There are certain groups, in the past and the present, that are poorly represented in our collections. We would like to change this, so that in the future we will have objects which represent the experiences of all parts of our community. We have been engaging with different groups, encouraging them to come forward with their objects or to create an artwork and put on displays representing their histories in their own words. So far we have hosted workshops and displays to explore women’s health, to tell LGBTQ+ stories and to represent the experiences of persons from diverse ethnic backgrounds. We would like also like to connect with individuals who can help us represent experiences of disability and neurodiversity.

Diverse Ethnic Backgrounds

Our collection does not currently represent the full diversity of the Stroud District in the past or in the present. We are working to change this.

The museum collaborated with artists of The Women’s Art Activation System (The WAAS) to host a display telling the story of families who moved to Stroud from Jamaica in the 1950s. Key contributor Dee Guthrie recreated a traditional Jamaican front room with glass cabinet and curtains surrounded by her artworks. Alongside her personal objects and creations she displayed a textile made by her mother on the boat travelling to Britain. Through this display she was able to represent 3 generations of her family and tell a unique aspect of Stroud’s history.

The display Boats Birth Brass and Bun was made possible by a National Heritage Lottery funded project and support by Stroud Against Racism.

We would like to do more. Can you help us? Are you a person from a diverse ethnic background with stories that you would like to be represented in the museum? Do you have objects that you feel would tell a story of your experiences, or those of your family in the past?

If the answer is yes and you live (or lived) in the Stroud District, please get in touch.

LGBTQ+ Stories

2022 marked 50 years of Pride in the UK. Yet LGBTQ+ stories are poorly represented in our collections, so we didn’t have any objects with which to mark this occasion. In order to address this we invited Stride - the LGBTQ+ advocacy group from Stroud District Council – to put on a display. They brought in personal objects that reflected their experiences of finding and celebrating their identities, of challenges faced and love found.

Since the display opened we have collected some objects from the Stroud Pride Picnic which reflect some of the LGBTQ+ groups in the district. In 2024 we hosted a stall at Stroud Pride and attendees helped us create an artwork to capture what Pride means to them. The conversations we had there have lead to more objects coming into the museum collection and more experiences we are now able to represent.

However there are many more queer stories in the district, which we would like to be reflected in the museum displays. We currently can’t represent the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in the past.

Can you help us? Do you have LGBTQ+ stories that you would like to be represented in the museum? Do you have objects that you feel would tell a story of your experiences, or those of your family and friends in the past?

If the answer is yes and you live (or lived) in the Stroud District, please get in touch.

Menstruation Maternity Menopause

While the majority of women experience menstruation, maternity and menopause, these areas of female health are poorly represented in our collections. In general menstruation and menopause in the past is not well documented. This is largely because historic records were written by men and due to the taboo around these areas of female health that continues even today.

Maternity is an area better represented in our collection. However many of the objects tell the story of the babies and the doctors but don’t fully represent experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood. For example while Stroud Maternity Unit has played an important role in many women’s experiences, until very recently we did not have any objects relating to it in our collection.

The Baby Makers: Making History

In 2022 the museum hosted a display highlighting the missing histories of menstruation, maternity and menopause. In response to our call out, The Women’s Art Activation System – artists Sarah Dixon and Sharon Bennett - created the workshop Baby Makers: Making History. (The workshop was made possible by The National Lottery Community Fund.)

Together with the museum they created a workshop for mothers and one for midwives. 19 women came to share their stories of motherhood and menopause, and to create a piece of bunting to represent their story. Alongside this they wrote down their stories or were recorded speaking about them. The bunting went on display and then the individual pieces were stitched together. Both the bunting and the stories have gone into the museum collection as a snapshot of a moment in time. This means that in the future our successors will be able to tell some of the stories that were previously missing.

After the success of this first phase, The WAAS gained funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund to continue this work in 2024. This time we hoped to uncover diverse memories and experiences to do with the maternity services, fostering, adoption and loss. We collaborated with Stroud Against Racism to explore Black and diverse histories of birth and maternity. This was the starting point for the Boats Birth Brass and Bun display mentioned above. We also worked with Stroud Local History Society to explore what giving birth was like in Stroud over the decades.

The project resulted in creative workshops making objects to represent birth histories, the recording of oral histories, the donation of items relating to Stroud Maternity Unit and 2 displays. The second display included objects from the collection which were used as inspiration in The WAAS workshops, artworks created and historic items brought to these workshops, which now form part of the museum collection.

There is still more work to do. Women’s health is still poorly represented in our collection and we have few objects reflecting menstruation and menopause.

Have you experienced menstruation, maternity or menopause in the Stroud District? Do you have objects that you feel would tell a story of your experiences, or those of your family or friends in the past? Are you a trans or non-binary person who would like your experiences in these areas represented?

If you can help us, please get in touch.