This autumn Catherine McDermott (ICOM UK Secretary) and Claire Messenger (ICOM UK Committee Member) have been talking to international colleagues about changes they have faced in the sector. In this discussion Claire talks to Kay Jones, Lead Curator of Urban and Community History at the Museum of Liverpool about collecting objects and stories around the COVID pandemic.
Hello Kay, thank you for talking to ICOM UK. Could you tell our members more about your role at the Museum of Liverpool?
The Museum of Liverpool reflects the city’s global significance through its unique geography, history and culture and visitors explore how the port, its people and their histories have shaped the city.
My role involves developing exhibitions and displays in collaboration with local community groups and organisations to tell hidden and diverse stories. I am responsible for the development of the local, national, and international history collections that reflect the changing history of the city and the experiences of Liverpool people.
When did your museum decide to collect objects that represent the pandemic?
Here at the Museum of Liverpool contemporary collecting represents issues and events affecting the city and its communities. Working from home, I created a COVID-19 collecting plan as soon as lockdown was introduced.
How and why did you start this project? What is your collecting criteria and what do you hope to achieve?
Our aim is to collect and represent how local people across our communities responded to the COVID-19 pandemic to enable people now and in the future to learn from and make sense of these unprecedented times.
After discussing our collecting plan with our internal ethics group we started to identify potential objects, representation and stories, particularly around those communities who were disproportionately affected in the city. The collecting plan was broken down into short, medium and long term aims.
We invited the public, via social media articles in the Liverpool Echo and interviews on Radio Merseyside, to suggest what we should collect. The objects and stories need to have a strong local focus and represent specific events in the city such as Liverpool’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid. The game, on 11 March 2020, still went ahead despite lockdown in Spain and was later linked to 41 COVID related deaths.
I also posted on social media images of items such as the Government public health information about COVID-19 sent to every household in the UK. I asked people for their thoughts and feelings to collect a wide range of opinion with the aim of using selected quotes on the object labels for a COVID-19 display planned for when the Museum re-opened (19 July 2020).
In the longer term, we will be conducting interviews with people directly affected by COVID-19 after an appropriate period of reflection and healing.
Strong themes emerging are local examples of collective action, inequalities in society being exposed and highlighted alongside the humour and resilience documented by the people of Liverpool around the everyday.
What objects/stories are you collecting and how are you collecting them?
So far we have collected around 50 items with associated personal stories. I reached out to many individuals, organisations and groups to collect items and we were also approached by others.
We also asked people to creatively explore and draw their personal lockdown experiences through mind maps. These ‘maps’ are being shown on our large digital screens in the Museum atrium as part of the COVID-19 display. They can be seen here – https://youtu.be/ljTg1Sf6FF8
Which groups, organisations and individuals have you worked with on this project?
Merseyside PPE Hub for PPE made and distributed by volunteers.
Liverpool Queer Collective for Pride Zine.
BrewDog Liverpool for hand sanitiser which they made and distributed at the height of the shortages.
WildThang for Liverpool themed COVID related t-shirts to raise money for NHS charities
Liverpool City Council for key worker thank you banners from lampposts across the city
Sumuyya, artist for artwork featured on one of the banners, above.
Joanne Anderson, councillor, Princes Park Ward, Muslim Community Newsletters
Creative Spaces Co, acquired zine
Debbie Boyle, knitted items for the NHS
Rachel and Jessica, residents of Rainhill, who made Be Happy cards for local residents
And Phina Oruche, author and actor, wrote a book about a young boy in lockdown and the BLM movement.
We also had suggestions from the public, such as:
Bottle of Chardonnay (acquired for the collections and on display)
We asked on the Museum of Liverpool’s social media;
Q. What sums up your lockdown experience?
A. “Foxgloves, laptops and Chardonnay!”
Rebecca Pacey, via Facebook
Hair clippers (acquired for the collections and on display)
We asked on the Museum of Liverpool’s social media
Q. What sums up your lockdown experience?
A. “I bought clippers for my dad, Arthur Wingate Roberts. I’m now his barber. We have all learnt new talents in isolation!”
Christine Lawler, via Facebook
What is your favourite item from the COVID collection?
I have a few (if that’s allowed!!):
NHS banner
This fabulous banner caught my eye straight away when it was shared on social media. It was designed by radiographers at Aintree Hospital and was proudly waved during the Thursday night Clap for Carers outside of the hospital in April. It sums up lots of aspects of life during the pandemic such as Colonel Tom’s mammoth fundraising efforts for NHS Charities and also Liverpool’s very own Chanel, the escaped African grey parrot and her owner Sandra who were the subject of viral internet memes and were interviewed on ITV’s This Morning! (A very Liverpool story!)
“The banner shows our appreciation for all the people and businesses who have helped NHS shift workers; from schools making us visors, having protected shopping times for shift workers, free travel and even receiving free meals has raised our morale during this difficult pandemic. All help was appreciated, reminding us of why we work in healthcare; the whole nation pulled together when we needed it most. Thank you.”
Tee Kaur, one of the banner’s designers.
Eid greeting card, henna and bangles
I was very keen represent Eid in lockdown. I approached a number of local groups and organisations who helped to spread the word throughout their networks. I also approached a member of a group we had worked with on a previous project Meet Your Muslim Neighbour to collect objects and stories through his family, which was wonderful.
Eid al-Fitr, 23-24 May, was celebrated very differently this year due to lockdown. It marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and is usually a time of family get-togethers, prayers and enjoying fabulous food together.
“To maintain the essence of Eid, we made cards, bought sweets and distributed them to our neighbours and friends outside their houses. People had been dreading a lockdown Ramadan and Eid thinking they would be ruined but that definitely wasn’t true!”
Rida and Hafsa, St Helens
“It is traditional for girls to paint each other’s hands with henna whilst wearing colourful bangles which match our dresses. The bangles make a lovely sound when we move our hands. Normally we get together to do this but due to lockdown we couldn’t and missed that wonderful gathering on the eve of Eid”.
Rida and Hafsa, St Helens
Are you working with colleagues on this project? What have been the benefits to the project of working in partnership?
It is the Museum of Liverpool curatorial team who are collecting objects and stories, different perspectives and ideas are brought by different members of the team. Working with National Museums Liverpool’s ethics group also offered different advice and points of view but I would say working in partnership with external groups and people have brought the most benefits.
What kind of advice did you receive from ethics group?
Colleagues gave details of contacts at the universities of Liverpool and Manchester who had worked on projects interviewing and collecting items around trauma and sensitive issues. Conservator colleagues also gave advice about the safe collection and quarantining of objects.
And for you, personally, what did you particularly enjoy about working with external groups and individuals?
It was great to meet (virtually and in real life where possible) different people and see the places such as the Merseyside PPE hub where incredible work had been done by people coming together in our community to make a real difference and hearing their stories. Everyone was keen to be involved and proud to be featured in the Museum of Liverpool.
How will the objects/stories you have collected be used both now and in the future?
Many of the objects, with their associated personal stories, are on display in the COVID-19: We’re all in it together? display in the Museum of Liverpool. Many have been shared online and in blog posts and they will be available for inclusion in future exhibitions and for research purposes.
Thank you so much Kay for sharing your project with us – it is fascinating to hear about the work you are doing at the Museum of Liverpool and I’m looking forward to seeing the display.
If you would like to know more about the project you can contact Kay at Kay.Jones@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or see more at the Museum of Liverpool website https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/covid-19-display
