wakefield Museums are
looking to find ways to reach beyond the district’s main Museum sites, and I
hope they find ways to continue and extend the reach of these activities.
Very
big thank you’s:
Arts
Council England - for funding the project
Wakefield
Council - for securing the funding and offering activities in the South East of
the district. Particular thanks to Steven Skelley for limitless enthusiasm.
South
Elmsall Library and Westfield Centre Children’s Day Care - for a warm welcome,
hosting workshops and supporting the project.
John
Welding - for drawing unseen memories in mere moments
Special
thanks to everyone who took part - for sharing research, stories and memories.
For donating an object. For drawing a picture, reading an old newspaper or
sticking a photo on the map. For playing, for listening for visiting the micro
museum in South Elmsall or the museum in Wakefield One, for taking an
interest.
Some
feedback from the project:
“The
children were amazed at the camera and other interesting items”
“The
children loved it”
“I
plan on visiting the Wakefield Museum with or family”
“I
love these ‘little’ events whereto can speak to museum staff - and learn from
other people there”
“The
concept of jointures of library/museum is a good one. It enhances both genres”
"I
really like the idea of museums in libraries"
“Having
history to look at is great. It should always be passed on for our children to
learn”
“We
would like more information on other events like the one today”
