Connecting with Communities exhibition
2 July 2009 (updated on 22 April 2010)
A new exhibition which explores the connections between people, communities and Parliament opens in Westminster Hall today.
- Exhibitions: People and Parliament: Connecting with Communities exhibition
- Get Involved: People and Parliament: Connecting with Communites project
- Parliament News: Connecting with Communities project launches in Norfolk
People and Parliament: Connecting with Communities draws on the unique archival resources held by the Parliamentary Archives and regional archive services to examine how people have influenced Parliament and how Parliament has affected communities and lives over a period of nearly 500 years.
The exhibition includes documents, photographs, images and archive film from the Parliamentary Archives and a number of partners around the UK.
People and Parliament: Connecting with Communities launches a major four year Parliamentary Outreach and Parliamentary Archives project which will see a series of regional activities taking place across the country between 2009 and 2012.
These activities will be held with community groups near our five project partners and will be based around documents from the Parliamentary Archives and the partner archives: Birmingham Archives and Heritage, Centre for Kentish Studies, Glamorgan Record Office, Norfolk Record Office and Tyne & Wear Archives.
Clare Cowan, Head of Parliamentary Outreach, said:
"Parliamentary Outreach encourages people to engage with Parliament - we are looking forward to working with a wide range of audiences in a variety of creative ways, including visual arts, to show how people have engaged with Parliament in the past and how we all can get involved now."
David Prior, Assistant Clerk of the Records at the Parliamentary Archives, said:
"This exhibition and the project it is launching mark a new approach for us in making the material in our care accessible to new audiences. We are excited about the fantastic connections that people and communities across the country will be able to make with our archives through the project."
The exhibition will be in Westminster Hall between 2 July and 20 September 2009. Admission is free and the opening times are as follows:
- Monday to Friday: 10am to 5pm (3 July - 18 September)
- Saturday: 10am to 5pm (8 August – 19 September)
- Sunday: 10am to 4pm (20 September only)
The exhibition will be closed on 31 August 2009.
For more information about the People and Parliament: Connecting with Communities exhibition, please contact David Prior, Assistant Clerk of the Records, at priordl@parliament.uk.
For more information about the programme of regional activities, please contact Rebecca Fawcett, Cultural Programmes Manager, on 07917 488499 or by email at: fawcettr@parliament.uk.