Hidden Narratives
What stories can we uncover if we explore the objects from the World Cultures collection in the Great North Museum: Hancock?
Are there storytelling threads that can connect seemingly unrelated objects from different cultures? In semester 2, 2020-21, Museum Studies students developed a curatorial project that focused on the World Cultures collection in the Great North Museum: Hancock.
The students researched the stories of intriguing objects, such as:
- a kapa cloth from Hawaii
- a Benin copper staff
- an argillite crest pole from the Islands of Haida Gwaii
- a carved ivory figure of Zhong Kui 'the Demon Slayer
They also explored examples of dialogic and digital storytelling and developed interpretive and learning materials.
This was carried out in collaboration with curators in the museum and a professional design agency.
The final outcome was the storytelling website: ‘Hidden Narratives: Let the Objects Speak'.
The website aimed to tell the hidden stories of selected objects from within the World Cultures gallery. It included four audio podcasts, which explored what the objects can tell us about:
- the resilience of women in different cultures
- the intended and unintended impacts of colonialism and
- how different cultures narrate their myths
The students also developed downloadable learning resources for K2 pupils to make the collection more accessible to young audiences through playful activities.
You can find more information take a look at our Hidden Narratives Activity Sheet and Information Sheet
Student Team
Poppy Milner, Matthew Bland, Olivia Diaz, Amy-Louise Witte, Natasha Dawson, Alexander Stoakes, Ziwei Cao, Caitlin Carter, Xueyan Chi, Lucy Hancock, Emma Purvis, Xiaochen Wang, Yi Zhao, Tessa Buchanan, Jinya Hu, Jiahui Mi, Kylie Blanton
Graphic designers: Philip Tait and Dan Foster-Smith
Great North Museum curator: Joanne Anderson
Module leader: Areti Galani
