DMWorldCulture

A co-produced World Collections project begins here. We aim to explore and share the process as the new community focused gallery emerges. Working closely and kindly with the diverse and interesting people of Derby, connecting objects of the world with people of the world. What might be possible...? #DMWorldCulture Follow @DMWorldCulture

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Choreographic Objects: a blog by volunteer Sam Metz

I undertook a short residency as an artist at Derby Museums within their World Cultures Gallery, platformed by Divine Locale a curatorial group supporting emerging artists and graduates formed by Derby University graduates Jade Foster and Jennifer Birch and steered by current Derby University Fine Art students.

I was conscious in undertaking the work that I have a few positions to be transparent about; I am a white artist for whom working in a world cultures gallery should be done with an undertaking of an examination of white privilege. I am also someone who is actively engaged in community work and education within museums and galleries, having worked as a programmer, artist and educator in many galleries and museums in the East Midlands. I am passionate about the notion of co-production, particularly in relation to building collections and exhibitions. I am particularly passionate about Derby Museums inclusion of human centred design in the way they curate their collections – utilising process led approaches that create spaces with a lack of fixity in meaning – so that new visitors and communities can add their stories and interpretation.

With this in mind and with an idea that the emerging interpretation in the world cultures gallery was evolving and could be informed by mine and the other artists explorations – I decided I wanted to make my work ‘small’ and by this I mean, have limited traces in the gallery itself. The stories in the gallery space speak of colonialism, theft, occupation – the crimes of white people. I felt that my white voice was unnecessary in that narrative. I am more interested in the stories of objects of the world being told by diverse communities.

I have been working with groups of young people with autism and learning difficulties to create non-verbal interpretation of exhibition content for some years now. This has often involved creating movement (dancing, touching, sniffing, tasting) in the gallery space in response to artworks and artefacts and then translating those physical responses back in the studio/ atelier space through making and experimentation and diverse artistic practice that interplays with the exhibition themes – from film and animation to assemblage. I have worked with young people to create alternative conversations with artworks that form interpretation that doesn’t privilege verbal and visual responses – I have been active in this work as a way of highlighting difference and to destabilize the prioritization of neurotypical interpretation over autistic sensorial interpretation and response, suggesting alternative conversations that can be had. I have been inspired by somatics and dance as a vehicle for unorthodox embodied interpretation.

I have been working on the idea of choreographic objects as an individual practitioner and as a socially engaged artist. This involves using the provocation of dance artist, choreographer and theorist Deborah Hay – of ‘Let my body be my leader’ as an impetus for narrating an interaction with an object. Quite simply through visual empathy and an understanding of the form, weight, shape and line of an object I allow my body to be inspired and to move. My body catalogues the feeling of an imagined touch of the object – it recreates the muscular sensation of touching, it translates it and stores the memory of the object. My body becomes an archive or a repository for the encounter. In performance I relate the aesthetic understanding I have of an object. In other project works I then create notation of my encounter through drawing and animation which creates a score for a movement motif. I was clear that this time it was important for me to not make physical works that left a trace in the gallery – and instead my body would be the sole ‘interpreter’.

A dialogue across objects

A line

A shape

A suggested connection

A deviation from the plane

An imagined moment

A pushing from static to fluid

A weight

A lightness

Touch and repel

Conversations across space

Through imagined connections

In the World Cultures Gallery I worked with three objects. I always think that good curation involves objects having dialogue across a space. I was interested in the shape and form of three sets of objects – a ceremonial axe handle from Trobriand Islands, Pacific Ocean, a pair of unprovenanced figures and the skull of an elephant, Gabon, Africa. These objects were in different displays but created a sight line and section across the gallery.  I created a sequence of movements that documented the way I viewed the objects, the way they made me feel physically. I created a motif of movements that documented this visual and physical engagement I had with the objects – from looking and walking around them. My dance didn’t interpret their histories or provenance or my understanding of their journey to the museum.

Was that ok? I’m really not sure – my desire was to move away from the mythic connections I may have to working with an elephant’s skull. An animal I know from stories and representation and not one I encounter in my wildlife. I was interested in what happened when I thought and I examined how my body responded to the lines and smoothness of this large object – rather than how my body exoticised and romanticised my idea of it. It feels like there is something democratic about having an embodied interaction with a work – but of course that isn’t wholly true as we all have different bodies.

I was interested in how the axe head deviated from the plane of the back of the vitrine, a curve I could recreate in my back side and legs. I was interested in the proxemic relation of my body and the skull, how I could walk around it and how it created spirals in my body. I was interested in how the two figures had bellies that if you moved them closer could be touching. I taped off a small square in the gallery and I performed each part of the motif, knitting together the embodied interactions into a short performance piece.

Many thanks to Divine Locale and Andrea Hadley–Johnson. Head of Co-production Display for the time and space for Research and Development

photo’s by Nisa Khan with thanks to Anne Ishikawa

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An introduction to our fantastic World Cultures gallery by Head of Coproduction Display, Andrea Hadley-Johnson. Film credit Claire Cutts and Joe Clarke at V21 Productions.

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‘Wood’ you believe it....

A guest blog by coproduction volunteer Stephen Hill.

Travels and learning through World Cultures Collection research

Part one

Having stepped away from the 9-to-5, I was looking for something different, or dare I say interesting, to tackle when I was introduced to Derby Museums volunteering and the fascinating World Cultures Collection. After dipping a toe in a co-production sharing day, I decided to take the next step and help to research some of the objects, aiming to gather information to assist with interpreting the new gallery. Little did I realise what a wonderful journey, both geographical and learning, this research would take me on.

I was looking for a theme to share some of this journey with and having been a materials scientist, I thought materials would be great vehicle. So here are the travels and fascinating facts to emerge from my research around 3 wooden objects.

Imagine my surprise on opening the picture file to find this striking gent staring back at me. The collection description stated “wooden head from a bayonet practice dummy”. Where would this take me and where could I find more information? A little judicious internet searching turned up a few good leads, which began a journey around Europe. This gent, or the mobile dummy to which he was attached, was nicknamed ‘Brother Boche’ and was the invention of a British Army physical training instructor. His aim was to improve the soldier training of the men volunteering in the later years of WW1 – but more of that later.

I wanted to know more about the bayonet as a weapon, which is where the tour of Europe began. The bayonet is thought to have originated in Spain as a hunting weapon, before being translated into the military arena by the French Army in the early- to mid-17th century. The bayonet made a useful addition to the available weapons at this time, when the slow rate of fire of firearms meant a charging enemy could engage in hand-to-hand combat.

However, by WW1 entrenched warfare in the fields of France and Belgium, weapons development and the mechanisation of warfare had rendered the bayonet ineffective; particularly in close-quarter fighting, where the soldier was turning to other weapons, even sharpened trenching shovels. There are views that suggest a long rifle with bayonet was a liability, citing occasions where an incautious soldier would allow the bayonet to protrude above the top of the trench giving away his position to enemy snipers, with fatal consequences.

So, you may ask why did the British Army persist with bayonet training and even go to the effort of developing new methods, such as the dummy to which this head was attached, in the later years of the war. Well, the view is the British Army’s use of the bayonet throughout WW1 was in part due to the weapon emphasising the masculinity of the soldier who could utilise it effectively.

To this end, bayonet training was always a major element of infantry drill; with new recruits spending considerable time learning and practicing ‘standard’ techniques. As WW1 progressed, soldiers became aware of the ‘standard’ bayonet fighting techniques and developed effective counters, further reducing the value and effectiveness of the weapon. It can be assumed the mobile training dummy was developed to give the new soldier better bayonet fighting skills, such that he would feel prepared and ready for battle.

Having had my appetite whetted by this item, I was interested, even excited, to see what would be next, where itwould take me and what I would learn.

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My First Week

Hello, my name is Katie and I am doing a 4-week placement at Derby Museum. I am Nottingham Trent University student, studying Museum and Heritage Development. The main project that I’m involved with is creating a series of videos that reflect the development process leading up to May 10th; the museum late event we have.

My first week has certainly flung me into the world of museum life quickly, hitting the ground running at every corner and bend. It’s been eventful, meeting such a lot of new people, and learning about the processes that occur. For example, I’ve particularly enjoyed getting some of the drawers ready – from using masking tape to remove any elements of dirt, to screwing screws back into place; it’s been an eye-opening week.

As I’ve immersed myself into this world, I’ve tried to capture, vlog and video as much as I can. The first few days were huge learning curves; transition shots of people walking, for instance, are just as important as filming someone handle an object. Also, ensuring that the correct style of background music used has been a wonderful challenge to explore and develop.

The first week’s vlog was interesting to film and edit, and I only hope to develop my skills as the placement progresses. It provides a short snapshot of the week I’ve had here in the World Cultures gallery at Derby Museum.

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guest blog by student conservator Monica Irisarri

Specialist treatment for a beautiful Poona figure

The opportunity to treat this 19th century Poona figure of a Parsee woman gave me a variety of conservation skills to practice, including researching its cultural and historic background and the different composite materials it is made of. Initial testing included X-ray imaging to gain a greater understanding of its construction, using arsenic testing strips to test the green paint on the wooden base, which tested positive. X-ray imaging confirmed it was cast on wooden dowels and showed some breaks in the plaster body that were hidden by the figure’s clothing. In addition, fibre identification was carried out using microscopy to confirm that the outer sari fabric was made of silk and the red trousers of cotton.

The first treatment was to stabilise the figure’s loose right foot, with a paper twist technique. I used Japanese paper (OK tissue paper) brushed with a 5% solution of Paraloid B72 in acetone, dried, twisted, and then inserted into the large gaps. Once inside the gap, the Paraloid B72 was reactivated by brushing acetone onto the papertwists. Then the gap was finished with in-painting to match the foot’s original dark grey colour. The base was then brushed with a thin Paraloid B72 coating to make it safe to handle because of the arsenic present in the paint.

Some treatments didn’t go as planned. From these, I took some important lessons. After carrying out solubility tests on the figure’s painted clay surface using water, acetone and white spirits, I didn’t witness any issues related to these liquids. I first tried white spirits without any noticeable change. Then tried water with amylase (synthetic saliva). This was giving noticeable results with my swab darkening with dirt. However, what I didn’t notice because I was swabbing by eye and not using microscopy, was that some of the surface paint was water soluble and coming off on the swab. The amylase resulted in being effective but not suitable. At that point, I stopped treatment and sought advice.

Even when I thought the treatment of the object was finished, in comparing my documentation photographs, I noticed an area of deterioration in the silk sari that had worsened at the lab. Other than gently brushing the fabric with a soft brush, I hadn’t treated the textile at all. It was clear that it needed to be stabilised to prevent further deterioration. This led me to seek advice and research treatments into textile conservation that I hadn’t previously encountered. I used a support fabric to stabilise three areas in the sari. Japanese Tengujo paper brushed with a 4% solution of Klucel G in acetone was used to stabilise the shoulder as an insert under the tear; silk crepeline brushed with a 4% solution of Klucel G in acetone was used as an overlay over the upper back so that the weft loss in the silk didn’t worsen; and finally, an overlay of Japanese Tengujo paper brushed with a 4% solution of Klucel G in acetone and laid over the silk on top of the head where the sari covers a top knot.

Even though some of these incidents made me feel disappointed in myself, they were important lessons in my development and education as a conservator. The opportunities this little object offered me were large, I took away valuable experiences, skills and most importantly, knowledge.

Monica Irisarri

University of Lincoln, Graduate Diploma in Conservation Studies

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The history student experience: working on the World Cultures project

By Adam Toms

I have to admit, I was somewhat skeptical when we embarked on our Derby University, Cultural Industries module. We’d become used to traditional, academically centered modules. However, once we’d planned our strategy and grabbed this module by the scruff of the neck, we gained many new skills, improved existing ones and surprised ourselves by delivering a competent pitch to finish. Little did we know how this extremely useful and enjoyable experience would pan out.

We began by taking part in a prototyping workshop with Andrea Hadley-Johnson, a hands on afternoon to understand how we might develop new ways of interpreting a World Cultures collection. Our first independent activity was to obtain information and feedback from visitors, volunteers and the museum team. We were fortunate that a conference for the National Trust was arranged for the same day, so we obtained lots of useful feedback from those in attendance. Seeing visitors initial reaction to our ideas helped us to redefine our interpretive tools and was a valuable first-hand experience of a co-production approach.

The coproduction team trusted us with their social media account so that we could conduct a Twitter takeover. It was really enjoyable and useful. People gave their feedback after viewing films of us explaining our prototypes. Hashtags boosted our publicity which enabled us to obtain a wide variety of thoughts, feelings and opinions.

Working with the Coproduction team enabled me and fellow group members to develop a host of new skills and enabled us to develop some existing skills. This included our ability to work in a team and with a local, professional institution. It required us to formally communicate ideas, as well as listen to them, helping us to develop our verbal and written communications skills. Our verbal communication was given more practice during our pitch presentation, for example I used recordings of the rehearsal to combat the rambling aspect of my presentation style.

We also developed some new skills such as learning how an exhibition is made and organised. Furthermore, we learnt how co-production is an effective means of creating an exhibit and that visitor interaction is crucial when trying to create a marvelous and informative museum experience.

During the process we acquired the new skill of identifying trends, challenges and opportunities within a sector. We talked about the technological revolution during our pitch, and how museums need to increase their use of social media. We learned to identity cultural and social challenges currently confronting the museum sector due to the increasingly diverse nature of the country’s population. This brings wonderful new opportunities to increase the global nature of the museum’s exhibits whilst also making our society face up to its’ historical deeds. Additionally, I have gained insight into what the visitor requires form an institution.

To conclude, even this blog entry displays our improved ability to reflect and improve upon work undertaken, this is vital for personal and professional improvement. It will improve how we recover from errors and respond to spontaneous queries and questions in future modules, pitches and careers. Overall, this module has helped us to analyse, not just the museum sector, but society from the eyes of others. This will be vital in ever more worrying times of hatred, far right political views and division.

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Guest blog by Ollie Brown

A few weeks ago we had an ideation session in which members of the wider museum team joined to discuss the questions and concerns that have arisen during the co-production process. It was a lively and engaging debate, and one of the key aspects of it was the dilemmas the museum faces around displaying objects of conflict. Although they’re uncomfortable topics, war, conflict and violence are an inescapable part of life. Despite its power to divide us, aggression also unites people as something that we will all experience in one way or another. It is for this reason that the World Cultures collection has a number of objects associated with conflict from places and societies all across the globe. These include the spears, axes and shields of ancient and modern cultures, various ornate swords, knives and daggers, and even a Japanese fighting fan (or “Tessen”) used by the Samurai. As fascinating as these objects may be, they pose difficult questions as to how might they be presented in the museum and what narrative strands we must explore.

It would easy to ignore them or show them as simple historical curiosities, but to do so would be an injustice to the complexity of the objects and would present an incorrect image of conflict as a thing of the past. In displaying the violent tools of other cultures, we must not forget the aggression of our own, both internally and in conflict with others. Although we may not want to engage with the uncomfortable reality of it, to overlook our own contributions to conflict would be to only present half the picture. It would be equally irresponsible to glorify the violence associated with these objects and lean towards morbid curiosity. To do so would oversimplify their rich histories, as many of the objects have multiple purposes, be they ceremonial, defensive or tools designed for hunting. However, the fact of the matter is that many of them are indeed tools designed to hurt and kill, and their uses cannot be ignored or swept under the rug.

The task that presents itself to us is to find ways to engage with these objects that give them the detail and respect they deserve, whilst simultaneously dealing with the sometimes unpleasant truths they bring up. This is where the co-production process comes to life. Museum planning often provokes similar questions to which there are no set answers, and having the input of a range of people and sources means solutions can be found that represent the views of many. As well as this, the evolving nature of co-production means these solutions can change and shift as and when they need to, providing a more responsive and engaged approach than traditional methods. In our question of conflict, we have been discussing different perspectives and thoughts in our ideation sessions and public feedback boards, and there have been some fascinating ideas to come out of it!

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Guest blog post Joe G. Martin

I’ve loved the opportunity to work on this object, the chance to conserve this purse allowed for exploration of reshaping basketry and develop knowledge of organic materials in conservation. From examining the purse I was able to discover multiple factors pointing the pieces origins: A small insect nest and frass from inhabitance appeared to be that of a South African lacewing (a type of small flying insect with translucent and reflective wings). A small feather also found in the base of the purse, under microscope analysis appeared to be that of the orange-breasted sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea), which is also native to South Africa. This may provide an insight into the use of the carrying vessel for the transportation of small birds and other foraged items such as berries. Upon research it is clear that reeds, such as those used in construction of the object, are not in abundance across the continent and are rather focused in areas around marshes or such landscapes with moisture-rich soil. Particularly used in the south and south-western regions of Africa is the Elegia tectorum plant (also known as cape thatching reed). Due to the objects organic composition, the condition (and lack of deterioration) would suggest a date of production would be very early 20th century. In order to reshape the purse, humidity had to be carefully applied within a controlled environment, before the material became supple enough to change its structure with the use of acid-free tissue, and two individually hand-shaped bases. I very much enjoyed the process of treating the piece and look forward to visiting the museum shortly.

Thanks, Joe G. Martin Conservation of Cultural Heritage, University of Lincoln

P.S. I wrote a full 4000 word treatment report for the object, explaining the treatment process, findings and analysis.

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Guest blog by student Curator Joshua Speer

Object Walks in Derby, UK

I first came across the #objectwalks project on Twitter, when a fellow tweeter liked one the of images. Coming from a background in object research, I was quick to find out more and initiate a conversation with Andrea Hadley-Johnson.

Currently studying a masters degree in curatorial practice at The Glasgow School of Art, I’ve found an interest in the research of objects and ‘things’ through the philosophical branch of Object-Oriented Ontology. Better known as OOO to the cool kids! OOO is an enquiry into the existence of objects, and understanding their existence by giving them the same importance as humans. In doing so, humans are not all powerful over objects, instead we live in a kind of co-existing harmony on planet earth (which is also an object..). It can become very confusing, and although I have doubts in some of these thoughts, I definitely agree that objects hold a strong presence in our world. From the iPhone, to kitchen utensils, or even a bus: objects are forming increasingly deeper relationships with our lives, in some instances causing fear. When objects start to take the form and/ or personality of humans - in the form of robotics - it is easy to feel threatened. This is one way of understanding object/human relations, but in the context of #objectwalks where the object is more about materiality, do we have anything to fear? Why would we? Whilst chairs help us relax, duvets keep us warm, knives and forks help us eat, and smartphones, well, give us everything, we can see how object/human relations can be a mutual exchange of existence. However, through research it is apparent that our awareness of objects may not be all that it seems. We spread some jam using a knife, give it a clean, and shut it back in the draw until its use next time. Our object/human relations is thrown into autonomous human mode, taking advantage of the knives preparedness to assist in making a jam sandwich. The same can be said for public transport: we rarely acknowledge the bus until it is late or breaks down, at which point we tend to become frustrated. We only acknowledge the objects’ human relation when it brings negative actions or feelings, otherwise it’s existence is to be taken advantage of. The internet: before this existed, books, face-to-face conversations and travel where the only ways of building knowledge, now all we need to do is produce a Google search or ask Siri. I find #objectwalks particularly exciting because by bringing museum artefacts out of the institution and into public space, their existence becomes not only as fetishised things to be place behind a cabinet, but actually to understand their own lives in relation to ours. Museum objects themselves are fascinating because although they hold essence through materiality, they are usually rooted in an historically social and/ or geographical context which initiates an interesting conversation when placed within close proximity of another object. In doing so, conversations are initiated that confront existence on both levels: object and human.

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Explore the gallery space...

With thanks to our friends at V21 ARTSPACE you can explore the project space using the VR tour below.

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Working with the University of Lincoln Conservation Students.

At the start of the project we travelled over to the conservation course at Lincoln University.

We’d offered student placements for the coproduced ‘notice nature feel joy’ gallery and wondered if any of the current team might wish to explore opportunities with us. Working on a live project is a great way  to put theoretical skills into practice, build a supportive network of people and experience the kind of fast paced problem solving that happens in a real museum setting.

The day we spent with the team was incredibly inspiring, we presented the aims and approach of the World Cultures project to 25 students, ten of whom have offered amazing support and picked up some solid experience here in the gallery. Some joined a playful music ideation session, others have offered expert advice and contacts connected to Maori objects, supporting the repatriation process of a human skull.

Nine months on we have 25 objects being expertly cared for in the university laboratory by some super smart students.

Here is one of the objects that will be arriving back in grater shape than when it left the museum stores

“I’m currently working with Derby Museums in conjunction with their new World Cultures exhibition opening later this year, I have had the luxury of working with this extraordinary Indian Figurine. In need of a little TLC, this plaster figure is likely to date to the 18/19th century from the Pune region and is 1 of 6 figures in the collection.” Kelly Grimshaw, student conservator

We’ll post again about conservation and the wonderful team of co-producers who are cleaning objects and sharing skills with visitors every Tuesday, led by a brilliant student we met in Lincoln, Naomi Rubenstein.

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Following on from our previous post, these three images are the blank versions of our activity sheets that will be compiled in our book to display in the museum. Might you be interested in taking part? Download these pictures, fill them in and email them over to [email protected]. We’d love to hear any and every responses and thoughts you have!

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A Poem in Three Parts by Abi Burlingham

At the start of this project we asked people what 3 three things they felt united everyone across the world, the things that everyone might experience. We had an overwhelming response with over 2,400 words coming back, including things such as love, faith, heartbreak and money. From these responses we created a series of pages featuring the most frequently offered words, asking people to fill the gaps to create poems, short stories or raps. Visitors offered fascinating responses to the prototype activity and we have approached a number of local writers to ask for their input, too, which is how we came into contact with Abi Burlingham.

Abi is a fantastic local author and artist (who can be found at https://abiburlingham.com/) who answered our call and went above and beyond by replying with this beautiful poem inspired by the words. This poem will be featured in a booklet we’re creating, full of the responses to inspire other writers. We’d love to share responses here as well. 

The Wedding

Through the arch of roses – white - a faint veil flutter, laughter rippling in its wake, one step and then another, tables clothed in food and wine and all the time smiles tinkle, faces wrinkle, eyes are dancing to the stars through fingers swaying, casting spirals in the air.

A time for celebration, a time to throw off care, concern and agitation. A time for joy and happiness, a time for a lover’s sweet caress, a dress so free that, when caught by a passing breeze, floats to the sky like a cloud.

The Funeral

Smiles stagnate in black and white on mantelpiece and wall, recalling far from half a story, a fragment, sharp and clear, turned on its side like a slither of moon.

Allow me to feel what I must - in my own way. Entertain my faith, diminish the space between each member of the human race, regardless of features or colour of face regardless of place of upbringing, wealth - of money – sweet money like honey eaten from the pot, and when it’s gone it’s gone.

Earth upon earth, prayer upon prayer, feet as dark as shadows walking a path that threatens to last for eternity - that splits the heart and ends in heartbreak.

Longing

I long for jazz hands, for layered cake, my lover’s last caress and lip warm kisses. I long for love, the love that only my love can give. I long for grief that lasts for ever – a tether from heart to beating heart - that wraps me in arms stronger than the most rooted tree, cooler than the coolest breeze slowly shifting.

I long for love for love for love, for eyes the colour of sea glass softened by whispering waves. I long for the sway to the song that will stay in my heart embedded and hard, rooted and fast. Friends, they come with sucked in smiles and fingers squeezing tight - the hands of friendship offered left and right and round and round.

And I accept – grateful for what I have, for what we have shared, for moments that cross cultures, with no divide, nothing to separate us the spaces in between us closing in.

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a lovely response to our photographs of museum objects in homes #ObjectWalks @DMWorldCulture pic.twitter.com/cqcQUIFuXs

— Andrea H-J (@andreanhj)

January 9, 2018

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A short story: Cup

It’s weird to imagine that a simple cup can make you think so much about the past. Facts are easy to find out – 750-600 BC, Cyprus, pottery. But what about the history we can’t see? The conversations that would have taken place while holding the cup. The tightening of a grip when a family member goes to war. Or the tears it has caught when held in comfort while mourning the death of a loved one. The celebrations it must have been used for!  The arguments it’s witnessed, a threat to be thrown against a wall in anger. Only for it to be saved last minute by loving hands and an apology. To be passed around family, friends and even strangers. It may look like a simple cup, but it holds so much more than just a drink.

- Melissa Coons, Project Volunteer 

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Object walk blog - Derby Railway Station June 2017

Visitors and residents come and go from the busy railway station in Derby throughout the day. Its the transport heart of the city - a great place to meet people and have conversations  about museums, collections  and the objects we have with us from South Africa, Kashmir and West Africa.

After an initial period of tapping on the windows of waiting taxi drivers, ( sharing museum objects to a surprised, but pleased, number of drivers ),  we took a suitcase of objects to the front arrivals area.

Just a few minutes later arrived an exhausted, jetlagged American family, quite literally from the airport, coming to Europe for a conference and travel trip. Big fans of American museums, they truly embraced this new welcome to Derby and spent time with the South African beaded belt, African gourd snuff box, and decorated tin from Kashmir. A taxi was dismissed - the family choosing to spend more time with the objects, despite being surrounded by huge suitcases and weary young people.

We said our goodbyes, watched by another new arrival to the city, this time straight from the airport from Australia, travelling alone to visit her mother in a Derby care home. We shared together with her our gallery news, world culture objects and stories. She went on to visit the museum many times over her 3 month stay in the country, inspired and, we hope, supported at a difficult time by the friendliness, variety and shared interests that the museum provides for visitors.

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Derby Museum: Co-production

I’ve been working with Derby Museum & Art Gallery as a coproudcer inside the world cultures project space for just under a year now and it’s been great! It all began when walking through the project space our project curator and leader, Andrea, noticed me and a friend discussing thoughts on some of the images and objects present and asked what we thought of them. Since then we’ve got on well, discussing ideas together, and even working on a few projects inside the space. 

- Photographing people for the live object sharing exhibit ‘Objects & Us’

The first of which being a live curated photo series. We put a call out for members of the public of various backgrounds to come in and share a story about an object that they carry with them on a daily basis. This resulted in me then photographing them on an insta-film camera, subjects would the write on a card whatever they wanted about the object they brought and placed it onto the wall.

There were so many fascinating stories of the objects people brought along. I was honestly surprised that all these people had genuine sentimental value place to objects, I was originally expecting EVERYONE to pull out their phones or smartwatches! … okay, Maybe not everyone, but at least half. But no one did. Everyone had a unique object that carried a unique story. It was incredible.

“We were then invited into people’s homes to photograph some of the objects in a more comfortable setting.”

- Dahomey woman ornament.

Following what we had learned from the Objects & Us, we decided to branch out further. We wanted to know how objects would respond to unfamiliar, yet more suitable surroundings. So we chose a select few from each category, of which we have, Adorn, Furnish, Consume, and Carry. We were then invited into people’s homes to photograph some of the objects in a more comfortable setting, which was a great exercise of idea sharing in regards to object association and placement. We asked ourselves, “Where would these objects have been when they were created?”, “Where would they sit alongside their more contemporary counterparts.”, and, “How best do we respect the object and it’s creators”.

- Objects from home lender’s travels.

It was also fun meeting the people who allowed us to use their homes for this project as they brought with them their own set of ideas given that they new their home’s landscape better than anyone. They even had some of their own objects with stories to share with us!

After we captured all the images of the objects in homes we did a full circle and place some of the images onto the wall with a call to action, to incite a response from keen gallery goers to see how they respond to seeing museum objects in a striking and unfamiliar environment.

A few of those images we captured.

-  TOP LEFT TO BOTTOM RIGHT, ____ Spoon made by drying a pear/spoon made of goat horn, _______ Comb with engravings, ______Pillow, _____

All in all, it has been great working as a co-producer at Derby Museums in the world cultures space, and I’ve met some really interesting and ambitious people.

I’m excited to see the gallery space shape and morph as time progresses as I believe the people of Derby are going be shocked and amazed at all the things that are to come.

Post by Chevy-Jordan (Ofílayë) Chevy is photographer and filmmaker working out of Derby.

You can find him at:  Instagram: ofilaye

ofilaye.com