#SRtRCSpotlight: Reclaiming History- How Portland Basin Museum and SRtRC North West Are Rewriting the Narrative
This week the North West Team delivered some fantastic training to staff from The Portland Basin Museum and Tameside Local Studies and Archives.
“We asked Show Racism the Red Card to provide some staff training around anti-racism as part of a funded project looking at the transatlantic slave trade and the local cotton industry.
The SRtRC team tailored the training perfectly for our museum, with lots of thought-provoking examples from other museums.
The pace of the workshop and the way it was delivered meant our staff really engaged, sharing their thoughts and experiences. The training has given us greater confidence in engaging with our audiences on this topic and to challenge racism where we see and hear it.”
– Rachel Cornes, Museum’s Manager
The morning saw staff look at cultural competency and cover our anti-racism 101 with topics including, unconscious bias, racism in the workplace, everyday racism and microaggressions. For the afternoon, we moved on to more bespoke content exploring racism in the museum and cultural sector.
Staff were given a variety of discussions topics and activities, such as:
- Curation approaches to a variety of racist or emotionally charged displays
- Analysing their own collections regarding visitor comfort and inclusivity
- Some practical approaches to assist with visitor responses and experience
This is a part of a wider project called Common Strands funded by Arts Council England. SRtRC North West is delighted to be inputting into the toolkit of resources the museum will be creating for secondary schools to support teaching of the transatlantic slave trade, and assisting with the reinterpretation of the museum’s cotton industry displays. Finally, we’ll be delivering a training day for teachers next Spring. We can’t wait to be back soon!
Museums and cultural institutions have such a vital role to play in bringing history to life, telling the stories of our past and giving a voice to those who have shaped it. We’re delighted that Portland Basin Museum is trying to reclaim some of the long-held narratives and spotlight the more challenging, but immensely important, aspects of Tameside and Britain’s past.
SRtRC North West is immensely proud to be a part of this – and even prouder of every participant who stepped into our anti-racism training. Together, we’re turning insight into action.
While we’re proud of our anti-racism training programmes, the most meaningful endorsements come from those who’ve experienced them firsthand:
“Very informative, and I really enjoyed the focus on museums and their role in racism”
“It was tailored perfectly to our team and everyone was engaged in the session. Thank you for a great workshop. A really enjoyable day that has given me much to think about.”
Want to be part of the change? Discover how our North West team can empower your staff to promote equality and fairness where it matters most. To make an enquiry, click here.
