Tame Past Present and Future - Travelling Exhibition

Tame Past Present Future and Tamed were Arts Council and Heritage Lottery funded projects run by MADE (partially with the Environment Agency). They included community engagement in arts and heritage and, in the latter, explored the history of the industrial River Tame which flows through the Black Country and north Birmingham.

As the Community Artist and Heritage Co-Ordinator my role was varied, but a significant aspect was to research and design a travelling exhibition which was to tour several sites across the area, both indoors and outdoors.

The exhibition focused on seven areas along the river which were renowned for different industries. These were Oldbury & Bromford Lane (chemicals and iron); Sheepwash (bricks); Wednesbury Bridge (tubes); Bescot Junction (copper and Wednesbury Forge); Holford & Witton (ammunition); From Witton to Salford (General Electric); and Bromford (ancient and modern metal forges). Myself and volunteers conducted the research (which included training workshops at local archives which I ran), and I compiled the research into 61-page book and a travelling exhibition (there were also guided walks, arts workshops, and a community newsletter).

We exhibited at four sites, at the MADE offices, the Aston Tavern, Wednesbury Market, and a community event run by the Canal and River Trust. So that the exhibition could function across these sites, I designed exhibition stands made from strong brown card which could be folded flat. These had space for a printed exhibition board, a map of each section of the river (designed by Rob Colbourne), and a pocket for the relevant pages from the book.

Exhibition Research and Design

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