Museums in areas affected by the riots this week have been looking at their programming in the light of the unrest.
Deborah Hedgecock, curator of Bruce Castle Museum in Tottenham, situated only one street away from the Carpetright building that was burned down in the riots this week, said that the museum was rethinking activities around the 26th anniversary of the Broadwater Farm riots in light of the unrest.
She said: "We are reconsidering what should be done in terms of public engagement. There should be some public consultation about how we should reflect recent events, and in the wake of what has happened we have to be careful about how we respond."
Despite its proximity to the riots, the museum was not damaged and has been open as usual, with a full complement of staff, but an outreach programme with young carers had to be abandoned on Monday, she said, as people were traumatised by what they had seen.
Visitor numbers were down, she added, but staff had been encouraged by the number of people who had made enquiries or visited since the riots.
As well as the Broadwater Farm Exhibition project 2010-2011, an exhibition about the Broadwater Farm riots which runs until March next year, the museum is planning a project called Forgotten Gangs, which will focus on giving a voice to those young people who are not in gangs, reflecting a positive image for young people in the area.
Hedgecock said that a project addressing the riots may also be considered, but it was a question of what and how.
"There are some young people who are extremely hard to reach,” she said. "Some are beyond reach because they are too dangerous [to engage with]. We are at the heart of the community here and we are working with people all the time, but sometimes people won’t let us in.
"It is very difficult in terms of funding. Youth services and programmes, which are the normal routes that we would use to engage with harder-to-reach young people, are up in the air. We are doing what we can to support those people that we can with the funding available."
The Museum of Liverpool is also addressing the recent riots with an interactive exhibit in the People’s Republic Gallery that will gather visitor reponses to the unrest.
Another project in the Museum of Liverpool entitled The Secret Life Of Smithdown Road, which looks into the history of the Smithdown Road area, one of the localities targeted by rioters this week, has seen a number of comments on its Facebook page comparing and contrasting this week’s unrest with riots in the area in the 1980s.
The National Maritime Museum and the Horniman Museum in London closed early and the Geffrye Museum cut short one of its youth programmes this week, but otherwise there are no reports of museums being affected by the unrest that took place across England.
Hannah Lake, project manager of Stories Of The World at the Geffrye Museum, said that a film-making course for 14-24 year olds, which was due to end at 9pm, was cut short on Wednesday evening to allow the young people to travel home, and that the museum had been monitoring the situation and informing parents.
Despite reports of damage to university buildings in Manchester, there are no reports of museums being targeted. There are no reports of damage to museum buildings in Birmingham or Liverpool.
Update
15.08.2011
We said the outreach programme with young carers at Bruce Castle museum was abandoned last Monday evening. In fact, it took place during the day.
Has your museum been affected by the riots? Are you thinking about exhibitions or programmes that will address the recent unrest? Please log-in and let us know by commenting below...
Deborah Hedgecock, curator of Bruce Castle Museum in Tottenham, situated only one street away from the Carpetright building that was burned down in the riots this week, said that the museum was rethinking activities around the 26th anniversary of the Broadwater Farm riots in light of the unrest.
She said: "We are reconsidering what should be done in terms of public engagement. There should be some public consultation about how we should reflect recent events, and in the wake of what has happened we have to be careful about how we respond."
Despite its proximity to the riots, the museum was not damaged and has been open as usual, with a full complement of staff, but an outreach programme with young carers had to be abandoned on Monday, she said, as people were traumatised by what they had seen.
Visitor numbers were down, she added, but staff had been encouraged by the number of people who had made enquiries or visited since the riots.
As well as the Broadwater Farm Exhibition project 2010-2011, an exhibition about the Broadwater Farm riots which runs until March next year, the museum is planning a project called Forgotten Gangs, which will focus on giving a voice to those young people who are not in gangs, reflecting a positive image for young people in the area.
Hedgecock said that a project addressing the riots may also be considered, but it was a question of what and how.
"There are some young people who are extremely hard to reach,” she said. "Some are beyond reach because they are too dangerous [to engage with]. We are at the heart of the community here and we are working with people all the time, but sometimes people won’t let us in.
"It is very difficult in terms of funding. Youth services and programmes, which are the normal routes that we would use to engage with harder-to-reach young people, are up in the air. We are doing what we can to support those people that we can with the funding available."
The Museum of Liverpool is also addressing the recent riots with an interactive exhibit in the People’s Republic Gallery that will gather visitor reponses to the unrest.
Another project in the Museum of Liverpool entitled The Secret Life Of Smithdown Road, which looks into the history of the Smithdown Road area, one of the localities targeted by rioters this week, has seen a number of comments on its Facebook page comparing and contrasting this week’s unrest with riots in the area in the 1980s.
The National Maritime Museum and the Horniman Museum in London closed early and the Geffrye Museum cut short one of its youth programmes this week, but otherwise there are no reports of museums being affected by the unrest that took place across England.
Hannah Lake, project manager of Stories Of The World at the Geffrye Museum, said that a film-making course for 14-24 year olds, which was due to end at 9pm, was cut short on Wednesday evening to allow the young people to travel home, and that the museum had been monitoring the situation and informing parents.
Despite reports of damage to university buildings in Manchester, there are no reports of museums being targeted. There are no reports of damage to museum buildings in Birmingham or Liverpool.
Update
15.08.2011
We said the outreach programme with young carers at Bruce Castle museum was abandoned last Monday evening. In fact, it took place during the day.
Has your museum been affected by the riots? Are you thinking about exhibitions or programmes that will address the recent unrest? Please log-in and let us know by commenting below...
