M Shed aims to find and collect objects, art work, archives,
photographs and digital recordings which reflect current and past
life within the city.
The emphasis is on recording the personal experiences of
individuals from all walks of life and illustrating those
experiences by recording memories and recollections, views and
thoughts on to digital media. In addition objects and
archives (3-d and 2-d items respectively) will also be collected to
bring to life these experiences in a very tangible way.
Objects collected may be particularly significant to Bristol,
perhaps manufactured in the city, or may be particularly
significant to an individual associated with the city, for example
the suitcase in which an individual carried their entire
possessions when moving to Bristol.
M Shed seeks to tell the history of the city along with the
contemporary (which will in its turn become history).
Consequently we shall continue to collect items of archaeological
or of general historical interest to Bristol.
The collections we hold will be used to change and supplement
the displays in the M Shed galleries, those not on display at any
one time will be available for reference and research by
appointment. The collections a museum holds in this way
increase its relevance and importance significantly both to
existing audiences of all sorts (eg academia, local history groups,
family history research) and to future generations attempting to
understand what life was like in the past.
The existing collections of local history in the museums service
are rich in objects which reflect the industrial and maritime
history of Bristol and of domestic life for Bristolians
particularly in the 19th and the first half of the
20th centuries. Items collected for their artistic
qualities and scientific interest also demonstrate the cultural
history of the city in their own different ways. We recognise
though that the existing collections are lacking in reflecting much
of post-Second World War cultural changes and in particular
changing attitudes towards aspects of our society such as immigrant
communities, sexuality, disability, poverty. We aim to change
this imbalance by representing all facets of the cosmopolitan
nature of life in a modern city treating all groups with equality
and fairness.
The archives held in the Bristol Record Office complement the
objects held in the museums and have similar aspirations to reflect
society today and in the past. There too collecting will
continue to meet that ideal. The collections at both Record
Office and in the museums have been recognised as of national
importance and so awarded the recognition by Government as being
'Designated'.
In order to achieve our aims of collecting in a fair and
balanced way through M Shed we will aim to involve members of the
community in helping to decide which things are important to
preserve and exhibit.
If you think you have something that is of interest to M Shed
please contact a
curator.
M Shed is part of Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives
which is also responsible for the following museums: Bristol Museum
& Art Gallery, Red Lodge, Georgian House, Blaise Museum,
Kingsweston Roman Villa and also for the Bristol Record
Office. The service as a whole has a published summary of
what it collects, subject area by subject area.