During the exhibition young people from RECLAIM, 42nd Street and a Manchester Pupil Referral Unit worked with artist Andrew Westle to explore what protest meant to them and the issues that they wanted to amplify.
Young people from all three groups collaborated to produce an exciting celebratory event at PHM on Friday 21st February 2020 called ‘Trapped in the Museum’, “a free, one-off party for young people and allies…. a performative and immersive rave in response to party as a place of protest… from celebrating our identities to knowing our rights….embedded in notions of creative disobedience and collective action as part of PHM’s programme exploring the past, present and future of protest, marking 200 years since the Peterloo Massacre”.
The young people working on Trapped in the Museum decided upon the issues they wanted to amplify and explore through a series of facilitated interactives within the event. These ranged from issues around young people’s mental health, body image, stop and search and raising awareness of the Xinjiang re-education camps in China.
The event, co-produced with the young people over the course of 15 workshops, involved the transformation of spaces not normally used for events, including the museum yard, basement and meeting rooms. 120 people attended the event.