Treasures, Peterborough Museum
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![Two open manuscripts in a spotlit showcase. In the background, a visitor looks at objects in another showcase.]()
A temporary exhibition exploring celebrated local artefacts and communities.
Treasures, Peterborough Museum, 25 August 2018 – 6 January 2019. NLHF-funded. Supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund.
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![A visitor walks through a gallery past a wall-sized map of Europe showing locations of Beaker communities between 2900-1800 BC. In the foreground a white showcase displays a clay vase.]()
We were appointed to design the Museum of Peterborough’s major autumn exhibition for 2018. Coinciding with the 900th anniversary of Peterborough Cathedral, the exhibition brought together the ‘Treasures’ of Peterborough for the very first time, and featured celebrated objects and collections spanning 3,500 years.
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![A visitor walks through a gallery with wooden floors and spotlights. Large minimalist black and white maps on the walls show medieval pilgrimage sites in Europe. Three showcases in the centre of the gallery display open books and objects.]()
Our design de-cluttered the gallery spaces, and removed all temporary partitions so that objects could be framed in space within carefully lit compositions. The strict conservation and display requirements of these rare objects necessitated a considered and respectful approach to lighting and display.
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![Two men look at a spotlit object in a showcase in a gallery. Behind them is a wall-sized image of the object – an ornate painted box with human figures – and the title Treasure for Healing.]()
Throughout the project we worked closely with the client team to find ways to layer narrative and design, and to integrate visitor participation and engagement.
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![A selection of metal objects in a showcase, including a vase and goblet. Behind it, a wall graphic shows a close-up image of a triangular metal plate with a circular Christian symbol. The title reads "Treasure for worship".]()
Many of the objects are small and their distinguishing features and details are often hard to see. We commissioned hi-res photos of these key objects and reproduced them on the walls, enlarged many times to show off these smaller details.
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![A gallery wall with colourful medieval bestiary images mounted on black square card. Beneath these images are visitor drawings and writings of their own medieval beasts, on white A4 paper pinned to the gallery walls.]()
In the central space between the galleries, a four-step drawing interactive encouraged visitors to imagine and create their own ‘Peterborough Beast,’ in reference to the illuminated beasts found in the Medieval bestiaries. Visitor drawings were then exhibited beneath reproductions of the original images.
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![A visitor's colourful drawing of a dragon-like creature with a fish tail, which they have called a "mer-lisk," a cross between a mermaid and basilisk. The drawing pinned to a grey wall.]()
While this interactive activity was aimed at getting younger visitors to look closely at the details, it was popular with a much wider audience demographic.
