“Food brings people together, makes memories, and expresses love and care… no matter where the recipe comes from.”
Heirloom Food Project
As part of the redevelopment work taking place at Touchstones Rochdale, we’re delighted to announce details of a major new co-curation project – The Dining Room (working title) – a space where food, socialising, art and heritage combine.
Whether you’re interested in history, heritage, art or just want a welcoming space to chat with your friends and neighbours, The Dining Room is being developed by members of Rochdale’s community for everyone to enjoy.
Once Touchstones reopens, it’s up to you how you want to use the space – you’ll be able to enjoy a café menu and activities linked to our collections, experience the art and museum displays, or simply hang out before a show in our new performance space.
The Dining Room will explore our local collections via the lens of food, transforming what used to be a mostly unchanging museum display into an evolving collections display. Through working with 20 Community Curators, we’re discovering stories of our shared heritage that are currently missing from our collections, as well as celebrating the everyday objects that have an important place in our lives (see the Community Curators blog here).
All elements of The Dining Room visitor experience will be up for discussion, from the food menu to the furniture!
We recruited 15 paid Community Curators through our partners – Awakening Minds, Theatre in Flow, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and the Association of Ukrainians Great Britain: Rochdale Branch, and a further group of young people from Rochdale Youth Service working as Young Curators in annual summer schools as part of the HAF programme..
We have also worked with artists to create three exciting new installations for The Dining Room space – a digital installation inspired by the sadly destroyed original stained glass portraits, and an installation which will see food heritage-related objects suspended from the ceiling, with the Young Curators working with an artist to develop a textile commission inspired by Rochdale’s industrial history. You can find out more about the commissions through the links below.
The Dining Room has been made possible by a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of just under £250,000, thanks to National Lottery players.
Heritage Inspired Artist Commissions
As we transform the museum, we are teaming up with representatives from various Rochdale communities to ensure their input shapes every part of the redesigned museum. We have also commissioned three artists who are collaborating with the Community Curators and other members of the public to create three artistic projects that respond to the unique heritage of the space. This inclusive approach involves a diverse range of voices in the transformation process and celebrating the distinct cultural history that defines Rochdale.
You can find out more information about the commissions and artists below.
