Price: Free
John Roles (1957-2020) was head of Leeds Museums and Galleries 2004-2020
One of the many legacies of John Roles’ leadership is a service-wide commitment to ensuring that everyone, regardless of social context or education, is invited to engage with our City collections. On what would have been his birthday, Professor Abigail Harrison Moore will explore what she has learnt from and with the Leeds City Museum’s award-winning Preservative Party, a diverse group of 14-24 year old volunteer curators, as part of her Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Fellowship Project.
Originally titled ‘Empowering Women; Co-producing Histories of Women and Energy in the Home’, the project called ‘Whose Power?’ has created two exhibitions, one of which is at Leeds Museum’s Discovery Centre. They have also produced a zine and a podcast, co-produced articles in the Times Higher Education Supplement, and they have just released episode 1 of the second series of their podcast: Whose Power? on the power of trust. Their work together has explored the City’s collections to find the people who have been and often remain hidden in the histories of domestic energy. They have asked why their important stories have not been told. Through this work, they aim to ensure that everyone feels enabled to make a difference in the future of energy in the home.
“Working with the Preservative Party has not only taught us about energy change, but – as importantly – has helped us learn about how we work together”.
Abigail has been an academic at the University of Leeds for almost 30 years and has worked in partnership with Leeds Museums and Galleries throughout this time, but the last two years have been transformational in her learning thanks to the Preservative Party and the team who support them. As her daughter recently said, “they have reignited your spark!”
This memorial lecture will explore the project: the learning about histories of energy and the joys and challenges of participatory practice in museums.
Abigail Harrison Moore is Professor of Art History and Museum Studies at the University of Leeds. Her research focusses on art and design history of the late 19th century and early 20th century, particularly the Arts and Crafts Movement. She has recently been working on an international project on gender and the histories and cultures of energy supply, leading to the publication of her co-edited book: In a New Light; Histories of Women and Energy (MQUP, 2021).
In the UK, she is very focussed on creative education in schools, has helped develop the curriculum in her subject areas and has written widely on the educational challenges for young people from low social and economic groups and the ‘problem’ of cultural capital. She has developed and runs a wide range of projects for teachers and pupils, including Art Teachers Connect (atcuk.org) and the Discover ARTiculation Challenge. Her work with Leeds Museum’s Preservative Party combines these two strands of her research and practice.
In a New Light; Histories of Women and Energy, edited by Abigail Harrison Moore and R.W. Sandwell (MQUP, 2021)
https://www.mqup.ca/in-a-new-light-products-9780228006190.php
