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.
In this blog we’ve asked People’s History Museum’s (PHM) Interim Director Becky Peters to introduce the new Welcome Project at PHM, which is revitalising the museum’s visitor experience, as the exciting first steps begin on site today.
Art historian Simon Faulkner considers the history and meanings of the raised fist symbol using examples that include posters and photographs from People’s History Museum’s collection.
2023 marks 50 years since the Chilean military coup of 1973, during which time democratically elected socialist leader President Salvador Allende was killed. The coup led to international outcry. In the aftermath, individuals and organisations around the UK rallied to Chile’s aid. Campaigners demanded human rights for the people of Chile, protesting the violent repression of the country’s dictator General Augusto Pinochet.
Carole Concha Bell is a PhD student at King’s College London and freelance writer. She arrived in the UK with her family as a child refugee fleeing the Pinochet regime in 1975, and is a founding member of the Chile Solidarity Network and press officer for Mapuche International Link. In this blog, she reflects on the Chile Solidarity Campaign (CSC) that emerged in Britain.
In this blog PHM’s Researcher Dr Shirin Hirsch writes about the Peterloo Massacre. On 16 August 1819 60,000 people congregated in St Peter’s Field in Manchester, with demands for the right to vote, freedom from oppression, and justice. Despite its peaceful beginning, this was a day that would end with a bloody outcome.
Mark Ashton was an activist and campaigner in the 1980s, perhaps most known for co-founding Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners during the miners’ strike of 1984-85. He was a member the Communist Party of Great Britain and joined Red Wedge, a collective of musicians aiming to engage young people with the Labour movement. Mark died of AIDS related illness in 1987. The Mark Ashton Trust was set up by a group of friends to respond to the ongoing crisis.