Collecting Our Future
What’s it about?
As part of this project we will launch a bold, city-wide campaign to co-create a new Collections Policy for the Museum of Chelmsford—one that reflects the full diversity of local life today. Through exhibitions, workshops, debates, and a cultural exchange, young people will work with communities across the district to lead the way in redefining what the museum collects, with a strong focus on inclusive heritage.
Take part in our survey… What objects tell your Chelmsford story? Click the QR code below.
“We want to try and bridge this divide between young and old because it shouldn't exist you know, and yes it's just a museum but it could be so much more. So we don't want it just to be for older people and just for young people, we want it to reflect the communities and everyone in between every group we want them to be represented.”
SPARK! Young Cultural Changemaker
“We’re thrilled to partner with young people to ensure diverse voices are heard and represented in the Museum of Chelmsford. By connecting with diverse communities, weaving their unique narratives into the collection, creating a rich tapestry of history for generations to come. We hope to create a legacy where the vibrant stories of Chelmsford’s communities come alive.“
Kate Reeder Curatorial and Learning Manager Museum of Chelmsford
A collection that shows Chelmsford’s many voices and cultures
Helping people feel connected to the museum and their city
A new way of working with the local community to create and manage the collections future
A growing collection of different stories that can help learning for many years to come
Strong links with schools, young people, and community groups
New and regular visits by people from all backgrounds
What does success look like?
Watch our reel…
Image credit: Culture Chelmsford
Our journey so far…
“Collaborating with SPARK! on discussions around the Collecting Our Future campaign for the Museum of Chelmsford was a great way to bring a range of voices and ideas to the table. Hearing ideas from a diverse range of age groups and perspectives was an excellent way to develop a solid foundation for the creative brief, so it could be executed with conviction and confidence.”
Ben Stanbury Member of Ignite Chelmsford, Founder of Menticulture Magazine
“Our work with SPARK! was collaborative, beginning once their schedules allowed and quickly becoming shaped and driven by their ideas from that point on. Through in-person and online workshops, alongside ongoing conversations via WhatsApp, SPARK! shaped how the campaign should look, sound and feel, using their existing branding as a starting point. We took the lead from SPARK! on language, tone, colours, objects and placements, focusing on what genuinely represents Chelmsford to them.”
Letita Mc Conalogue Projects Manager always possible
Read Maxine’s blog The opening of the Museum isn't the end, it's the beginning, all about her eye-opening tour of the Young V&A in Bethnal Green, London, with SPARK! in July 2025.
Maxine Dempster Community Engagement Officer Museum of Chelmsford
See SPARK!'s Market Stall post about collecting over 60 survey responses…
Image credit: Culture Chelmsford
See the Drop-In Collage Workshop post at Chelmsford Library …
Image credit: Culture Chelmsford
Click the images below to read why people chose these objects to tell their Chelmsford story…
Meet the commissioned Collecting Our Future Community Artists…
Artistic trio Caitlin Hazell and Moving House Films will collaborate with SPARK!, the Museum of Chelmsford, and local communities to co-create and deliver creative workshops that build on the themes from the survey responses to create an exhibition at the Museum in Spring 2027.
Caitlin Hazell is an artist and researcher who intertwines imagined and exaggerated aspects of everyday life with myth, history, and ritual. Working across a range of mundane and ancient materials, their work references the changing status of artefacts and relics, observing the systems that preserve and display them, archaeological digs and the psychology of the souvenir, reflecting material tradition and how we value objects across time.
Moving House Films is an ongoing collaboration between community artist Jonathan Ben-Shaul and filmmaker Louis Norris. They make participatory documentaries about people’s relationships with place – how communities shape, and are shaped by, their surroundings. They draw on interviews, movement, crafts, puppetry and dramatic re-enactment to create films that feel both intimate and communal. Each project begins with an invitation to local residents to relate to their town in new, experimental ways.
"We are really excited to be working together on a project that has already had such a great start. All three of us are fascinated by people's relationships with objects and can't wait to get involved with local communities, discovering which objects are most meaningful to them!”
[Pictured left to right] Jonathan Ben-Shaul, Caitlin Hazel and Louis Norris.
Our next steps…
Jan - July: Inclusive campaign launch and survey, asking ‘If the Museum could collect ONE object about your life in Chelmsford today, what would it be?’
July - Sep: Exhibition co-design & planning phase with communities
Oct - Dec: Exhibition installation phase
Jan 2027: Exhibition opens, showcasing diverse creative responses to the inclusive campaign
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the project, please contact us at hello@culturechelmsford.org.uk
Collecting Our Future is produced by Culture Chelmsford and SPARK!, in collaboration with and funded by Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford City Council, Chelmsford College, Chelmsford For You and Arts Council England.
