Hear our Voice in the Countryside – Video Labels
For many years, our Reading Mencap group has met at the museum, and in November we curated an exhibition for the community case. We thought about the challenges the countryside poses and selected some objects from the museum’s collection.
Our weekly sessions at the museum are full of chatting and laughter, and we thought the best way to reflect this was to create spoken video labels for the objects we chose. The objects remind us of happy times in our lives, of why we like the countryside, and sometimes we just like the way they look. Although the exhibition has now been deinstalled, we wanted to keep the labels as a permanent legacy.
Click the panels below to listen to our video labels.
Please be aware that some of the videos still require subtitles and this is a work in progress.
This project made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England.
Kevin
Kevin discusses his object choices, a watering can and a wheelbarrow.
MERL 96/34
Della
Della talks us through her memories of using gardening tools, such as secateurs and gardening forks.
MERL 96/30
Robert
Robert discusses his fondness for Land Rovers and scenic landscapes.
Philip
Philip talks about why he chose a model farm elevator, and a beehive chair which is hiding a secondary purpose…
MERL 64/36
Pramrod
Pramrod explains what he likes about tractors and the heart shaped polehead.
MERL 51/1031
Steven
Steven shares his childhood memories of donkey rides and his fondness for turkeys.
P PAD B PH2/597
Caroline
Caroline’s object choices relate to her love of horses, particularly in a countryside setting.
MERL 2012/124
Katrina
Katrina shares her favourite things about being in nature, such as watching birds and seeing apple orchards.
MERL 86/21
The process of Hear our Voice
Ali, who organises the group’s weekly visits to the museum, gives some background on how the exhibition was put together.