A young child attending Salisbury Cathedral’s exhibition, put on in 2015 to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, was very excited to discover that it was written on a “partridge".
This comical misunderstanding illustrates that however hard a cultural institution tries to get historical information across to family groups, some of the facts are bound to get lost in translation.
But it certainly doesn’t mean that Salisbury Cathedral was unsuccessful at engaging people of all ages in what is seemingly a plain and unassuming piece of parchment. In fact this rather dull-looking object demanded such unusually high levels of creativity from the exhibitions team that it resulted in many firsts for the cathedral.
Contemporary art, an interactive game and even flower arrangements all played a role in illustrating the significance of a document that formed the cornerstone of British law and underpins the human rights people have today.
“It is a difficult document – we had to work hard to interpret it and make it interesting and accessible,” says Sarah Rickett, the director of learning and outreach at Salisbury Cathedral.
“We had to really work hard to make sure there was something for a five-year-old, a middle-aged person, someone in their 90s and everyone in between.”
When developing content for the exhibition the team at Salisbury Cathedral started with the concept of fairness. “Children as young as two and three years old understand what is fair. It is a simple concept that anyone can grasp,” says Rickett.
Feedback from schools and teachers highlighted a demand for content that was challenging but fun; prompted discussions around advocacy; and highlighted current justice issues. To this end a 64 sq m floor game was created whereby participants earned points for making judgments on how to respond to a range of different scenarios relating to justice, fairness and democracy.
The themes of the Magna Carta were also explored in much more abstract and magical ways through art installations, which were popular among social media users and appealed to an entirely new younger audience demographic.
The main installation Enlightenment, created by Squidsoup, comprised 6,000 balls of light that were hung in Salisbury Cathedral’s north porch. The lights changed as people walked through them, illustrating the impact that the actions of the individual can have on the world around them.
“What you do will affect somebody else entirely, and as you move through the world your actions have a ripple effect on others,” explains Rickett.
Meanwhile, an installation called The Power of Words, also created by Squidsoup, was displayed in the Morning Chapel. Projected on the wall were emotive words - linked to the theme of justice and society – that would move, fall, morph or reform according to visitors’ gestures and movements.
This illustrated that the Magna Carta is not just a historical artefact but also a contemporary symbol of the power of words, of justice, freedom and accountability.
“They were discreet projects in two small spaces, but they opened up a really new way of working for us,” says Rickett.
In a statement on Salisbury Cathedral’s website arts advisor and curator Jacquiline Creswell, said the combination of “physical and intellectual demands” associated with putting contemporary art in a cathedral is challenging.
"Art in Cathedrals is about communication and connection,” she said. “Squidsoup's light installations are bold, they explore the modes and effects of interactivity, looking to make digital experiences where meaningful and creative interaction can occur."
Visitors of all ages were encouraged to interact further by providing written responses to questions about how the Magna Carta inspires them and what issues they believe are worth fighting for. Visitors also had access to a specially- created app showing how countries around the world differ in their abilities to provide human rights.
The Magna Carta also inspired flower arrangements created for Salisbury Cathedral’s flower festival – an event that takes place every five years.
“The Magna Carta was something that we really wanted to celebrate. The flower festivals bring in a totally different audience – people from flower and gardening groups,” says Rickett.
The Magna Flora display featured more than 30,000 blooms prepared by around 600 flower arrangers, including many from the local diocese. Many of the arrangements were inspired by one of the Magna Carta’s clauses or the barons that sealed the document at Runnymede near Windsor Castle.
Among all of these activities was the Magna Carta document itself, hidden in a dimly lit chamber at the heart of the cathedral, which created a sense of drama, says Rickett. “We wanted a big reveal, so visitors felt that finally they had reached what the exhibition was all about.”
This comical misunderstanding illustrates that however hard a cultural institution tries to get historical information across to family groups, some of the facts are bound to get lost in translation.
But it certainly doesn’t mean that Salisbury Cathedral was unsuccessful at engaging people of all ages in what is seemingly a plain and unassuming piece of parchment. In fact this rather dull-looking object demanded such unusually high levels of creativity from the exhibitions team that it resulted in many firsts for the cathedral.
Contemporary art, an interactive game and even flower arrangements all played a role in illustrating the significance of a document that formed the cornerstone of British law and underpins the human rights people have today.
“It is a difficult document – we had to work hard to interpret it and make it interesting and accessible,” says Sarah Rickett, the director of learning and outreach at Salisbury Cathedral.
“We had to really work hard to make sure there was something for a five-year-old, a middle-aged person, someone in their 90s and everyone in between.”
When developing content for the exhibition the team at Salisbury Cathedral started with the concept of fairness. “Children as young as two and three years old understand what is fair. It is a simple concept that anyone can grasp,” says Rickett.
Feedback from schools and teachers highlighted a demand for content that was challenging but fun; prompted discussions around advocacy; and highlighted current justice issues. To this end a 64 sq m floor game was created whereby participants earned points for making judgments on how to respond to a range of different scenarios relating to justice, fairness and democracy.
The themes of the Magna Carta were also explored in much more abstract and magical ways through art installations, which were popular among social media users and appealed to an entirely new younger audience demographic.
The main installation Enlightenment, created by Squidsoup, comprised 6,000 balls of light that were hung in Salisbury Cathedral’s north porch. The lights changed as people walked through them, illustrating the impact that the actions of the individual can have on the world around them.
“What you do will affect somebody else entirely, and as you move through the world your actions have a ripple effect on others,” explains Rickett.
Meanwhile, an installation called The Power of Words, also created by Squidsoup, was displayed in the Morning Chapel. Projected on the wall were emotive words - linked to the theme of justice and society – that would move, fall, morph or reform according to visitors’ gestures and movements.
This illustrated that the Magna Carta is not just a historical artefact but also a contemporary symbol of the power of words, of justice, freedom and accountability.
“They were discreet projects in two small spaces, but they opened up a really new way of working for us,” says Rickett.
In a statement on Salisbury Cathedral’s website arts advisor and curator Jacquiline Creswell, said the combination of “physical and intellectual demands” associated with putting contemporary art in a cathedral is challenging.
"Art in Cathedrals is about communication and connection,” she said. “Squidsoup's light installations are bold, they explore the modes and effects of interactivity, looking to make digital experiences where meaningful and creative interaction can occur."
Visitors of all ages were encouraged to interact further by providing written responses to questions about how the Magna Carta inspires them and what issues they believe are worth fighting for. Visitors also had access to a specially- created app showing how countries around the world differ in their abilities to provide human rights.
The Magna Carta also inspired flower arrangements created for Salisbury Cathedral’s flower festival – an event that takes place every five years.
“The Magna Carta was something that we really wanted to celebrate. The flower festivals bring in a totally different audience – people from flower and gardening groups,” says Rickett.
The Magna Flora display featured more than 30,000 blooms prepared by around 600 flower arrangers, including many from the local diocese. Many of the arrangements were inspired by one of the Magna Carta’s clauses or the barons that sealed the document at Runnymede near Windsor Castle.
Among all of these activities was the Magna Carta document itself, hidden in a dimly lit chamber at the heart of the cathedral, which created a sense of drama, says Rickett. “We wanted a big reveal, so visitors felt that finally they had reached what the exhibition was all about.”