The Memoria exhibition at Armley Mills

Jan delves into the history of Armley Mills

I was packing envelopes in the dining area at Armley Mills. The place was empty except for a family sitting 5 tables away, snacking and chatting. “You should tell them.” “Why would anyone be interested? I only lasted half a day. I couldn’t take the noise.” I started eavesdropping…

As a teacher, I’d learned to tune out low level conversation so it was pure chance I picked up on the very person I was looking for - my first success in locating the elusive former employees of Armley Mills. Sandra’s daughter was looking at one of our flyers: “Did you or someone you know work at Armley Mills?” I had to interrupt. “Excuse me, did you just say you worked here at the mills?” Success at last. I had a name and a phone number to pass on.

The Memoria Project

Memoria is an exciting, innovative project combining the arts with local history. We’re a team of 5 volunteers led by Hannah, Assistant Curator, with local artist David Bridges. We have the task of locating as many people as we can who were associated with Armley Mills and uncover their history. Unfortunately, somewhere between the mill's closure in the early Sixties and its acquisition by Leeds City Council a few years later, all employment records vanished. 

So, we have distributed leaflets, put up posters, trawled social media, cold-called local residential homes, tried to reach teachers in local schools, visited local organisations… all in the hope that we can locate more people with a story to tell. Stories David can translate into ethereal porcelain and light, ready for exhibition in September.

Memories of Armley Mills

We have 2 cardboard boxes of surviving documents – a fascinating assortment of photographs, accounts and correspondence covering the first half of the last century. Two of us sifted through with carefully gloved hands, looking at invoices, petty cash expenditure and photographs in the hope of tracking down any useful name. We learned of the flood. We read about spigots and valves and machine maintenance. We speculated about the shareholders and directors and their use of petty cash but we didn’t find any hint of anyone who might still survive to tell their tale, apart from the Tempest family, who David is already working with.

Laura and I sat in the dining area, warming our hands on our coffee mugs, surrounded by the buzz of excited children attending the Victorian School. Another idea! Why not ask the children if they have elderly relatives or neighbours who worked at the mill? I created a leaflet to give to the children from local schools who visit the mill. Several hundred have now been distributed. Surely one child will take it home and ask the right questions of the right people. Surely one great grandparent will come forward.

The search continues!

It’s such a shame people don’t recognise that their everyday lives are an important part of our social and industrial history and deserve to be recorded. 

For more information about the Memoria project, read David Bridges’ blog, or see the Past Exhibitions at Leeds Industrial Museum.

Could you share your memories of Armley Mills or Leeds' Industrial Past? Get in touch with the team at Armley Mills.

By Jan Brown, Volunteer, Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills

Mirror Image Museum - Creating an exhibition at St James's Hospital

Over the past several months, I have been organising an exhibition for the Bexley Wing of St James’ Hospital, Leeds. Each year an exhibition is organised for the cancer ward at the hospital by a curatorial trainee, with a different theme that is open enough to draw from the entire museum collection. My theme is symmetry and, on 2nd February we installed ‘Mirror Image Museum’ – a collection of symmetrical objects and photographs incorporating natural, social and industrial history.

Step 1: Choosing the objects

Once the theme of symmetry had been chosen, I asked each curator to send me a list of objects that they would like featured in the exhibition. Over 100 objects were suggested, ranging from porcelain dishes to glass cinematic prisms – the natural history objects I chose myself. I selected those I felt best suited the exhibition, either due to aesthetics, interest or practicality. 

Step 2: Condition checking and photography

Each object chosen for the exhibition was forwarded to Emma, our conservator, to be condition checked. After Emma had cleared each object for use (or rejected some due to the bright environment of the hospital being unsuitable – light damages objects over time) I arranged for a professional photographer, Sara Porter, to take photos of the objects that could not be displayed physically. 

Step 3: Writing labels and planning the space

I requested label text from each curator and started writing up the natural history text. As the physical objects were still in quarantine at this point, I used Sketch Up to create a 3D model of the exhibition space (pictured left) – a great help for planning and ensuring things fit where I wanted them before getting my hands on the real things!

After the label text had been sent to graphic designer Steve Mann for production, finally I gave the top surface of the cases a fresh coat of paint and applied the magnetic wrap around covers Ruth, Exhibitions Curator, had ordered to give them a more professional look. 

Step 4: Installing the objects

Fellow trainee Adam gave me a hand setting up a ‘trial run’, laying out all of the objects in the cases to ensure that there were no nasty surprises on the day! Thanks to this the installation went very quickly and smoothly when Ruth and I set the cases up in the Bexley Wing. 

Seeing months of planning come to fruition was greatly satisfying, as was seeing the interest of passing visitors. I hope that ‘Mirror Image Museum’ entertains visitors and staff at the Bexley Wing during the three months of the exhibition.

By Glenn Roadley, Natural Sciences Curatorial Trainee

On Twitter @batdrawer1

New Display of Korean Fashion at Leeds Museum Discovery Centre

Voices of Asia intern Myunghae Seo created this Korean costume display
at Leeds Discovery Centre.

As a Korean living in the UK it has been amazing to engage with the Korean costume collections here in Leeds during my internship and select seven items for this new display. 

High class traditional Korean dress or hanbok continues to follow designs developed over the past 1600 years. The Fan Dance doll (pictured above) shows us a complete costume, while the finely embroidered shoes are a good example of contrasting colours, and the fur trimmed hood is typical winter wear.

Traditional Korean wedding costume

These days, Koreans only wear hanbok for special occasions such as weddings (pictured right), funerals and first birthdays, but it was worn daily up until 100 years ago. 

Hanbok are created beautifully through combinations of colours and curved lines. Women’s hanbok in particular are composed of short jackets and full skirts, which make the upper body look small and the lower body look full, creating an attractive balance.

Personally, I really like wearing hanbok because of its delicate colour and patterns, though when you are not used to it, it can be a little uncomfortable. 

The History of Hanbok

Hanbok developed during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), which was built upon Confucianism. This philosophy and faith permeated the whole of South Korean society, including people’s behaviours and lifestyles. The ideal woman was believed to be pure, obedient and faithful. They were supposed to be completely hidden from the outer world and obey their fathers, husbands and sons. 

Only upper class women were allowed to wear a variety of colours and patterns and only the royal family could use geumbak, or gold printed patterns, on their bottom of skirt. A navy colour worn on a woman’s blouse cuffs indicated that she had son(s). Upper class women were meant to act demurely and partly hide their face. (Watch this You Tube video by Korea Today for an overall idea of hanbok.)

Embroidered hanbok bag from the
Leeds Museums and Galleries collections.

What is it like to wear hanbok?

I vividly remember dressing up in hanbok and carrying a little bag like this with me on Korean New Year’s holiday, Seollal, when I was little. After the family meal on that day, the younger generation would pay their respects to their elders by taking a deep bow called sebae, and the elders would offer their blessings and wishes for the New Year. 

Children would receive sebatdon (New Year’s money) as a gift. Right after I received the money from my grand-parents, uncles and aunts, I put it into my bag, and then when they left, I counted the money in my room, and hid it in a secret place. All the money was for my sweet treats for the year and I wanted to keep it secret from my mother. 

Embroidered hanbok bags

These small traditional bags (pictured above) have various patterns which are believed to bring fortune and luck. As hanbok does not have separate pockets, their purpose was to carry money, goods or a perfume box. Many of these bags are embroidered with flowers and animal patterns, and with gold and silver Chinese characters, and are gathered shut by silk cords with large tassels.

Find out more:

To learn more about hanbok, see Hanbok: Timeless Fashion Tradition by Samuel Songhoon Lee, Korean Textiles and Costumes of the Choson Dynasty by Claire Roberts and Huh Dong-Hwa, or Hanbok – The Art of Korean Clothing by Sunny Yang, both published in 1998​.

By Myunghae Seo, 'Voices of Asia' Intern

Introducing - The Picture Library Blog

This image from the late 1980s captures The Picture Library in an almost unrecognisable form. If it wasn't for the youthful Sheel Douglas, wearing very fashionable dungarees, or the old cloth bags, it could be a photograph of any fine art collection. (Image: Sheel Douglas and The Picture Library, c. 1988, photography John Freeman)

Hello and welcome to The Picture Library blog! 

When I tell the story of The Picture Library many are surprised to learn that for over half a century the scheme has offered the residents of Yorkshire the chance to enjoy original works of art at home. Established during the optimistic and progressive 1960s the scheme was an instant hit that quickly became an integral part of the Gallery; fast-forward to the late 1990s and the much loved service had become ragged; the works of art were in desperate need of conservation and the membership had begun to dwindle. 

To renew the scheme and reignite its relevance change was necessary, so in autumn 2009 we took the difficult decision to halt The Picture Library whilst we began the vital process of conserving and reframing the works of art. Twelve months later The Picture Library was re-launched to widespread support. We’ve since worked hard to improve the scheme further by acquiring new works of art, continuing our conservation programme and most recently making works available to swap almost every day of the year via the Gallery’s shop.

At its heart The Picture Library makes art part of everyday life. Pursuing this endeavour and broadening its scope we’ve collaborated with many organisations within Yorkshire working with artists, poets, medics and teachers to foster an active interest in the visual arts, to improve wellbeing in hospitals and to inspire learning in classrooms across Leeds. Most of these activities pass by unnoticed by the general visitor so we’ve introduced this newsletter to share with you these stories and to record the impact of your continual support of The Picture Library.

Our hope for this blog is to provide a platform for Picture Library news alongside regular features including articles introducing artists and artworks represented within the scheme’s collection. I sincerely hope it will be informative, enjoyable to read and of value to you. ​

Find out more about the scheme and how to join on The Picture Library website.

By Theodore Wilkins, Assistant Curator of Fine Art

100 year old biscuit – a Christmas message from the trenches

You wouldn’t think that a museum would jump at the chance to add a crumbly broken biscuit into the collection, but this particular example has survived a century and began its journey amid the horror of the battlefields of the First World War. 

 It survives tucked inside its original wrapper, which was addressed to a Mrs Maxwell of Meanwood in Leeds. Written on one side in blue ink is the message: 

'Christmas dinner in the Army. 

“Give us this day our daily bread” and please put a bit of butter on. From Max.'

The sender is likely to have been Private William Maxwell (service number 4492) who served with the 9th (Queen’s Royal) Lancers and was the son of G.E. and Margaret Maxwell of Meanwood. He only saw one Christmas in the trenches as he was killed in May 1915 and is buried in Hazebrouck Communal Cemetery in northern France. He was luckier than his younger brother Arthur Maxwell who died on 30th August 1914 during the first month of combat.

The inked message is typical of the black humour of soldiers at the time and reflects a common criticism of the food that was offered to British troops on the Western Front. Although biscuits such as this were not the only food on offer, they did form a significant part of the diet alongside tins of corned beef and bread. It was difficult to get fresh food and these biscuits were usually stale.

This is not a unique object as many soldiers seemed to have felt that stale biscuits better served as a medium for writing messages home than as palatable food. Leeds Museums have another First World War biscuit in the collection which was decorated, sent as a Christmas card and subsequently framed.

Above all this is a poignant link to a very grim Christmas a century ago and a very timely addition to the Leeds collections.

​

By Kitty Ross, Social History Curator

Volunteers and the Grayson Perry Exhibition at Temple Newsam

A huge team of volunteers give their time to help support the work we do at Leeds Museums and Galleries. Here are some insights from volunteers involved in the 2014 Grayson Perry 'Vanity of Small Differences' exhibition.

The Grayson Perry exhibition opened at Temple Newsam House to great fanfare on 23 August 2014. There have been mixed reactions from different visitors but the majority are mesmerised by the bright colours; fascinated by the different stories and pleased that they have been afforded to opportunity to view these tapestries in the setting of a stately home rather that the white walls of an art gallery.

Talks and tours on the tapestries were conducted by a very able team of volunteers. Here are their comments about being involved in this project.

"I love Grayson Perry and I love his work. I think it was an act of genius to display his tapestries in Temple Newsam House. As a volunteer I have been impressed by the amount of time many of the visitors spend in front of each tapestry - unpicking the layers of meaning, finding the hidden jokes, recognising parts of themselves and generally marvelling at their splendour, detail and technical prowess. Many ask pertinent questions, demonstrating a genuine curiosity to access the work, both visually and technically.

One fun thing has been to point out that every tapestry has Grayson Perry's signature trade mark - an anchor with a W on top. Young and old, male and female, fans and critics have all enjoyed the anchor treasure hunt!" - Harriet Allen

"One of the great things about working on the Grayson Perry exhibition is the look of wonder, surprise and delight as visitors come into the first tapestry room and see 'The adoration of the cage fighters'. The best comment has to be from a little boy re tapestry 6, who said in an excited voice to his Mum, 'Look its Fireman Sam' and refused to leave the room for 5 minutes as he looked at the tapestry." - Janet Blackledge

"Does Vanity of Small Differences, represent an update of Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen Sketch?" I have only been volunteering a few weeks, helping to safeguard and with visitor “interpretation" of Grayson Perry's fantastically colourful tapestries.....but am losing count of the number of visitors who engage with it in competing for middle class-ness! 

What an absolute joy it is to come to work and hear visitors saying, “No, I'm not middle class because I don't have either an Aga, or a cafetiere" or ladies arguing about ownership of Cath Kidston items & Penguin book title mugs. It was ever thus, Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch (preceded earlier by bowler hatted John Cleese, “I look down on him", also featuring Ronnie Barker, sketch). 

There is no doubt we Brits have an unparalleled streak for competing to parade our Class or Tribe credentials, and Grayson has "tapped" into it wonderfully. But how it makes us all laugh, thank goodness for self-deprecation and irony! A wonderful experience....to work within, or visit." - Sally Pickersgill

"Volunteering, what's in it for me, I got to meet lots of nice people including the staff at Temple Newsam House who made all the volunteers feel very welcome, as well as having the opportunity to see some fantastic tapestries and other great works of art." - Val Priest

"I also just wanted to thank you again for this volunteering opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed my first day on Friday and had a wonderful time speaking with all the visitors. It was a very rewarding experience and I am very much looking forward to these next few weeks!" - Alexandra Anderson)

"It's proving to be a real privilege, stewarding - the team are great!" - Pauline Heywood

Comments from the general public also revealed how valuable the volunteers proved:

It was the third time I’d seen the tapestries and still found so much more in them thanks to the enthusiasm of the volunteers. 

The predominantly voluntary staff chosen to work at Temple Newsam during this superb exhibition are brimming with pride and enthusiasm in their role. 

As you can see volunteers and staff worked well together to provide a unique experience to visitors and we hope to recreate this sort of volunteering role at our other sites in the near future.

By Wendy Breakwell, Volunteer Coordinator