A History of the North in 100 Archives

The eagerly awaited Great Exhibition of the North, will be taking place between 22 June and 9 September this year. 

Although NewcastleGateshead will host the core programme, the overall aim is to reveal the dynamic story of the whole of the North of England, and that's where we need your help. 

We are offering your organisation an opportunity to take part and be represented in this once in a lifetime event.

To celebrate the rich and varied history of the North, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) has issued a callout to accredited museums for objects on public display to showcase the 'History of the North in 100 Objects’.  

Not to be outdone, Tyne & Wear Archives has secured funding from The National Archives’ Sector Sustainability fund to develop a similar project just for archives:  the ‘History of the North in 100 Archives’ will showcase archives that both define the North and also tell the story of innovation and creativity.

Core elements of the Project

• A new website featuring the 100 selected items – a ‘virtual exhibition’ telling the story of the North through archives.
• Promotion on social media and relevant archives’ websites to engage the public with the archives.
• Branded labelling for the items explaining its significance to the themes of the Great Exhibition of the North

Nominating archives

We are inviting you to nominate up to three items from your collections that you think should feature in the project. Please use the attached form to tell us about your documents (one item per form). Any Archive in the UK may submit entries for the exhibition providing the item(s) nominated are publicly accessible (either in a public searchroom, digitally or on exhibition) and relate specifically to the North of England.

100 Archives Selection Criteria

The criteria for documents to be included in the project are:

• They help us to define the nature of the North of England and tell the story of the north, or they tell the story of innovation and creativity.
• Be a strong visual image which will work well online and on social media.
• We will need to have permission to use the documents on the ‘100 Archives’ website and appropriate social media

We are asking you to send us a low or medium resolution image of the item for the selection process. You will need to be able to send us a high resolution image if the item is selected for inclusion in the project.

The final list of items to be used on the website will be drawn up by an expert panel that will consider the ability of each item to contribute to the story of the North and to engage with people.

Submissions

This is a fantastic opportunity to be involved in this innovative project and to use the archives in our care to tell the story of the North.  

Please download and complete the nomination form (PDF) and return marked FAO Ann Kent to archives@twmuseums.org.uk

Deadline:  Friday 4 May