Heading Exhibiting Difference Project
Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, England
Work by pupils from Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls
Work by pupils from Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls
Work by pupils from Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls
Work by pupils from Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls
In 2007 the Hunterian Museum made a unique contribution to the commemoration of the 2007 Bicentenary of the Parliamentary Abolition of the Slave Trade in the British Empire through the Exhibiting Difference project. This was an opportunity to broaden current awareness of the history of the Transatlantic slave trade through the history of medicine and the experiences of those who were living on the margins of society. Exhibiting Difference focused on the hidden histories of Black Africans living with skin pigmentation conditions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The project encouraged participants and visitors to explore issues of identity, self-image and cultural distinctiveness in modern society and examine their own attitudes and behaviour towards people with a visible difference both from the past and the present day.
Teachers quote The students at The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls were fascinated by the exhibits on display at the Hunterian Museum and provided them with some wonderful inspiration for the 'Exhibiting the Difference' project. Our artist in residence, Jacky Oliver, really inspired the girls with her work and pupils went on to develop a body adornment piece based on a series of specimens found in the collection. The girls particularly enjoyed working with the 3D materials and were overjoyed to see their work on displaying in a public place, many returning to show relatives and friends. The whole experience deepened the students understanding of the work of the professional artists. The journey that the students undertook from the initial inspiration of seeing other artists work on display to having their own work exhibited was an enormously enriching one.