ECH founder Judith Garfield at the pop up museum in Stratford

‘People’s Museum and Gallery of Newham’ tells 100 years of residents’ stories

Melissa York , Reporter Sunday, August 5, 2012
10:00 AM

More than a century of Newham stories will be told at a pop up museum in Stratford through a series of local exhibitions, workshops and talks.

‘People’s Museum and Gallery of Newham’ held a launch night on High Street to announce the opening of a space dedicated to documenting and preserving the stories of the borough.

Curated by Newham-based charity Eastside Community Heritage (ECH), the night attracted both East Ham MP Stephen Timms and West Ham MP Lyn Brown alongside Newham Council’s executive member for regeneration and strategic planning Cllr Conor McAuley.

Star of the evening was ECH director Judith Garfield, recently awarded an MBE for her work in community heritage in the most recent Queen’s Birthday Honours, and visitors were greeted with the Stratford Village Artists Photographic Exhibition and an exhibition by Mike Steel displaying a portion of the extensive work he has done photographing the Olympic Park site before development.

Opening to the public from Thursday until the end of October, the ‘People’s Museum and Gallery of Newham’ aims to tell working class stories of the last century through a programme of workshops, exhibitions, films, and talks.

Highlights include a talk by documentary photographer Mike Steel, workshops with Stratford Village Artist Alison Marchant, exhibitions on Brick Lane and Hackney Wick, long time East End resident Ted Lewis talking about his work at Billingsgate Fish Market, a lecture by local historian and chair of ECH Geoff Bell, and a talk by Robert Rogers about the West Ham Speedway.

‘People’s Museum and Gallery of Newham’ is at 306 High Street, Stratford, E15 1AJ.

For more information about the programme of events, visit www.hidden-histories.org.uk/wordpress.