4 May 2022
Working with our Communities
Making our collections accessible is at the heart of what we do. We want to work with people who may not have thought about museum collections and how they might be relevant to their lives. To do this, we work with our colleagues at Culture Leicestershire to find creative ways for people to connect with and be inspired by our collections and challenge how we think about them.
The Anand Mangal group's introduction to our collections. Photograph by Kevin Ryan
The group visited our Collections Resources Centre, where the team enabled the group to look at and handle textiles and objects from the 1960s and 70s, triggering lots of memories. Photograph by Kevin Ryan
We worked with Loughborough University and colleagues from Culture Leicestershire on this project.
The group participated in a free sewing workshop where they produced self-portraits, some of which featured in the exhibition.
The Anand Mangal ladies group admire their Stitching Traditions display at Charnwood Museum, Loughborough.
We work with our colleagues in Culture Leicestershire to enable us to connect and engage with our communities.
In 2019, we started working with the Anand Mangal ladies group and the University of Loughborough on a project to explore memories, identity and heritage. The Museum Collections Team provided visits to our collections, training in how to curate an exhibition and support for the installation of the Stitching Traditions display by the ladies at Charnwood Museum. This work was all supported by our colleagues at Culture Leicestershire.
Objects inspire memories and we arranged for the group to visit our Collections Resources Centre, where the group looked at and handled textiles and objects from the 1960s and 70s, triggering lots of memories and stories about their lives and experiences.
“Our milk was bought from a person on a bike. Milk had to be boiled twice a day. The milk churn reminds me of making butter, yogurt, and ghee and all the paneer recipes we used.”
“The raffia hand bag reminds me of one of my sari’s which was embroidered with raffia”.
“I was a joiner for sleeves at Mansfield Hosiery factory when I came to England. The Laura Ashley dress reminded me of how I worked from home joining sleeves when my mother in law was ill.”