PRESS RELEASE
Black CountryLivingMuseumUnveils New Entrance
See the brand new introductory film:
On Friday 27th March the Black CountryLivingMuseum will be opening a brand new ‘Discover the Black Country’ exhibition in its entrance. The exhibition features a series of image panelsdepicting life in the Black Countryand culminates in a five minute film in the newly-installed ‘cinema pod’.
The project has totaled and has taken a total of three months to complete. The Museum extends a grateful thanks to the grants provided by the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, The Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust and The Douglas Turner Trust.
The exhibition and cinema pod replace the Museum’s previous ‘Hall of Fame’ exhibition which featured information about famous people and brands from around the Black Country. Sue Lawley, Frank Skinner and Lenny Henry all featured as celebrities while a host of information about Black Country brands was also displayed.
The new entrance has been described by curators as a ‘short walk through 300 years of history’ and a better fit with the story the Museum tells. It covers the Black Country as a once green and pleasant land in the 18th century to a smoky hub once described by a young Queen Victoria as “desolate” and “black”.
Panels now feature evocative images which capture this desolation, while at the same time drawing visitors towards the determination and drive of its people. Images of coal-blackened men with pipes hanging from their mouths, of children playing in the streets between back-to-backs, of ‘pit bonk wenches’ (women who undertook back-breaking work at the tops of mines) now fill the hall.
The walk up culminates in a five minute film in the new purpose-built cinema pod. The film, which has a distinctly cinematic feel, has been created by Museum curators in conjunction with IDM Media and features a brief history of the area. The distinctive Black Country dialect remains, this time voiced by one of the Museum’s much-loved costumed demonstrators, John Homer.
David Eveleigh, Director of Collections, Learning & Research at the Museum comments: “We hope visitors will enjoy this new entrance just as much as we have enjoyed creating it. The focus this time around is the changes the area has undergone, from the 18th century when it was a rather pleasant land to the height of industrialization and back through to the remains of industry in the 19th and 20th centuries. Attention is drawn to the people that once lived and worked here, the hardships they endured and the fortitude they showed. We’re very pleased to open it in time for Easter and would like to thank all those who have supported this essential improvement.”
ENDS
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Abby Bird (PR & Marketing Coordinator)
T: 0121 521 5692
M: 07901 575995
E:
Note to editors:
About the Museum
Established in 1978, Black CountryLivingMuseum is one of the UK’s leading open-air museums. Designated by Arts Council England for the quality and national significance of its collections, it is a remarkable place to explore, enjoy and spend time. Set in 26 acres with over 150 historic buildings and features, and attracting c270,000 visitors each year and almost 8m people since it first opened, it offers a glimpse into 300 years of history like no other. The Museum (a registered educational charity) records and exemplifies the contribution and impact of the Black Country region since the 18th century to the development of the modern industrialized world. Black Country folk changed the world, and the Museum tells the story of a very special time and place in history and some of the most hard-working, ingenious and influential people you could imagine. It offers a visitor experience that few others can match.