Take hold of the past at Chester exhibitions

Students from the University of Chester will lead two pop-up exhibitions this December offering the rare chance to take hold of and venture into the past.

History and Archaeology students will help to bring unseen historical artefacts to life at both free events in the city. With their guidance, visitors will have the opportunity to get up-close to original objects from, and gain insights on, medieval and early modern times.

The first pop-up exhibition, Telling Stories from Handling Medieval and Early Modern Objects, will be held in the Garret Theatre at Storyhouse in Chester, on Wednesday December 15, from 1pm to 3pm.

In this two-hour creative, exhibition workshop, people can safely handle unseen everyday objects from the period: shoes, keys, tiles, pottery, ceramics, rings, pilgrim badges and devotional tokens - and discover the stories they have to tell.

Katherine Wilson, Associate Professor of Later Medieval European History at the University of Chester said: “This event has been designed for anyone aged 14 onwards who is fascinated by history and is interested in exploring a creative response to the objects. You might love to write poetry, short stories or to create illustrations based on the objects you have held.”

Spaces are limited and places can be booked here: https://www.storyhouse.com/event/pop-up-exhibition-telling-stories-from-handling-medieval-early-modern-objects.

The second pop-up exhibition is open to anyone and will be held in the Contemporary Art Space Chester (CASC), in the Forum Shopping Centre, Chester, on Thursday December 16, from 1pm to 3.30pm.

Professor Wilson added: “Everyone of all ages is welcome to come along to this event at CASC, to safely handle everyday objects from the past which are normally stored in Museum collections - and no prior booking is required.

“Do drop-in for a chance to experience history, think about how people lived in the past and help us question existing narratives of history through the objects.”

The pop-up exhibitions are part of a UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant for Follow on Funding for Impact and Engagement, awarded to the project ‘Mobility of Objects Across Boundaries 1000-1700 (MOB)’. The initiative is led by Prof Wilson, Leah Clark - Associate Professor in the History of Art at the Department of Continuing Education, at the University of Oxford, and Liz Montgomery - Senior Curator at Grosvenor Museum in Chester.

For more information on the wider work of the MOB project, please visit:

https://mobilityofobjectsacrossboundaries.wordpress.com.

Pictured - People are invited to get a handle on history this December.