In 2024, the People’s Museum continued to preserve overlooked heritage and giving a voice to locals in a working class social housing area the midst of huge urban development. We ended with a commitment to work towards a conservation area on the basis of social housing – a theme in this election year.
HOUSING IS NOT ENOUGH/ NOT ENOUGH HOUSING
2024 was a centenary year for housing in Somers Town as we commemorated 100 years of the St Pancras Housing Association so we campaigned and celebrated social housing in general in this election year, with HOUSING IS NOT ENOUGH/ NOT ENOUGH HOUSING programme of workshops, walks, outdoor theatre and panel discussions.
We collaborated with Origin and St Mary’s Church on events for the programme, one at the church, and two panel discussions, one on the role and achievements of women in social housing, which was supported by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. With panelists including national figures such as John Boughton (Municipal Dreams), Elizabeth Darling of SahGB, writer Ellen Peirson, and Jo McCafferty of Levitt Bernstein – this London Festival of Architecture housing event reached a diverse audience.
A voice for locals on housing
Culminating in our hosting a local panel on housing faciliated by o McCafferty of Levitt Bernstein NLA we played a role in influencing national debates on social housing.
A new Blue Plaque for woman surveyor
In May we collaborated with English Heritage on an event unveiling a Blue Plaque for co-founder of the housing project: Irene Barclay, the UK’s first female chartered surveyor, after a long campaign to recognise her achievements. Carrie de Silva spoke at the celebration event held at Origin’s Basil Jellicoe Hall.
Outdoor theatre and public realm
The highlight of the Housing Centenary programme was a immersive theatre performance walk to tell the story of the St. Pancras House Improvement Society, followed by a workshop at St Mary’s Church exploring the scope of Conservation Area based on the heritage of Somers Town’s social housing with over 70 participants.
We completed the digital Heritage Trail project, raising awareness of the loss of St Pancras Housing artworks – Somers Town’s working-class heritage, which is set to be completed as a pubic realm artwork with editcollective in 2025.
People’s Housing Stories Mural
We ran an intergenerational participatory project gathering stories from locals of your first flat – in social housing, which then became a mural painted onto the hoardings outside meanwhile space Story Garden, by a youth group guided by local King’s Cross graffiti artist Ed Cavill.
Urban change – cities need slums?
Somers Town as a changing area, at risk urban working class community facing major development and so a great site for ‘SMOOTHING THE CITY‘ an exhibition of students’ models for visions of ‘rough cities’ and how that is erased – via a collaboration with Middlesex University.
Two new local short films were premiered at the museum: Statues Also Forget by Hanxiang Zhang, about St Pancras Housing lost artwork, and Mary’s Monster by Joe Whitney, about Mary Shelley.
We launched a regular NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM’ with films and Q&As exploring local history and museum themes, including ‘The White Flats’ about social housing architect Peter Tabori, Jane Gull’s HS2 films, and Anarchist Traces talk by Professor Esther Leslie.
Untold stories
RUHMAN? was an exhibition about local disability rights activist and typewriter artist Keith Armstrong, along with a typewriter art talk and typewriter art workshop, which included Elfrida Rathbone youth groups who took part in the workshops.
The Bangladeshi women’s ‘LOTUS GROUP’ met regularly on Fridays, and included a Fireside Stories event at the Story Garden, and continued to compile Sylheti folk songs and stories into new book, ‘Lotus Stories‘. This will help disseminate hidden histories, breaking language and cultural barriers to connect the younger generations to their female elders and highlight the value of the women’s contribution and life stories.
Finally we launched Lotus Stories, compiled by our Bangladeshi women’s ‘Lotus Group’, with Mayor of Camden Samata Khatoon at our CHRISTMAS PARTY.
We are grateful to partners and collaborators: Origin, John Boughton, Elizabeth Darling SahGB, NLA, Middlesex University, writer Ellen Peirson, and Jo McCafferty, St Mary’s Church, artists Ed Cavill and Sophie, Joe Whitney, Shahnaz Ahmed, Esther Leslie, the Barclay family, Father Paschal Worton and Elfrida Rathbone, the help of Phoenix Court, the Highgate Society, Somers Town Big Local , the Crick Institute, We Make Camden, Places for People and the Camden Youth Foundation to enable this work.
RIP George Sharp who meant so much to the museum.
Check out this to see what we’ve been up to…