Hireth: Remember Together.
In 2021 five museums in Cornwall worked together to create a permanent digital resource using the photograph archives in their collections.
The idea for this project came out of the work that Suzanna Webster had undertaken with a number of the museums, opening up their collections to residents in care homes across west Cornwall. Her work has particularly focussed on drawing out memories and sparking conversation, especially with those people experiencing memory loss. The aim of creating a new, permanent resource is that it can be seen by anyone who has access to the internet and in particular be accessed by care settings such as residential care homes and day-care centres.
At Museum of Cornish Life, Community Engagement Curator Isobel King and Suzanna Webster worked together to identify a theme that resonated with Helston and the surrounding area and would fit into the overall Hireth: Remember Together project. Flora Day is integral to the community of this region and there are extensive photographic records of this event from the dawn of photography to the current day so this was an obvious choice for inclusion. There are several other festivals and events particular to this area of Cornwall so it was felt that it was important to include them, as well as the more general themes of market days, fairs and carnivals. Once the images had been chosen Suzanna created a script for each block of photographs drawing upon research carried out by the volunteer team at the museum.
High Days and Holidays lasts 40 minuets and is available with or without a narrative . The film is arranged in a series of chapters so that you can choose to watch it in stages.
The films were produced by Lightbox Film Co, with the support of Cornwall Museums Partnership. The D’Oyly Carte Trust and the Headley Trust generously funded this project.
To watch the other films created as part of the Hireth: Remember Together project please use this link.
The museum holds a number of Loan boxes which can be hired that are full of objects that can be used in care settings or memory cafes etc. More information is available here.