Building understanding between Britain and China
I was thrilled to work with Manchester Museum in autumn 2020 to review and develop interpretation plans for their new Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery. It is part of hello future, a £15 million project involving a two-storey extension with great new galleries, an exhibition hall and a new welcome space. The aim of the new Chinese Culture Gallery is to build understanding between Britain and China – and Manchester is the perfect place to do this, as the local authority with the largest Chinese diaspora community in England, and more Chinese students than any university in Europe.
Details of my involvement with the project are below – but it’s now open! Explore the new gallery in my short video below.
The interpretation strategy review was a chance for me to work with the team, led by curators Bryan Sitch and Andrea Winn, to ask: How do we give the objects a context that inspires empathy? What stories encourage us all to see each other’s perspective? and How can the gallery and its themes build understanding between two nations?
Stories of struggle and hope are universal, but they play out differently in each individual place. The history of Chinese people in Manchester is rich and varied, and there are thriving Chinese community organisations. Several of these have collected records, oral history and photographs of people and places. From the individuals and families who arrived in the early 20th century and set up businesses, to today’s diverse landscape of Chinese academics, students, settled families and international visitors, there is a wealth to draw upon.
Sau Yeung Ip working in the family chip shop in Oldham, early 1980s, from the Manchester Chinese Archive
There is a bigger and earlier perspective too, of course. While Britain and China were initially in imperial trading relationships that were often unequal and antagonistic, there was a fascination and reverence for the orient in Britain. This is reflected in the collections of Manchester Museum and its partners, which contain porcelain, paintings, botanical, geological and entomological specimens, manuscripts and maps, textiles, carvings and more.
Chinese headdress, late 19th century, Manchester Museum
Beautiful items will go on display in the new gallery, but with an aim that fits with the museum’s vision of imagination, inclusion and care. And the latest research at the Manchester China Institute helps inform the thinking around these themes. The gallery’s location within the University of Manchester also gives access to people who are currently building some of the most productive intellectual and practical relationships with counterparts in Chinese universities.
Family featured in “British Born Chinese”, a film about dual-culture children growing up in Manchester made by Elena Barabantseva of the Manchester Chinese Institute
It was a privilege to contribute to the project, and as always, Manchester Museum approaches its work with a global perspective and a huge ambition, yet with a human touch. Its mission and vision have been a guiding light for my local museum in Banbury, where I now chair the board, as we shape our own plans for becoming ever more relevant and effective.