Doncaster museum will be shining a spotlight on people whose history may have been forgotten

The ‘invisibles’ of history - unseen and overlooked people from the past - will be storming Doncaster Museum from December 20, to take centre stage for the first time in a new exhibition which hopes it can help to rewrite the history books.

The name of the new exhibition is ‘Changing the Record’ and it is the work of volunteer historians who want to restore the true technicolour of Britain’s past, by repopulating the historical landscape with ‘missing people’ who deserve a stronger voice in the historical record.

The exhibition won’t be confined to traditional glass cases, but will instead be bursting out across the museum in a takeover trail that aims to challenge long-held perspectives on the past.

Victoria Ryves from Heritage Doncaster, said: “History belongs to everyone.

“It is our story.

“But if we don’t recognise any of the people in the starring roles, people who look like us or share similar life experiences, then it can be hard to engage with history or understand its relevance - it becomes a list of dates.

“There are some groups of people who are particularly under- represented within the historical record, including women, people of colour, people with disabilities and the LGBTQIA+ community.

“We wanted to rewrite these local people back into the history books, and so we assembled a master team of volunteers to work with us on Changing the Record.

“After hours of painstaking detective work, online research, scouring time-worn manuscripts and fading film footage, they’ve made so many wonderful discoveries that we’ve decided to showcase them in a special exhibition opening on December 20 at the new Danum Gallery, Library and Museum.”

The new collection will include stories from Doncaster’s black community, an exploration into witchcraft, the romance between Alfred Wainwright and Otto Jubermann, pioneering women and migrants who moved to Doncaster.

Victoria said: “Anyone can become a history detective - you don’t need to have studied it at school, you just need to have a curious mind and plenty of love for your subject.

“Maybe you too could be unearthing hidden histories, finding a voice for the many people of the past whose stories should have been heard.”

To find out more about the collection and the history detectives click here.

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