Exhibition celebrating Wessex folk culture coming to Swindon

Un/Common People: Folk Culture in Wessex brings together over 100 objects, films, songs and stories to celebrate the folk art and seasonal customs of the Wessex region and will open at Museum & Art Swindon at the Civic Offices, in Euclid Street on Saturday, 30 November.

The exhibition, created in collaboration with the Wessex Museums partnership and the Museum of British Folklore, highlights the connection between folk culture, people and place, celebrating traditional crafts, music, storytelling, and myths that have been passed down through generations. The exhibition demonstrates how folk culture continues to inspire modern creativity and build a sense of community today.

The exhibition, which will be touring across the Wessex Museums partnership, features many objects which have not been on public display before. In addition to the objects, the exhibition showcases films and photography by Create Studios, capturing Wessex’s folk calendar.

Visitors will also experience a new folk song and a story map, reimagining five traditional regional folk songs, created by local artists Chlöe Herington and Bridie Cheeseman.

Councillor Marina Strinkovsky, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Placemaking and Planning, said: “We knew when we opened Museum & Art Swindon earlier this year that it has the potential to become a place where we could highlight even more of our amazing heritage.

“Working with Wessex Museums not only allows us to collaborate with amazing museums in the surrounding area, but also lets us host items and exhibitions we may not have been able to offer residents otherwise.

“There’s so much history in Swindon and the wider Wessex region, and I’d encourage everyone to visit the exhibition and see what they can discover.”

External Curators, Simon Costin, Mellany Robinson (The Museum of British Folklore), and Amy de la Haye (London College of Fashion), said: “Together, we have searched the archives of the Wessex partner museums in search of objects that tell local, political, expected and entirely unexpected stories to reframe the rich heritage and vibrant present day folk cultures for modern audiences.

“The Museum of British Folklore has also lent exhibits, including sweetheart pin cushions made by First World War veterans.

“We anticipate visitors being delighted and surprised by the variety of exhibits we have framed as folk art and practices, including ancient shoes hidden in old buildings and customised skateboards!”

Kirsty Hartsiotis, Collections and Exhibitions Officer at Swindon Museums, said: “Folk culture is undergoing a huge resurgence in Britain today, with Morris dancing, radical folk art, storytelling, and ceremonies of the land but, in truth, folk has never gone away.

“Folk is what we as people create as individuals and communities for the big stuff – celebrating the seasons we all live by, marking life events, protecting ourselves against harm and asserting ourselves as individuals in our communities.

“The exhibition features these personal and communal items, songs, events and stories that stretch back into the past and up to the present day.

“Today folk is often about responding to the land and our environment, and our Young Folk community art commission working with artist Amy Peck has created a giant puppet that also speaks to our hopes and fears for the future.

“It’s a huge privilege to be the first venue for this exciting exhibition, which, as part of the Wessex Museums partnership, is showcasing these often overlooked stories and objects, many being displayed for the first time, for everyone to enjoy and wonder over.”

When the exhibition ends on 8 March, it will tour three more of the Wessex Museums: Wiltshire Museum (Devizes), Poole Museum, and The Salisbury Museum throughout 2025 and 2026.

For more information, including opening times, visit the Museum & Art Swindon website. The exhibition has been made possible with generous support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, and The Swire Charitable Trust.