Strike! A guided gallery tour

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor

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Strike! A guided gallery tour

2 May 2024

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Museum displays about the Miners’ Strike
People's History Museum
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People’s History Museum (PHM) are offering more of us the chance to get a personalised view on their new exhibitions with a series of guided tours. Each tour focuses on a particular theme within the galleries. Join them for Strike! A look into the history and legacy of strike action. You’ll be able to talk directly with curators and conservators, allowing you to understand the links between artefacts and gain insight that goes beyond the exhibition labels.

2024 marks the 40 year anniversary of the Miner’s strikes. This key part of particularly working class history is often misrepresented, overlooked and undermined as a part of 20th Century History. However, it’s arguably one of the most significant events to affect the daily lives of communities in a way that’s still being felt today. In the Strike! tour, you’ll be guided through the exhibitions at PHM with particular attention paid to the artefacts associated with these strikes. 

While still living in times where industrial action is once again the only option workers have been left with, this tour is sure to touch upon some historical knowledge that will feel equally as relevant today. 

As well as the Strike! tour, the museum curates an annual exhibition of large scale crafts created for societal action from its extensive collection of protest banners. You can join them this year to explore the thoughtful curation and some truly remarkable additions to the banner exhibition. you can be sure to come away from this guided tour feeling a profound sense of perspective. You’ll also meet one of the expert curation team and hear how these decades (if not centuries) old banners are kept intact.

All tours are accessible on a pay as you feel basis and audio descriptions or BSL interpretation are available on selected tours. Tours are suitable for ages 16+, however under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. 

For the latest word on the museum, future tours, and what’s on, sign up to their newsletter by taking their ‘Which Radical Are You’ Quiz.

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