Browse Exhibits (8 total)

Windrush Years - Next Generations

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Windrush Years - Next Generations

2018 marked the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush ship to London. 539 people from the West Indies/Caribbean responded to the call from the Mother Country for labour in post war Britain.

In 2016, the Museum of Oxford formed partnerships with the Afrikan and Caribbean Kultural Heritage Initiative (ACKHI) and the Ber-Bedo Kelo Lonyo United Women’s Organisation (BKLUWO) to develop an exhibition project to mark the anniversary.

The exhibition was on display at the Oxford Town Hall from October 2018 to March 2019. It told the stories of people from the West Indies/Caribbean who settled in Oxford and their reflections on life in Britain since the 1950s and 1960s, through oral histories, objects, textiles, photographs and documents. It also featured a recreated Front Room based on a typical West Indian/Carribean household in Britain of the 1950s/60s. 

This online exhibition shares some of the items from the physical exhibition.

While you're browsing, why not listen to our Windrush Generations playlist?

A Nice Cup of Tea

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This project looked behind the familiar English cuppa to the history of Empire and transatlantic slavery with which it is intimately linked.

Oxford Re-Formed

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Since the Reformation in the early sixteenth century, Oxford’s community, culture, and cityscape have been repeatedly transformed by various moments of religious upheaval. The lives, debates, and conflicts of both the Protestant and Catholic Reformations have been represented, revised, and retold across the city’s buildings and monuments over the last four centuries.

Oxford Re-Formed tells this story. The exhibition explores the evolution of the visual and material traces of the Reformation in Oxford’s cityscape, showcasing public buildings and monuments, as well as artefacts that are not usually on public display.

Curated by Christopher Archibald (Faculty of English, New College), Anna Clark (Faculty of History, St John's College), Susan Doran (Faculty of History, Jesus College and St Benet’s Hall), Paulina Kewes (Faculty of English, Jesus College), and William Whyte (Faculty of History, St John's College).

Generously supported by Jesus College, Oxford and the Faculty of History, University of Oxford, and by the team at the Museum of Oxford.

Queering Spires: a history of Oxford's LGBTIQA+ spaces

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Highlights from our award-winning exhibition, displayed in the Oxford Town Hall from September 2019 to March 2020 (and again, as a smaller display, in early 2022).

The exhibition was a partnership between the Museum of Oxford, Oxford Pride and a community heritage project, Tales of Our City.

It was curated by a steering group of Oxford citizens who identify as or with LGBTIQA+.

At the 2020 Museums and Heritage show, the exhibition won the Sustainable Project of the Year award, in recognition of our efforts to minimise the waste and carbon footprint associated with the exhibition.

LGBTIQA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer, and asexual. The + sign represents many other groups and identities within the community.

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Mixing Matters

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Mixing Matters is a project celebrating the rich culinary heritage of Oxford's communities.

Started through a partnership with the Oxford Hindu Temple & Community Centre Project, it has involved three other community groups. Participants brought food-related objects which carried meaningful memories, which they shared with others. Inspired by the objects, participants created collaborative art pieces. Favourite recipes were also shared during the sessions. At the end of the project, participants cooked their favourite foods and shared them in a community feast, open to all.

Participating community groups:

Filipino Community of Oxfordshire (winter 2019/20) https://www.filcomoxford.org.uk/

African Families in the UK - Women of the World Space (spring 2020) http://www.africanfamilies.co.uk/

Oxford Hindu Temple & Community Centre Project (summer 2020) http://www.oxfordhindutemple.org/

Oxfordshire Nepalese Community (summer 2020) http://www.oxfordnepalese.org/ 

 

Dive In! A history of river swimming in Oxford

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Oxford was originally built between two rivers: the Thames (known locally as the Isis) and the Cherwell. Over the years, these rivers have provided food, boating routes, security from invasion, and places for bathing and swimming.

This exhibition explores how people used these places for socialising, sunbathing, and learning life skills.

It traces how a few bathing places became official institutions, created and managed by City authorities and others. It shows the dangers and challenges of the water; and how access was controlled and opened up at different times.

And it looks to the future, reimagining what we wear, the structures we build, and the art we create in relation to the rivers.

This exhibition was originally on display at the Museum of Oxford between April and September 2023. This online exhibition features some of the items that were on display in this exhibition, as well as contributions by participants of workshops that were held as part of the exhibition.

Use the navigation bar on the right to explore the exhibition, or start here: Oxford's historic bathing places.