Helmand: The Soldiers' Story was a direct response by the National Army Museum to a request from the members of 16 Air Assault Brigade, who wanted to give their families and the public an insight into their experiences on the frontline.
If you are seeking an exhibition that provides an in-depth analysis of the British army's involvement in Afghanistan, then you are looking in the wrong place.
This exhibition, which has just been named on the 10-strong longlist for the Art Fund Prize, makes it clear from the outset that the story it tells is that of the soldiers of the 16 Air Assault Brigade in their own words.
In April 2006, units from the brigade began to deploy to southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick IV. About 3,500 personnel set up home in Camp Bastion in Helmand province, from where they were
to work towards creating the conditions under which reconstruction could take place.
Unfortunately, the brigade was greeted by a resurgent Taliban, and the troops faced fierce fighting in what is one of the world's most demanding environments.
Creating an exhibition about a still-unfolding event using the words of the people who were there, rather than those of curators, raises many issues in terms of how museums interpret opinion and fact.
Helmand: The Soldiers' Story boldly demonstrates how user-generated content can be employed in a moving and insightful way. This exhibition depicts something that is still happening - forget reality TV, this is a reality museum.
The museum team that led this project started out collecting oral testimonies, videos, images and objects from the soldiers of 16 Air Assault Brigade. The team worked with representatives from the regiments to create the exhibition's narrative in the soldiers' words.
Working with the designers, the soldiers built all the 3-D exhibition sets, which work well and give a dramatic sense of realism.
But does the exhibition really tell "the soldiers' story"? I went with my partner and children to visit it in January. My secret weapon was my partner, who is a member of the British armed forces and had served with the brigade during their tour of Helmand.
The introduction to the exhibition is in a corridor that has a few black-and-white images of British military involvement in the region from the 1840s, but no accompanying interpretation. The aims of 16 Air Assault Brigade's mission in Afghanistan are outlined and an introductory panel gives a brief chronology of the events post 9/11 that led to the United Nations' decision to establish the International Security Assistance Force.
After the introductions, visitors are led into an accommodation tent that was put together by the Royal Logistic Corps. My partner said that the tent "smelled right", although it was too tidy and lacked the jumble of military kit.
The tent is an example of the bed spaces that are the soldiers' "homes" during their deployment. Several of the spaces have "blueys" - the airmail letters that service personnel and their families can send for free, courtesy of the British Forces Post Office - scattered on the beds.
These are real letters the guys sent and received during their time on Operation Herrick. The tent contains other small personal items such as deodorants, clothes and magazines. The only thing missing is the inevitable plethora of "lads' mags".
Opposite the accommodation tent is a small display, Identifying the Threat, which provides brief information on the Taliban fighters. It would have been useful to have some more detail here, thereby countering any criticisms that the exhibition doesn't give
a balanced view of the conflict.
From here, visitors are led into the main exhibition space, where they are confronted with the sound of rapid gunfire and rock music. This is the iPod generation's war, and music from the soldiers' playlists has been interwoven into the exhibition to try and recreate the atmosphere.
Life on the Hill depicts the daily routines of the soldiers based in the notorious "platoon houses", and shows the awful conditions
in which they lived. Inside the reconstructed dwelling is a large projector screen showing video footage recorded by soldiers on their mobile phones, describing their daily routine of eating, sleeping and playing cards.
It is clear that much of the time in the platoon houses could be monotonous. Nothing would happen for maybe 10 hours, then there might be high-tempo enemy "contacts" for prolonged periods.
Each section features a series of quotations from the soldiers, which build up to form the narrative. Although it occasionally feels as if there is a lot to read, it worked for me, as I found the soldiers' testimonies explanatory in a way that more traditional museum text panels would struggle to convey.
Under Siege is a reconstructed "sangar" - an improvised firing position giving overhead protection. Again, music, video and quotes from the soldiers are used to convey what it feels like to be under siege. Body armour hangs up for visitors to discover how heavy it is.
Some of the objects in the accompanying display case are moving. One item is a piece of shrapnel with fragments of clothing still on it. The owner of these clothes, warrant officer class two Stockton, was injured while recovering a crashed unmanned air vehicle. He was flown to Camp Bastion, where his arm was amputated.
Equipment crates have been creatively used as display cases and stands for audiovisuals. Videos, images, documents and audio clips can be accessed from laptops that are dotted around the exhibits. These provide additional layers of detail and context.
The weakest part of the exhibition, visually and in terms of object content, is Field Treatment. But the narrative panels and audio clips still tell fascinating stories about how the troops are treated when wounded or ill. It also provides one of the few glimpses of how life is for the Afghan people, with a female medic describing the open mornings held for local families.
Going Home is a wall panel with the names of the 19 soldiers from the brigade who lost their lives in Helmand between June and September 2006. It also gives the numbers of British forces and Ministry of Defence civilian casualties between 2001 and 2006. In contrast, no mention is made of Taliban losses.
So does the exhibition achieve what it sets out to do? My partner was struck by how it really is "the soldiers' story". "It doesn't seek to justify the deployment, but it opens a door on the life of our soldiers in that harsh environment," he said.
"I have seen too often senior officers saying how the troops 'love it', but this was a story told by the young soldiers of the brigade. If I had a complaint, it would be that things are too clean and the equipment isn't knackered enough.
"Overall, this is an opportunity to see the life of people on operations at close range, how they coped with the extreme hardships they faced, how they tackled the boredom and how they recorded their experiences. And to me, it all felt right."
The original rationale for Helmand: The Soldiers' Story was to give the soldiers the opportunity to explain their time in Helmand to their families and the wider public. From the point of view of someone who had a loved one there, this exhibition goes a long way to achieving this.
Lucy Shaw is the Diversify coordinator at the Museums Association
If you are seeking an exhibition that provides an in-depth analysis of the British army's involvement in Afghanistan, then you are looking in the wrong place.
This exhibition, which has just been named on the 10-strong longlist for the Art Fund Prize, makes it clear from the outset that the story it tells is that of the soldiers of the 16 Air Assault Brigade in their own words.
In April 2006, units from the brigade began to deploy to southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick IV. About 3,500 personnel set up home in Camp Bastion in Helmand province, from where they were
to work towards creating the conditions under which reconstruction could take place.
Unfortunately, the brigade was greeted by a resurgent Taliban, and the troops faced fierce fighting in what is one of the world's most demanding environments.
Creating an exhibition about a still-unfolding event using the words of the people who were there, rather than those of curators, raises many issues in terms of how museums interpret opinion and fact.
Helmand: The Soldiers' Story boldly demonstrates how user-generated content can be employed in a moving and insightful way. This exhibition depicts something that is still happening - forget reality TV, this is a reality museum.
The museum team that led this project started out collecting oral testimonies, videos, images and objects from the soldiers of 16 Air Assault Brigade. The team worked with representatives from the regiments to create the exhibition's narrative in the soldiers' words.
Working with the designers, the soldiers built all the 3-D exhibition sets, which work well and give a dramatic sense of realism.
But does the exhibition really tell "the soldiers' story"? I went with my partner and children to visit it in January. My secret weapon was my partner, who is a member of the British armed forces and had served with the brigade during their tour of Helmand.
The introduction to the exhibition is in a corridor that has a few black-and-white images of British military involvement in the region from the 1840s, but no accompanying interpretation. The aims of 16 Air Assault Brigade's mission in Afghanistan are outlined and an introductory panel gives a brief chronology of the events post 9/11 that led to the United Nations' decision to establish the International Security Assistance Force.
After the introductions, visitors are led into an accommodation tent that was put together by the Royal Logistic Corps. My partner said that the tent "smelled right", although it was too tidy and lacked the jumble of military kit.
The tent is an example of the bed spaces that are the soldiers' "homes" during their deployment. Several of the spaces have "blueys" - the airmail letters that service personnel and their families can send for free, courtesy of the British Forces Post Office - scattered on the beds.
These are real letters the guys sent and received during their time on Operation Herrick. The tent contains other small personal items such as deodorants, clothes and magazines. The only thing missing is the inevitable plethora of "lads' mags".
Opposite the accommodation tent is a small display, Identifying the Threat, which provides brief information on the Taliban fighters. It would have been useful to have some more detail here, thereby countering any criticisms that the exhibition doesn't give
a balanced view of the conflict.
From here, visitors are led into the main exhibition space, where they are confronted with the sound of rapid gunfire and rock music. This is the iPod generation's war, and music from the soldiers' playlists has been interwoven into the exhibition to try and recreate the atmosphere.
Life on the Hill depicts the daily routines of the soldiers based in the notorious "platoon houses", and shows the awful conditions
in which they lived. Inside the reconstructed dwelling is a large projector screen showing video footage recorded by soldiers on their mobile phones, describing their daily routine of eating, sleeping and playing cards.
It is clear that much of the time in the platoon houses could be monotonous. Nothing would happen for maybe 10 hours, then there might be high-tempo enemy "contacts" for prolonged periods.
Each section features a series of quotations from the soldiers, which build up to form the narrative. Although it occasionally feels as if there is a lot to read, it worked for me, as I found the soldiers' testimonies explanatory in a way that more traditional museum text panels would struggle to convey.
Under Siege is a reconstructed "sangar" - an improvised firing position giving overhead protection. Again, music, video and quotes from the soldiers are used to convey what it feels like to be under siege. Body armour hangs up for visitors to discover how heavy it is.
Some of the objects in the accompanying display case are moving. One item is a piece of shrapnel with fragments of clothing still on it. The owner of these clothes, warrant officer class two Stockton, was injured while recovering a crashed unmanned air vehicle. He was flown to Camp Bastion, where his arm was amputated.
Equipment crates have been creatively used as display cases and stands for audiovisuals. Videos, images, documents and audio clips can be accessed from laptops that are dotted around the exhibits. These provide additional layers of detail and context.
The weakest part of the exhibition, visually and in terms of object content, is Field Treatment. But the narrative panels and audio clips still tell fascinating stories about how the troops are treated when wounded or ill. It also provides one of the few glimpses of how life is for the Afghan people, with a female medic describing the open mornings held for local families.
Going Home is a wall panel with the names of the 19 soldiers from the brigade who lost their lives in Helmand between June and September 2006. It also gives the numbers of British forces and Ministry of Defence civilian casualties between 2001 and 2006. In contrast, no mention is made of Taliban losses.
So does the exhibition achieve what it sets out to do? My partner was struck by how it really is "the soldiers' story". "It doesn't seek to justify the deployment, but it opens a door on the life of our soldiers in that harsh environment," he said.
"I have seen too often senior officers saying how the troops 'love it', but this was a story told by the young soldiers of the brigade. If I had a complaint, it would be that things are too clean and the equipment isn't knackered enough.
"Overall, this is an opportunity to see the life of people on operations at close range, how they coped with the extreme hardships they faced, how they tackled the boredom and how they recorded their experiences. And to me, it all felt right."
The original rationale for Helmand: The Soldiers' Story was to give the soldiers the opportunity to explain their time in Helmand to their families and the wider public. From the point of view of someone who had a loved one there, this exhibition goes a long way to achieving this.
Lucy Shaw is the Diversify coordinator at the Museums Association
Project data
Cost: £40,000 (excluding publicity)
Exhibition design: Met Studios
Team leader: Jo Woolley, head of marketing
Exhibition ends: October 2008
Cost: £40,000 (excluding publicity)
Exhibition design: Met Studios
Team leader: Jo Woolley, head of marketing
Exhibition ends: October 2008
