Kirklees Metropolitan Council and Bagshaw Museum
Batley, West Yorkshire
The Council has a highly developed and organised range of multi-cultural initiatives across its museums and heritage sites. The five sites within the Community History Service are the Bagshaw Museum, Oakwell Hall, Red House, Tolson Museum and Dewsbury Museum. Autumn 2003-Spring 2004 saw a targeted project called Celebrate Festivals and Anniversaries. Using artefacts at the sites as a basis of study, local communities enjoyed the opportunity to attend workshops around the Muslim festival of Eid, the Sikh and Hindu celebration of Diwali and Vaisakhi, the Chinese New Year, and Christian celebrations. Bagshaw Museum is a Victorian Gothic mansion built in 1875/6 for a local mill owner. It sits in the middle of a 1960s housing development, close to one of the busiest M62 junctions. The collection centres on the eclectic gatherings of Walter Bagshaw, who opened several rooms as a museum in 1911.
The commitment from the local authority is highly valued by the staff. Their support and expertise, and integration with other museums and the education service, has enabled staff to be far more effective. Whereas some historic sites see education as an adjunct to their collections, Bagshaw and Kirklees have made education the reason for existence. Across the whole community they encourage a wide range of events, activities and exhibitions, designed to bring people closer to their own cultural heritage and encourage life-long learning.
These are two recent examples:
A group of young women of South East Asian origin was invited to meet here. They were asked to choose three objects and talk about what these meant to them. This triggered a wide-ranging conversation, encompassing feelings of dislocation and parent/school/peer group conflicts. The women agreed that a common education led to a common ownership and involvement in a common history. The conversations were recorded and have been used in schools and amongst professionals addressing these issues.
A project called Winter Starsinvolved KS1 pupils from two schools. Museum staff visited the schools and helped teachers work with pupils to understand the other schools predominant winter festival. Letters to a pen-pal were exchanged, asking questions about and describing Eid/Christmas, and vice-versa. A joint party was held at the museum when pen-pals met and shared the food and customs of their different traditions. All involved were keen to repeat and expand the exercise.
Bagshaw Museum and Kirklees Metropolitan Council pride themselves on being a community service. They listen and work with their teachers and use their historic sites for all to meet, learn and develop a common understanding and heritage. JR
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