Abstract
The Museum of the Home in London, UK, examines the meanings of home and domestic histories over the past 400 years. The main display spaces consist of period rooms, recreating homes from 1630 to today. Prior to the Real Rooms project, the period rooms for the most part only portrayed white, middle-class homes, and therefore were severely lacking in representation of London’s diverse history. The Real Rooms galleries, opened in July 2024, were a conscious attempt to redress this balance, not only by changing what stories the rooms tell, but also in inviting communities in to help tell their stories themselves. A Community Authors programme was established to act as the commissioning body for the project, guiding its direction and helping develop the displays. Community groups were created or brought in to co-curate each of the individual spaces, telling us what objects and traditions are crucial to their idea of home. Participants were paid for their time and their object donations, recognising the vital importance of community contributions to the Museum. This paper explores the Real Rooms from its inception to post-launch programming, delving into the challenges and amazing opportunities that open up to museums when they open themselves up to greater community involvement.
Presenters
Louis PlatmanCurator, Creative Programmes and Collections, Museum of the Home, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Co-curation, Community participation, Social history, Domestic history, Period rooms
