Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

People's History Museum blog

PHM is the national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future.

On this blog we share posts from the PHM team and other experts, with behind the scenes stories, coverage of PHM's exhibitions and events, and highlights from the museum's unique collection.

Image of March for British Sign Language (BSL) recognition, 2000. Photograph courtesy of Jen Dodds

British Sign Language: why is it under threat? 

2 May 2023


To mark Deaf Awareness Week (1-7 May 2023) we asked award-winning author and activist Dr Paddy Ladd to share an overview of Deaf Culture, history and sign language.  In this blog he explains why it is still under threat.



Read more

Image of Lorina Bulwer sampler, late 1800s. Image courtesy of Costume and Textile Collection, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery (Norfolk Museums Service)

The fabric of protest in disabled people's activism

13 April 2023


Gill Crawshaw is a curator, based in Leeds, who draws on her experience of disability activism to organise art exhibitions and events which highlight issues affecting disabled people. She is interested in the intersection of disabled people’s lives with textile heritage in the north of England, as well as with contemporary textile arts.

In March 2023, Gill took part in People’s History Museum’s (PHM) The Fabric of Protest workshop. She reflects on how disabled people have used textiles as a powerful tool of communication and on some of the objects on show in PHM’s current exhibition about disabled people’s activism, Nothing About Us Without Us.



Read more

Image of Fempress poster, by Pescina, around 1980s

International Women’s Day: posters for female liberation

8 March 2023


In celebration of International Women’s Day 2023, People’s History Museum’s Collections Officer Shivaya Prasad selects campaign materials for women’s rights from our collection of almost three thousand posters. These distinctive posters use bold slogans and illustrations to campaign for issues such as female liberation and bodily autonomy.



Read more

Image of Leather jacket worn by campaigner Harry Leslie Smith, around 2013

Standing with Harry: 'the world’s oldest rebel'

25 February 2023


To mark the centenary of Harry’s birth (25 February 1923), PHM Collections Manager Sam Jenkins takes a look at Harry’s story and the iconic jacket that he wore when he took his ‘last stand’ – which is now part of PHM’s collection.



Read more

Image of Nothing About Us Without Us exhibition at People's History Museum (16 November 2022 to 16 October 2023)

Changing Thinking: Changing Outcomes

12 January 2023


For this blog we invited Richard Rieser, Co-ordinator UK of Disability History Month, to visit our landmark exhibition Nothing About Us Without Us (on show until 16 October 2023)



Read more

 

Categories



Date Archive

We use cookies on our website to provide you with a better experience. See our privacy policy for further information. OK