Exploring how collecting practices shaped shared stories across local museums (c.1800–1999)
Abstract
This poster explores how connecting stories across museum collections can help address gaps in how local histories are understood and represented. It examines how collections in council-run museums across Greater Manchester were formed during the 19th and 20th centuries, reflecting the social, political, and economic conditions of their time. The study focuses on museums within the Greater Manchester Museums Group, including Bolton Art Gallery, Library & Museum, Gallery Oldham, Portland Basin Museum, Salford Museum & Art Gallery, and Touchstones Rochdale. Early findings from research within the Digital Curation Lab at the University of Salford are presented in this poster. The research develops methods for analysing and visualising museum collections using open data. As an initial step, connections between collections in smaller local museums were identified through manual visual mapping, created without machine assistance. This involved manually examining collection records and physically identifying individual links between objects, collectors, places, and historical events. The resulting visualisation shows how collections across different museums are often linked through shared people, stories, and collecting practices. Mapping these connections helps reveal how museum collections are tied to wider histories of industrialisation, empire, and global trade that shaped the region where they are held. The research also highlights how museums can uncover overlooked stories and bring multiple perspectives into view. By making these connections visible, museums can encourage reflection, support more inclusive narratives, and help communities better understand their shared past.
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Open Data Queries
Salford Museum and Galleries Timeline
Cotton Queens :