Library exhibition celebrates history of Black Country residents
A library in Sandwell is celebrating the history of Black Country residents with an exhibition of old photographs.
Thimblemill Library, in Smethwick, is hosting the Weddings, Holidays, Parties and the Bits-In-Between exhibition as part of the Living Memory Project, a lottery-funded initiative which records and celebrates the stories of people's lives across the Black Country.
The exhibition, which opened at the start of September, features personal family photographs, donated by Black Country residents, and reveals the social and private history of the area, as well as their travels to other parts of the country.
Julie McKirdy, 57, senior supervisor at Thimblemill Library, said: "They're a conversation starter as the photos take you back to your own childhood. It's about looking at that photo and thinking, I need to get my photos out too.
"It's important to reminisce really and get people talking again and thinking of their loved ones."
Ampersand Projects, who organised the exhibition, hosted workshops throughout April and May to meet residents and talk to them about their family albums and the stories they contain.
The photos, which are accompanied by a guide book explaining the story behind the picture, focus on weddings, holidays and parties and include families on seaside holidays, people playing cricket and people walking their dogs.
There is even a wedding photo featuring Dawn French and Lenny Henry who was the best man on the big day.
The exhibition is part of a wider initiative by the Living Memory Project that will see the library host a social history conversation group, on September 27, and also give people the opportunity to continue uploading their photographs onto the living memory website.
The exhibition will be at the library, which is a part of Sandwell Libraries, until the middle of October and will also be exhibited at Bleakhouse Library in Oldbury.
