We are so proud of our talented graduates Tom Butler and Julie Howell who, with collaborators Lea Nagan and Anna Lincoln, worked on the on the research and narrative design of EXILE – part of the 2017 National Trust exhibition Prejudice And Pride which has just been shortlisted for Museums and Heritage best Temporary or Touring Exhibition.
EXILE stemmed from a research-led collaboration between RCMG and the National Trust at Kingston Lacy. As an installation, EXILE considers one of the most remarkable stories of Kingston Lacy – William John Bankes’ exile in 1841 – and marks fifty years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
The EXILE exhibition at Kingston Lacy was composed of three installations:
In Memoriam: a tribute to the 51 men who were hanged under laws that criminalised same-sex acts during the lifetime of William John Bankes (1786-1855), emphasising the brutality of law at the time and the reason he left Kingston Lacy to live in exile.
EXILE installation at Kingston Lacy. Credit: National Trust / RCMG / University of Leicester. Image Credit: National Trust images / Steven Haywood
Displaced: projection and sound are used show parallels between the story of William John Bankes, owner of Kingston Lacy, and prejudice and intolerance today.
Prejudice, Persecution, Pride: Setting the story of William John Bankes within a global history that examines how the law has shaped – and continues to shape – LGBTQ lives.
Find out more about this and other projects and practices at Prejudice, Pride, Place 2018… explore how heritage organisations can meaningfully engage diverse audiences in debates surrounding LGBTQ history, culture and equality by researching and presenting past LGBTQ lives. This two-day conference is part of the National Trust’s Prejudice and Pride programme of events marking fifty years since partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
Booking is open until Friday 4 May www.nationaltrust.org.uk
For more info about the Museums and Heritage award, see awards.museumsandheritage.com/awards-2018
Images & credits: EXILE by RCMG/National Trust. Installation of ‘Prejudice, Persecution, Pride’ at Kingston Lacy, 13th-17th September 2017. Research and narrative design by Richard Sandell, Tom Butler and Julie Howell. Spatial design and production by Tom Butler and Julie Howell. Graphic design by Anna Lincoln. Image Credit: National Trust images / Steven Haywood.