Open Questions: Spotlight Exhibition

Open Questions

Community-Powered Perspectives on the Nottingham City Museums and Galleries Stores

With Streetwise Opera, Pamoja, Forever Young and Fearless Youth Association
Produced by StoryArcs Fellow, Dr Anna Ball, with the Museum’s Art Curators
Photography by Reem Takriti

21st March to 4th October 2026

There is much more to Nottingham City’s Museums and Galleries than meets the eye…

Beyond its galleries, there lie extensive stores containing many more items of art, craft and textiles.

These have been amassed since 1878, when the Museum & Art Gallery originally opened at Nottingham Castle, as a resource intended to expand the appreciation of art among the public and inspire innovation among local machine-lace workers

Every box opened, every item, raises a question

What do these objects mean to Nottingham’s communities today? What do they tell us about the past, and how might they guide us into the future? Who should tell their stories – and how?

These are questions that are not easy to answer – but as Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery heads towards its 150th anniversary in 2028, it’s an ideal moment to open them up to discussion.

Over the past several months, the Museum’s Visual Arts curators have worked in collaboration with StoryArcs Fellow, Dr. Anna Ball, to enable a range of community groups from across Nottingham to explore the objects in the stores and the questions that they raise.

This exhibition shares the powerful perspectives that community members shared during those visits – and invites you to join the discussion.


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