The museum in Barking Wharf Square is reopening to the public next month
The Women’s Museum in Barking will reopen its doors next month with the launch of an exhibition showcasing two new artist commissions.
The Materiality of Memory exhibition showcases Abel Holsborough’s Tracing Posterity and Ruth Ewan’s Always Something There to Remind Me and will be launched to coincide with the reopening of the museum in Barking Wharf Square on Thursday, 12th March.
Always Something There to Remind Me is described as a “major archival and participatory project responding to women’s histories of organising and protest”, inspired by the Ford Factory sewing machinists’ strikes of 1968 and 1984/85.
The exhibition will include materials such as artifacts from the strikes which are inspired by Ruth’s permanent public art project, The Dagenham Agates, for Dagenham Green, curated and produced by leading public art organisation UP Projects and commissioned by developers Hill and Peabody, which will be unveiled later in the year.
Tracing Posterity by Abel Holsborough is an installation and film work that “explores ideas of collective memory and the shaping of cultural identity”. The film celebrates a “long history of connecting communities through the art of cinema”.
Abel combines archival film footage from the Dagenham Co-operative Film Society, with footage captured on super eight in Barking to create a new portrait of residents.
It has been developed between Barking and Dagenham Council’s archive service, the Women’s Museum, and Film London with the support of Arts Council England and London’s Screen Archives (LSA).
The commissions “centre lived experiences of people on the margins, particularly those who may be historically excluded from official archives, and explores how memory is carried through objects, bodies, and places”.
Deputy council leader Saima Ashraf said: “The reopening of the Women’s Museum is a powerful reminder of Barking and Dagenham’s role as a place where history, culture, creativity and community come together.
“As art continues to move east, our borough is leading the way – supporting bold artistic voices, celebrating women’s histories, and ensuring that culture on the margins of London is visible, valued and thriving.”
For more information about the Women’s Museum:
Visit womensmuseum.org.uk
