The purpleSTARS are a group of people with and without learning difficulties based at the Rix Centre who work together to make museums more inclusive.
Their aim is for everyone to make personal connections and really enjoy their visits, whatever their background or abilities.
This new free display in the Museum of London’s Talking Point gallery, features sensory elements from sounds to images and even smells, explores the lives of Londoners past and present and invites visitors to reflect on their own experiences of the capital.
During lockdown, as part of this project, the purpleSTARS listened to recordings made over the past 80 years from the Museum of London’s oral history collection.
They recorded their thoughts about these stories during video meetings and made connections to their own experiences as Londoners, using a Rix Wiki to capture this journey of exploration.
We picked out themes that are important and interesting to us, Equality, Cinema, Style and Travel. Listening to some oral histories inspired us to come up with our own messages about equality as Londoners.
The purpleSTARS then looked for images and objects from the museum that matched these themes and incorporated touch and smell into their displays to give people a multisensory experience of the stories that were emerging.
Visitors to the Talking Point gallery will be able to explore these stories using new touchless technology from project partners, Ultraleap.
The display opens on 3 September and runs until 17 December
Pre-book your tickets here
Find out more about how purpleSTARS recorded their journey into the past by visiting their Rix Wiki