As I mentioned earlier, The Peace Museum opened last weekend. Relocated from premises in Bradford to the third floor of Salts Mill, it has gained more floorspace for exhibitions and the potential for much greater visitor numbers. I went along to explore and was both moved and inspired by what I saw, both in the exhibits and in the way it has been set out. I found it really interesting and very easy to engage with. Hopefully, it will appeal to younger people too (and not just those of us old enough to have a ration book and a few CND badges!) I highly recommend it, local peeps.
Its aim is 'to share the history of peace movements, to help us all learn from them and to promote alternatives to violence.' Since 1998, they have been 'collecting and sharing a unique collection of objects that tell the stories of local, national and international peacemakers'. The Museum shows us that 'there are many ways to achieve peace and inspires us to think about what we could do to help create peace today'.
I certainly amassed a fair collection of these kinds of badges over the years. The museum has blank badges and, for 50p, you can make your own design. I'm sure my granddaughters would rise to that challenge. I'll have the blue 'Supergrans against the bomb' now, I think! There were some innovative slogans: 'Shoemakers say cobblers to the bomb'; 'Taxidermists say stuff the bomb'; 'Big band followers against the bomb-diddley-bomb-bomb-bomb'.
It wouldn't be Salts Mill without a Hockney either, though I'm not sure when he drew this one:
Oh I love that museum...what a great idea! And the little buttons are so "right on." I've been a peace-monger for a long time now...not just against the bomb, but definitely against killing one another in wars (or conflicts!)
ReplyDeleteGood place for this museum.
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