TYPE: Review
HEAD: Rhayader Museum
STANDFIRST: Rhayader shows how a museum can place itself at the heart of a
community.
BODY: With so much talk of museums role in what policymakers and politicians call
placemaking and community building, the opening of a new museum in rural Powys
might well present a real opportunity for all those interested in seeing just how a
museum can place itself at the heart of a community.
The oldest town in Mid-Wales, Rhayader is situated more than 75 miles from the
Welsh capital, deep in the Cambrian Mountains. The opening of this new museum is
the result of the efforts of a local community arts trust, Community Arts Rhayader &
District (CARAD), set up in 1998. With the closure of an existing folk museum in
the town, local people set about creating a new facility to tell the story of their own
community.
What has followed is almost a textbook exercise in creating a really inclusive
community-based museum; after extensive local consultation and some successful
fundraising, obtaining funding from Heritage Lottery Fund and local authorities,
displays were created by members of the local community themselves.
The new museum is housed in a fairly anonymous modern building, but stepping
inside is a revelation. Much attention has clearly been paid to the design of the
interior with an airy reception area and shop leading to displays upstairs, and a large
temporary exhibition gallery on the ground floor. The building is stylishly decorated
with artwork produced by local people, and the overall finish is excellent. An
example of attention to detail is the spiral stairway leading to the first floor
decorated with glass tiles featuring pictures of local people past and present.
The CARAD web site argues that local people have a strong sense of place and
community, and that oral and folk tradition are part of everyday conversations –
walking around the museum display you cannot help but agree. The layout does not
follow the ‘traditional’ local history gallery route, but instead highlights themes
identified by local people as being a key part of their community, past and present.
The displays begin with a section titled ‘Where We Come From’ a central showcase
flanked by two vertical timelines draws together 4,000 years of history. Cleverly, a
glass panel in the floor reveals a number of prehistoric axe heads and tools
contracting strongly with the more recognisable social history items in the case.
The gallery is not large, but crams in a lot of history. Large floor-to-ceiling windows
give views to the exhibition gallery below, but the visitor has only fleeting view since
the windows feature striking stained-glass-effect paintings that match the display
themes.
For a museum with such a rural setting, it is hardly surprising that the surrounding
landscape features strongly in the displays. The section titled ‘The Land’ includes
much material about the activities of local farmers past and present and the impact
of the building of the Elan Valley Reservoirs in the 1890’s which were created to
supply fresh water to the City of Birmingham. The tourism that followed the
construction of the dams and more recent pony trekking and walking activities
locally are mentioned, especially in excellent audio clips allowing visitors to listen to
local people talking about issues linked to the objects on display, including the
conservation needs of the changing local landscape today.
The title graphic of the Home section concludes that warmth, food and comfort, the
things we need, do not change, but ‘how we get them does’. A conventional room
set displays a mix of objects gathered around a Welsh hearth but context is supplied
through another audio clip, accessed through a replica 1940’s telephone. Dialling 6
for example, the visitor can hear Vincent Lewis, remembering the arrival of his first
television in 1969, his obvious pleasure at being able to finally see live sport and
news on TV highlighting just how isolated people in Mid Wales really were, even in
the 1960’s.
Visitors might be surprised to find that one of themes chosen by local people was
Salmon Poaching. Dodging the bailiff on dark nights to poach Salmon on the Wye
was an activity that as the text notes ‘has been going on as long as we can
remember’. In the nineteenth century, the introduction of a close season for fishing
by local landowners triggered riots in Rhayader at this infringement of an ancient
right.
More oral history and video tell the story with one resident recounting the night she
and her father were caught by bailiffs. Another contributor ruefully reflects that
although the river is said to be far cleaner today, the salmon seem in shorter supply.
Most local museums display objects telling the story of community activities and at
Rhayader the section titled Coming Together contains material from many groups
including the local Chapel and Temperance Society and theatrical and music groups.
A 1960 poster advertises a ball featuring local band, The Dambusters, with audio
allowing visitors to hear a wobbly but evocative snatch of the group playing in 1967.
Further cases show material from local Cub and Scout groups as well as sports
teams.
A final section of the gallery Talking Rhayader once again emphasises the oral and
folk traditions of the area. Cases containing objects are complemented by more
audio from local people. All audio clips within the displays are concise, resisting the
temptation to include long extracts which most visitors would tire of. The exhibition
also includes small video screens for each themed section of the displays each
containing a marvellous mix of both local people’s home movies and more
contemporary video footage of local community activities such as street parades
filmed in more recent times. A final touch is a computer database containing images
from the museum collection.
A recent press release revealed that in 2009 alone Rhayader people gave more than
6,000 hours of volunteer time towards the opening of their museum. Visiting the
museum you can’t help but admire this commitment, which has resulted in a fantastic
end result; an accessible and attractive museum that tells the story of their
community, past and present, and truly reflects the culture and identity of the place.
AUTHOR: Sharon Heal