The Protest Lab wants
your objects – how to manage an experimental loan agreement
Disrupt? Peterloo and
Protest is an exhibition that aims to highlight the relevance of the
Peterloo Massacre (1819) to current campaigns for democracy. The People’s
History Museum (PHM) is asking members of the public to bring in their own
objects to be put on open display alongside original Peterloo artefacts. Sam
Jenkins, Collections Officer, told the audience how PHM approached loans
management in such an experimental exhibition format.
In recent years, the model for co-curation has been applied
by museums working with different communities. By pulling out recent stories of
protest PHM is encouraging its audience to consider what everyday acts of protest
they engage with. Objects from a march, like placards or badges, will be shown
alongside objects like disposable coffee cups or a lipstick. Drop-in days have
been organised from March – September 2019 where individuals can bring in their
items of protest and discuss their story with a member of staff. This cultural exchange
of insight and expertise between museum staff and members of the public
contributes to the sector’s move towards better representation of previously
unheard narratives.
However, the challenge faced by PHM was how to manage all of
these personal items moving in and out of their care. As Lyn Stevens Tweeted during
the event, complex situations call for simple loan agreements!
One form was drafted to capture all of the information PHM
needed about the object, including a signature agreeing to the clauses listed
in the image above. Individuals confirm that they are the legal owner and that
they are lending their object at their own risk – a smart decision made by PHM
as the items are on open display. Object descriptions and their connected
stories of protest are also captured on this loan agreement. Whilst people love
the idea of writing the label for their object they aren’t necessarily prepared
to write it at the time of depositing the item which can cause a delay in
proceedings. To make the loans process clearer, handling tables were introduced
at the drop off-events to provide a platform for discussion between potential
lenders and PHM staff.
An exciting element of this project is that the exhibition
will grow and change as new objects come in throughout the year. PHM will be
able to engage with stories of protest that are happening now as, in theory;
individuals bring in an object connected to a march that happened last week!
The collection is a showcase of democracy so it reflects a variety of stories
but it also highlights some gaps. Whilst the collection is largely left-leaning
this project has found that the people it is trying to engage with most are
probably out protesting when the drop-off days are scheduled. Social media is
used to encourage people to bring in their items of protest and as many groups
organise protests on spaces like Twitter, this feels like an appropriate
platform to advertise PHM’s experimental project.
The Protest Lab project is in the same vein of a paper from
earlier in the day entitled ‘But what if we tried?’ at Touchstones, Rochdale
Art Gallery. Projects like these are exactly what the sector needs to further encourage
a wider range of institutions to be brave enough to take on challenging
subjects. PHM provides opportunities for people to be inspired by ‘ideas worth
fighting for’ and I think most would agree that broader community engagement and
representation in collections is an idea worth fighting for.
Written by Louise Hanwright, Project Reveal Loans Officer, National Trust Scotland
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