Michael Hardy, Digital Engagement Curator continues to look back on exhibitions from the last decade at Experience Barnsley
I’m starting part two of this look back (catch up on the first part here) with a team photo from our 5th birthday celebrations
Visit our website for details of how we are marking our 10th anniversary. Part of these includes a public vote for your favourite exhibition. If you haven’t decided what to vote for hopefully this second blog instalment will help
2018 – Barnsley On Film
I had a lot of fun working on this exhibition! It was the culmination of a Barnsley Archives Film & Sound lottery funded project to make the boroughs film and sound collections more accessible. The film show included newly digitised cine film that spanned over a century. From Barnsley during WWI to Barnsley market, the Queen and a 1970s Mayor’s parade. The exhibition also included a retro phone where visitors could listen to highlight from our oral history archive. If you want to revisit the exhibition or missed it at the time most of the films featured are now on YouTube. Keep an eye on the Experience Barnsley Whats-On page as we are planning more films in the museum
You can also hear more of our sound collection on Soundcloud via The Barnsley Museums podcast
2018 – May The Toys Be With You
Back when the movie Star Wars broke box office records in 1977 no one could have predicted that the merchandising would go on to earn even more than the film itself. The toys of Star Wars took the world by storm and became the must-have playthings for an entire generation. From 1977 – 1985 an estimated 300 million action figures were sold, allowing children to re-enact the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo.
2018 – Barnsley Brick Project
Patrick Murphy started this project after numerous years of walking past two bricks in his Dad’s back garden. One embossed with Stairfoot, the other Wombwell. Patrick’s interest sparked an investigation after realising that that bricks were made about 2-4 miles away from where the bricks now resided. As an artist and curator Patrick felt a deep connection as an area of his practice is in using art and design to express a sense of locality; his work has been be shown nationally and internationally. During one visit to his Dad’s home he picked a brick up and became interested in discovering more about the brick production in Barnsley; when it started, where were the factories, what still remains? It feels it could be a means to engage with a little known industry well down the list from coal and glass but for many an important area of skill and employment and part of a crucial hyper local supply chain.
The project poses an interesting opportunity to explore a part of Barnsley’s history I wasn’t wholly aware of and in doing so create a new piece of art that can bring a new perspective to this.
2018 – #BarnsleyRemembers The Great War Ends
Experience Barnsley’s final exhibition to mark the centenary of the First World War commemorated 1918 and the final few months of the conflict. The exhibition told the story of Barnsley and the Home Front with a particular focus on stories of those soldiers who returned from the war and the impact on their lives following the conflict. The exhibition explored the role of women in the war within the context of the suffrage movement and the momentous passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918. Remembrance and commemoration are significant themes woven throughout this exhibition.
2019 – Tins Tins Tins
In 2019 Experience Barnsley proudly hosted a unique exhibition which celebrates 100 years of the ‘Greatest Tin Factory in the World’ and takes a look at one of the town’s most fascinating businesses – The Barnsley Canister Company.
Through exciting displays of objects, documents and oral histories visitors it uncovered the factory’s hidden history of how it conquered the world from a small town in South Yorkshire with its ‘fancy tins’.
The exhibition looked at the impact the company had on the lives of local people – specifically on the thousands of women who found a sense of financial freedom and purpose, by having the opportunity to earn their own wage for the very first time.
In 1915 the building and its machines were used for making shells as a WW1 munitions factory, where women toiled at the war effort. After the war ended the Canister Company was created; their main purpose was making beautiful tins for the world market. It was an important company not only nationally but globally, exporting their highly sought after tins around the world. The quality of their embossing and artwork was the best you could get, making beautiful decorative tins for the Co-op, Twinings and Hershey’s to name but a few, read more about the exhibition in this blog
We had a lot of fun at the mayor’s parade in 2019 promoting the exhibition!
2019 – The Second World War: Barnsley’s Story
Telling remarkable stories of the experiences of people across the borough through the turbulent war years of 1939 to 1945, the exhibition featured images and archives including a wartime wedding dress, objects from the Pogmoor plane crash, a baby’s gas mask, a Spitfire Fund recipe book, WAAF jacket, wartime mining kit and parachute silk underwear. Accompanying these objects are individual stories of living, working and surviving in wartime Barnsley – stories of bravery, resourcefulness, love and hardship.
The exhibition included a fictional Barnsley family illustrated in pictures for our younger visitors to follow. The family is based on the memories and experiences of actual people living in the borough during wartime, including factory work, blackouts, fundraising, celebrating Christmas and looking after the pigs. An activity space is a chance to dress up and try some wartime toys and games, and all visitors are invited to leave their own stories of families or loved ones in the exhibition which you can read more about in this blog
Do you remember when we brought a spitfire to town?
2021 – I Grew up In The 80s
We skip ahead to 2021 as obviously world events meant we were a little quieter in 2020 although we did keep you entertained and occupied with lots of online content when we were unable to open the doors to the museum in 2020
Following the success of his hit Star Wars-themed exhibition May The Toys Be With You, collector and cultural commentator Matt Fox has devoted himself to exploring a 1980s childhood through the iconic objects of this colourful era during which so much
changed. Visitors will be able to travel through the cultural landscape of childhood in 1980s
Britain, revisiting the vibrancy, quirkiness and innovation that symbolised the period. From Betamax to BMX, the Rubik’s Cube to the ZX Spectrum, the Thompson Twins to Transformers.
This carefully curated time capsule of over 200 treasures showcase the youthful exuberance of this much-loved time. A wide array of wonderful objects and beautifully framed 2D works;
encompassing toys, technology, music, sport, fashion, food, film, books, TV and more. Read more in this blog
2021 – The Oldest Fire Engine In Town by Joseph Bramah
In 2021 we put one of our largest and oldest objects under the spotlight, Joseph Bramah’s fire pump. The 1791 Bramah fire pump is believed to be the only one still in existence which was made by inventor Joseph Bramah, from Stainborough. Bramah is one of Britain’s most important inventors and the father of hydraulic power. Amongst many other things, he invented a padlock that could not be picked, a beer pump, flush toilet, hydraulic presses and devices for pulling up trees.
2021 – Routed In Barnsley
The exhibition saw vibrant memories of Barnsley Town Centre explored through writing, illustration, objects, poetry, photography, music and a series of carved wooden sculptural pieces. It comes at an exciting time for the town as huge transformations take place with the opening of the new Glassworks shopping centre.
‘Routed’ is a Barnsley based heritage project delivered by Lenny and Whale in partnership with Barnsley Museums and Heritage Trust and funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Lenny and Whale, artists said: “Barnsley and its people have such a fascinating history with really wonderful stories to tell. We are pleased that so many people have shared their memories with us, and we want ‘Routed’ to showcase them in an exciting way that captures the spirit of the town.”
Revisit the exhibition in this virtual tour
Barnsley Serves The World: Stories From The Slazenger’s Factory
For more than 50 years, workers at the town’s famous Slazenger factory made tennis balls which were expertly served around the world, including Wimbledon.
The exhibition showcased the stories of the people who worked there, re-living memories and shop-floor camaraderie. The exhibition included memorabilia, photographs, evocative Pathe films, newly commissioned films as well as activities for sporting fans of all ages.
Steven Skelley, who has developed the exhibition, explains: “Barnsley’s role in the tennis world is both fascinating and significant.
“This exhibition brings history to life and will no doubt appeal to many people, regardless of their interest in sport.
“Barnsley Serves the World really does have something for all ages and interests. Our unofficial world record attempt will be a great spectacle for families, and there will be opportunities for youngsters to get involved in craft activities as they make tennis purses and musical instruments out of recycled balls, rackets, and shuttlecocks.”
Workers at the Slazenger factory in Barnsley made the balls used by legends such as Bjorn Borg, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Roy Laver before the factory closed in 2002 John McEnroe’s famous tantrum centred on whether a Barnsley-made ball was “in or out” !
Read more about the factory in this blog
listen to memories of life at the factory in this podcast
Revisit the exhibition in this virtual tour
Tutankhamun
2022 marked the centenary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922 – ‘the greatest archaeological discovery of all time’
Curated by Barnsley-born Egyptologist Prof. Joann Fletcher and over two years in the planning, ‘Tut 22: from Cradle to Grave’ explored Tutankhamen’s life during the C.14th BC and the local people involved in the rediscovery of the famous ‘boy king’.
Focusing on Tutankhamen’s birthplace at the city of Amarna, the exhibition featured over 250 ancient artefacts, including some never displayed before. These are all being loaned by Bolton Museum’s renowned Egyptian collection, first assembled by curators William and Thomas Midgley whose family came from Cawthorne, Barnsley. The exhibition also incorporated the work of Barnsley-born artist-turned-archaeologist Harold Jones, whose excavations in the Valley of the Kings uncovered the first clues to the location of Tutankhamen’s tomb which was eventually discovered by Jones’ friends Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter.
Jones, Carter and the Midgleys also share links to the artists and antiquarians within the Spencer-Stanhope family of Barnsley’s Cannon Hall. And with both Jones and Carter working at Amarna, where finds made by the Egypt Exploration Society and sent to Bolton will now be showcased in Barnsley, their display enhanced by digital technology and scientific research will really bring the world of Tutankhamen back to life.
Tailor Made In Barnsley
We conclude this two part blog with our latest exhibition.
A true celebration of the borough and its textile makers, the exhibition showcases objects and archives that bring Barnsley’s stories of weaving, sewing, and quilting to life.
The linen and sewing industries are an incredibly important part of the borough’s heritage and many people will remember seeing or working in the factories. Whether it’s a McLintocks jacket, a Barnsley linen tea towel, or a snappy Sugdens shirt, fabric products were known for innovation and top quality.
The fascinating free exhibition offers an insight into the people, processes, and products of Barnsley’s rich textile industries and celebrates the skills of home ‘makers’, young and old. A unique new mural artwork also features in the exhibition, inspired by McLintock quilt patterns and created by Barnsley artist Louise Wright.
The exhibition is an interactive experience with lots to see, touch and hear. There’s plenty to do for young makers with a snuggle den, giant weaving loom, and lots of creative activities. Watch out for McLintock the Mouse! Follow the museum and exhibition trail and see where McLintock might be hiding.
Read our Tailor Made blog
Take a virtual tour
So there you go, a very quick roundup of the last 10 years, don’t forget to vote on our website for your favourite
https://www.experience-barnsley.com/WeAre10
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