28 February - 22 April 2023

This new exhibition reveals there's no place like home

Your Story, Your Collection celebrates our sense of belonging and the factors which combine to make our 'home' - from people and places to memories and stories.

The art gallery and museum launched the social history project to capture a picture of Rugby in the 2020s - forging new creative partnerships and giving unheard stories a voice.

Supported by a £50,000 grant from Arts Council England, the project enlisted Rugby-based artist Jessica Hartshorn to run workshops with community groups from across the borough, including members of the Benn Partnership Centre, the Sikh Social and Welfare Association, and Individual Support Solutions.

With the museum's social history collection serving as a starting point, the workshops encouraged participants to explore what makes 'home' and, working with Jessica, turn deeply personal stories into pages of a pop-up book.

Featuring in the exhibition will be contributions from across Rugby's communities, with the youngest participant five-years-old and the eldest 75.

The finished pop-up book pages capture the diverse perspectives and definitions of 'home' through evocative images and text.

Catherine Shanahan, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum's senior collections officer, said:

"We launched the Your Story, Your Collection project at a particularly poignant moment in our social history, as we started the tentative return to normality following the pandemic," Catherine said.

"It was a stark reminder social history unfolds every day, impacting the lives and experiences of all of us. 

"Your Story, Your Collection has allowed us to capture a unique snapshot of Rugby's social history in the early 2020s, giving us glimpses of what 'home' means to residents of the borough."

'Your Story, Your Collection' is a project funded by Arts Council England and delivered in partnership with the Benn Partnership Centre.