Sydney Carline's The Trails of War (1919) is among the works curators at York Art Gallery are hoping to find out more about with the help of local veterans
York Art Gallery has called on World War Two veterans to help reveal some of the identities and stories behind the centre’s collection of images of conflict ahead of a 70th anniversary exhibition planned for July 2009.
Curators have held meetings with members of the local community in an effort to assemble ideas and thoughts for text panels and sound recordings accompanying the Reflections on War show.
“The gallery has a significant collection of images depicting war and conflict, but to really understand these works we want people to come and relate to them and tell us the feelings and memories they evoke,” appealed Gaby Lees, Assistant Curator of Art Learning at YAG.
”This is a chance for us to record these important memories, but also a chance for people to work closely with curators and the pictures we will be putting on display.”
The inititiative is backed by the Their Past Your Future programme, and will include a variety of viewpoints, stories and reactions to the images, which will be collected and recorded in an oral history strand to the project, working with three other community groups and the general public.
These will be accessed through a sound post in the gallery and will be regularly updated. The text labels will also be flexible and will be changed and updated from visitors commentary on the pictures - collected throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Works already selected for the exhibition include Bomb Damage to St Martins, York by Patrick Hall, Art Gallery Bomb Damage by P Bisset and Gun Crew by Henry Lamb.
For more details call Gabby Lees on 01904 697963 or email gaby.lees@ymt.org.uk
Launched in 2004, Their Past Your Future is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and uses historical sources, sites, museums, veterans and eyewitnesses of war to increase young people's understanding of history, commemoration, national identity and civic participation today. Find out more at www.culture24.org.uk/tpyf.
