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.
This year at PHM we are looking at creative ways to protest, so we asked Polly Palmerini a Graduate Teaching Assistant on BA (Hons) Photography course at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) to blog about her recent project, Make a Manifesto for a Better Future, with students from Abraham Moss Community School, who were inspired to protest and create change through the power of visual communication.
To complement the performance of a specially commissioned song that celebrates the story of the Skelmanthorpe flag, on loan from Tolson Museum, on display in PHM’s Disrupt? Peterloo and Protest exhibition, we asked Commoners Choir member Catherine Long to describe this tuneful project and the 50 mile, three day walk it inspired.
We’re exploring the past, present and future of protest throughout 2019, and have compiled our own protest playlist. Here our friend, curator, DJ and co-founder of Manchester Digital Music Archive, Abigail Ward shares her highlights from Manchester’s history of rebel music.
To complement the display of a portrait of Hugh Hornby Birley, who as captain of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry played a central role in the events that unfolded at the Peterloo Massacre, we asked author Jeff Kaye to share his research on Birley from his forthcoming novel All the People and treat us to an excerpt about the painting, now in People’s History Museum’s (PHM) collection.
People’s History Museum (PHM) runs a monthly textile workshop, The Fabric of Protest, that brings together conversation and making, politics and craft. Here artist Helen Mather, who leads the workshops, tells us about what happens in the session and what the participants have been learning and creating so far in 2019.
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