People’s History Museum (PHM) has announced that it will showcase two major exhibitions in 2026. It will open the year with Re/Assemble on Saturday 17 January – an exhibition that draws inspiration from the 1988 Section 28 protest marches, a key moment in Manchester’s radical history – and follow with On The Line on Saturday 21 March, which marks the centenary of the General Strike of 1926 and examines its legacy.
Re/Assemble
Saturday 17 January 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027
Re/Assemble’s starting point is the largest LGBTQIA+ demonstration in British history, when 20,000 people gathered in Manchester in 1988 to protest against Section 28 – a clause in the Local Government Act that prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by schools and local authorities. For 15 years, this legislation cast a dark shadow, fostering a climate of fear and hostility that remains in the memories of many.
Developed following a two-year long research project, Re/Assemble is a new exhibition by Manchester-based arts organisation IAP:MCR, which creates and presents work across the visual and performing arts by artists who identify as queer. It will feature newly commissioned artworks that respond to the legacy of Section 28, explore themes of protest and resilience, and celebrate queer voices and creativity. These works will be displayed alongside historic artefacts from People’s History Museum’s own collection, including protest banners and objects, in Gallery Two.
The three artists commissioned for Re/Assemble each bring a distinct perspective and practice to the exhibition. Anna Appleby is an award-winning composer and songwriter whose work spans contemporary classical and electro-acoustic music. Sarah-Joy Ford explores the complexities and pleasures of queer communities, histories, and archives through her distinctive use of textiles. Yuen Fong Ling draws on a variety of media including drawing, photography, video and sculpture, employing performance and participation to engage with audiences.
Re/Assemble opens at People’s History Museum on Saturday 17 January 2026 and is part of a project being led by IAP:MCR called PROTEST! – Documenting Dissent, which is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
On The Line: 100 years of solidarity and strikes
Saturday 21 March to Sunday 1 November 2026
On The Line will take visitors through 100 years of turbulent industrial relations, beginning with a watershed event that brought Britain to a standstill – the 1926 General Strike. For nine days, workers across the country withdrew their labour in an unprecedented act of unity called by the Trade Union Congress (TUC). This remarkable moment of national solidarity took place between 4 and 12 May 1926 in support of over a million miners who had been locked out of work for refusing to accept lower pay, but its impact would go far beyond.
The exhibition focuses on the theme of solidarity, highlighting key moments over the last century when individuals and communities have united as a last resort in the face of injustice, poor working conditions, and unfair treatment. It examines the impact of strike action on both individuals and wider society, told through powerful objects in People’s History Museum’s collection — from the talismanic Victory and Union banner (first seen during the Great Dock Strike of 1889), to artwork by artists including Cliff Rowe and Ken Sprague, and mass-produced t-shirts and posters. Viewed together, these historic pieces reveal how one act of resistance can inspire another, how each step contributes towards achieving change for the many, and how strike action often brings complex and personal challenges.
The 50th anniversary of the Grunwick strike (1976-1978) falls during the exhibition run, and introduces visitors to a remarkable individual: Jayaben Desai. Jayaben epitomises the spirit of On The Line. A migrant worker from east Africa, she found her voice and turned it into a roar, in the fight for rights and representation. Her leadership in the Grunwick dispute helped spark one of the largest mobilisations in labour movement history and is told through banners, posters and photographs.
Community solidarity has often played a vital role in moments of industrial struggle. During the Miners’ Strike (1984-1985) two powerful examples stand out: the campaign Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), led by the LGBTQIA+ community, and Women Against Pit Closures, which began as grassroots groups formed by women and miners’ wives and grew into a nationwide movement. Through banners, artwork, posters and ceramics both of these stories will unfold within On The Line, and as part of the accompanying programme there will be a screening and Q&A of Iron Ladies, a film dedicated to the iron-willed women who fought for the future of their communities.
The exhibition explores what drives people to feel that striking is the only option. It will take visitors to the frontline of industrial action, share historic turning points, and examine the different perspectives that shape these pivotal moments – all through People’s History Museum’s rich collection of historic and contemporary objects and imagery.
On The Line opens at People’s History Museum on Saturday 21 March 2026 and is part of the General Strike 100 national partnership that includes over 15 museums, libraries, archives, and groups. It is generously funded with support from The TUUT Charitable Trust, GMB Union, and Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, who have made this exhibition possible.
Ahead of On The Line opening in 2026, visitors can discover the inspirational story of Jayaben Desai when We Are The Lions, Mr Manager! takes to the stage at PHM on Monday 20 October as part of a national tour presented by Townsend Theatre Productions.
Tickets (full £15, concessions £10) for We Are The Lions, Mr Manager! on Monday 20 October, are bookable here. The production is suitable for ages 12+.
People’s History Museum’s opening hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm, every day except Tuesdays. The cafe at PHM serves a Family Friendly menu, or you can bring your own food and picnic in the welcome area. PHM has a Changing Places toilet and lifts to its galleries. Museum entry is free, with most visitors donating £10. For further information about PHM, its latest programme of events and visiting the museum visit phm.org.uk, and you can keep up to date with the latest news by signing up to receive PHM’s e-newsletter.
ENDS
For further information about PHM, to arrange a visit or interview please contact Fido PR:
laura.sullivan@fidopr.co.uk / clare.short@fidopr.co.uk
Re/Assemble images: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/f9fgjzuw9s2sw6jsbl3vr/AEdBDaY7822MUTI63y-B54I?rlkey=n22g7henh9asuoul86x76h2qb&st=dr8jyfjh&dl=0
On The Line images: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/43jgwnqtmcyn2s00pnaiz/AAnp0G3FCEhhMCyzVmjl79g?rlkey=cp9y64s216q675epd8f30brd4&st=m1uu5aiz&dl=0
Notes to editors:
About People’s History Museum
People’s History Museum (PHM) in Manchester is the UK’s national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future. Through an eclectic and colourful mix of historic and contemporary collections, featuring banners, badges, posters, photography and more, the museum celebrates the radical stories of people coming together to champion ideas worth fighting for.
Offering an engaging programme of exhibitions and events, collaborating with communities to create authentic content, the museum is Family Friendly throughout – inspiring the next generation to be active citizens.
People’s History Museum encourages visitors to be empowered by the past to make a change for the future. We are all together in the fight for a fairer world.
About Arts Council England (ACE)
PHM is an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). The work of PHM is supported using public funding by ACE, the national development agency for creativity and culture. ACE have set out their strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 they want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. From 2023 to 2026 they will invest over £467 million of public money from government and an estimated £250 million from The National Lottery each year to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.
Re-Assemble
About IAP:MCR
IAP:MCR creates and presents new work across the visual and performing arts made by artists who identify as queer. IAP:MCR tells the stories of LGBTQIA+ people utilising multi-disciplinary art forms to engage, welcome and entertain, whilst enabling collaboration, participation and celebration.
www.iapmcr.co.uk
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033.
Over the next ten years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.
We help protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.
We are passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund www.heritagefund.org.uk
On The Line: 100 years of solidarity and strikes
About The TUUT Charitable Trust
The TUUT Charitable Trust was established by the trade union movement in 1969. The Trust aims to support the most vulnerable in society through donations to registered charities.
www.tufm.co.uk/about-us/charity
About GMB Union
GMB is an organising and campaigning union for all workers, currently numbering some 500,000 members. Founded in 1889, it has a long and proud history that stretches through the General Strike of 1926 to the Grunwick Dispute, of 1976-78, and the recent Glasgow Women’s Strike, of October 2018, which secured gender equality for thousands of women across the city, transforming lives and opportunities.
www.gmb.org.uk
About Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM)
The London Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) group was formed in July 1984, four months into the year-long miners’ strike of 1984-5. Founding members Mike Jackson and Mark Ashton had organised a bucket collection to support the striking miners on the June 1984 London Pride march and decided that more needed to be done to raise awareness of the miners’ cause in the London lesbian and gay community.
www.lgsm.org
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