Friday saw the launch of the brand new Industrial Revolutionaries exhibition at the Harris Museum & Art Gallery in Preston, which runs until Nov. Since my first visit to the Harris Museum last year I have been a big fan, so I needed very little persuasion to attend the big unveiling. Dan Cruickshank, along with other dignitaries, had the honour of opening the exhibition, and his passion for the workers movement, and indeed the Harris itself, was evident in his opening speech.
Anyway, on to the important stuff, what’s the new exhibition about?
Industrial Revolutionaries spans 150 years of Preston’s history, looking at the personalities that helped create and influence the modern world. From the entrepreneurial Richard Arkwright and the teetotal Joseph Livesey to the political reformist Henry Hunt and the mill worker Annie Hill, the exhibition reveals their influence and the movements they created.
The exhibition includes a variety of objects, things to read and watch. Portraits, period clothing, a model of Horrockses Mill and Mitchell and Kenyon film footage are among some of the 70 objects that make up the exhibition. There is also the opportunity for a little fun with wigs and hats to try on!
What I found really interesting was the links to the Victorian novelists, Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell, who were inspired by the 1853-1854 Preston strikes. The events in Preston also caught the attention of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles, who hoped that the prolonged strike would be the beginning of a national revolution – I certainly wasn’t aware of Preston’s international significance in this respect.
Industrial Revolutionaries is filled with lots of interesting nuggets of information and thought provoking comment. More importantly this exhibition celebrates the people of Preston and offers a unique angle on the story of the industrial revolution.
What’s great is that this exhibition and the Harris Museum itself are completely free to visit. You might also want to check out some of the related talks and events that are being held over the coming months. I’m particularly looking forward to ‘An Afternoon with Elizabeth Gaskell’ on the 1st Sept.
Sally
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