Museum of Cardiff Voices of Grangetown

Empowering young people to collect diverse oral histories from their own communities

Voices of Grangetown began when we were introduced to an inspiring group of young people at Grange Pavilion Youth Forum. They told us what they liked and disliked about museums, and how they thought the Museum of Cardiff could better serve their community. The project empowered the young people to collect stories relevant and meaningful to them. The outcome was a unique collection of community-produced oral histories, exploring one of the most diverse communities within Wales.

We worked closely with the young people to develop a framework to deliver the project, with every decision being led by the Youth Forum. In practice, this meant fortnightly meetings at Grange Pavilion, where we worked in partnership to share skills such as collecting oral history and developing an exhibition. Then the young people developed themes to collect stories that documented the role of their community in their lives. The Youth Forum also chose to commission artists, including illustrators and photographers, to help visualise the oral histories.

An outcome of the project was preserving of the stories, making the collections of the Museum of Cardiff more representative of the communities we serve. Public-facing outcomes included an exhibition curated by the Youth Forum at the museum, and an event highlighting the project held at Grange Pavilion.

The main learning from the project was the importance of co-design, creating space and opportunity for the group to be the key decision-makers, something we have taken forward and embedded into our co-production practice.

We were delighted when one of the participants applied for a front-of-house position. They are now a valued member of the museum team.

Voices of Grangetown was funded by the Association of Independent Museums in support of the Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan.

Main picture copyright: Museum of Cardiff and Glenn Edwards