Exhibitions and Events at the museum

 

Humari Kahaniyan Our Stories. A collaborative exhibition of South Asian Stories at Calderdale Industrial Museum. Funded by Culturedale’s Caldertales project and created by Everybody Arts and We Belong Here, this is a vibrant and illuminating exhibition telling local stories in the words of local people. 

After months of working with the South Asian community in Halifax, we were delighted to launch our new exhibition in the Terry Sutton Gallery. This ongoing oral history project seeks to explore the vital role these communities played in the mid-20th Century economy of Halifax’s textile industry landscape. They now form a rich part of Calderdales exciting cultural mix and it is a pleasure to recognize the contribution played by these communities. The exhibition portrays the first stage of this evolving project.

The exhibition was officially opened at the museum, with a lively and very well attended event, on 19th September. In attendance were many representatives of the local South Asian communities, Virginia Lloyd a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, representatives of Calderdale Industrial Museum, representatives of Everybody Arts (project managers), and representatives of oral history and community engagement workers from We Belong Here. Speeches were given by David Millichope, Exhibitions Director at Calderdale Industrial Museum and Natasha Joseph and Ekaterina Sheath of We Belong Here. This was followed by Gian Gabbi who related his story of his involvement with Calderdale’s textile industry. The sister exhibition at the Piece Hall was included as part of the opening event, giving guests the opportunity to explore two linked exhibitions.

In his welcome speech, David Millichope said:

‘I personally believe this to be the most significant exhibition we at CIMA have hosted since the Terry Sutton Gallery was opened.

Why?  Because it represents the beginning of an important journey for the museum – a commitment to honouring, sharing, and recognising a shared heritage which has been, for too long, overlooked.

Simply put, the tale of Calderdale’s industrial heritage cannot be fully told without the voices, memories, and experiences of its South Asian communities.

We are thrilled to be formally opening an exhibition that shines a light on the people who helped build our town, strengthen its industries, and enrich its culture from the 1950s onwards.

We are especially proud that this project is not only preserving history but is creating it. The museum was very keen that this exhibition was created through community engagement. It has brought together community members of all ages, from schoolchildren to elders, who have contributed their voices, their family stories, their skills, and their perspectives. Many have also trained in oral history techniques and played an active role in shaping what you see here today.

The exhibition is more than a collection of artifacts, photographs, and recordings. It is a testament to collaboration, to heritage, and to belonging. And we hope it will serve as the foundation for further work, building a richer, more inclusive understanding of Calderdale’s industrial past.’

The exhibition runs until 22nd November 2025 and is included in the normal admission for the museum. For more information please contact enquiries@calderdaleindustrial.co.uk.

Anyone interested in having their stories recorded for posterity and stored in the museum’s oral history archive (or the recollected stories of your parents and grandparents) should contact the museum at enquiries@calderdaleindustrial.co.uk. You should include your name, telephone number and email address. You will then be contacted to arrange for an informal chat to explain how to get your story recorded.

Our Wednesday talks start again this month and back by popular demand is Philip Hellawell, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm about railways in Calderdale. Taking place on 15th October, at 7.30pm, admission is free to members and £5 to non-members. Doors open at 7pm.

 

Humari Kahaniyan – Our Stories is an oral history project which explores the South Asian migrant’s contribution to the textile industry in Calderdale, particularly over the years 1950s-1980s. It is a collaborative project with two community interest companies, Everybody Arts and We Belong Here and has been funded by Culturdale24. Its outcomes include an exhibition in the Terry Sutton Gallery of the Calderdale Industrial Museum from 6 September to 22 November, and the collection of oral history stories which will be archived at the museum. There has been strong local community involvement throughout recognising that Humari Kahaniyan – Our Stories is a shared heritage in Calderdale’s industrial story.  

Entry to the exhibition is included in the usual museum admissions charge.

 

 

 

After a short break over Easter our Wednesday talks continue this month, when we welcome back Philip Hellawell, who will give us a very enjoyable and informative talk on the Halifax high-level railway.

The talk is on Wednesday, 21st May and doors open at 7pm and starts at 7.30pm. Entry is free for members and £5 for non-members. Refreshments are available for a donation of £1. For more information contact manager@calderdaleindustrial.co.uk

 

 

The museum is excited to be welcoming a new exhibition in the Terry Sutton Gallery starting on 24th May. Every Monday our Halifax Room is used by Halifax Square Route Weavers who spend their time creating a range of amazing woven artworks. We are delighted to host a selection of their work in our special exhibition area on the first floor which will be on until 19th July. Come along and see what the group work on and maybe think about joining the group. Entry to the special exhibition is included in the entry fee for the museum.

We are delighted to announce that the brand new exhibition in the Terry Sutton Gallery at Calderdale Industrial Museum will be an exhibition featuring the work of Sue Cordingley. It’s title is “Tales from the River – an exhibition of artworks and river finds”. Sue describes herself as an artist -maker, but she is so much more than that. Her walks along the Calder and Ryburn river banks where she finds ‘little treasures’ that she not only turns into unique assemblages but also researches where and who made them. Handmade books then record her findings. Nature journals of the plants she sees document the local flora. Models made from recycled card are inspired by local pubs and buildings. She is also the illustrator for the children’s books The Dragons of Wainhouse Tower.
The exhibition opens on Saturday 15th March 2025, and runs until 17th May 2025.
All are welcome, with admission for adults £7.50, concessions £6.00 and free entry for accompanied children.
We are open every Saturday 10am to 4pm, and also open on Thursdays in the Calderdale schools holidays. Don’t forget to visit our cafe and shop while you are here.

Calderdale Industrial Museum Association Talks 2025

We have member talks at the museum every month. Here is some information about the upcoming talks in March, May and June 2025 .Doors open at 7pm, with the talk starting at 7.30pm. All are welcome.
There is free entry to members of Calderdale Industrial Museum Association, with a £5 charge for visitors. Tea/coffee/biscuits is available for a small donation.

If you would like to become a member of Calderdale Industrial Museum Association and enjoy free entry to the museum, free entry to talks and invitations to special events, please click HERE for further information, or contact the museum. Membership is £15 for one, or £23 for two people at one address.

Our next talk, on 19th March, will be Stamping my Feet for a Living by Alison Sheddon, one of our volunteers. She has spent most of her working life at Crossleys and now at Avena Carpets, punching the cards for their new designs of quality, narrow-loom Wilton and Brussels carpets. She literally ‘turns art into carpets’! The illustration shown here and used for the poster is of Joyce, one of Alison’s fellow team members.

Philip Hellawell will be returning on 21st May to talk about The Halifax High-Level Railway – North Bridge to Parkinson Lane by steam train. You might remember that he mentioned this line from Holmfield to St Paul’s [which opened in 1890 and closed to passengers in 1917] briefly at his last talk to us in September 2024. The 10 arch, 100 feet high stone viaduct at Wheatley remains and has just been refurbished at a cost of £1.2m.

So far in 2025, our talks have included Halifax Diamonds by Bryan Harkness, and The Making of Sowerby Bridge by Julian Carr. Both talks were extremely popular, the latter particularly so as it was the first time it had ever been given. Unfortunately we had to turn several people away. As a result, those who missed Julian’s talk first time around will get a second chance when he repeats the talk for us on Wednesday 11th June 2025.

Yorkshire through Lens and Brush

– A Respective of Photographs and Artwork by Terry Sutton

Terry Sutton has been capturing the changing lives and scenery of West Yorkshire for more than sixty years. We are delighted to present a retrospective of his vast output of photographs, sketches and paintings. In the 1970’s he began a series of illustrations based on photographs of the relentlessly changing industrial landscapes of what was once the “industrial West Riding”. Cinemas, chapels, railway stations, warehouses, mills and other buildings were abandoned and left for years to fall into dereliction. To many, these once important servants of our communities became eyesores, for Terry, the textures, colours and strange beauty provided inspiration for his first book, Yesterday’s Yorkshire – A Celebration of the Industrial West Riding published in 2001. His second book  Hard Graft – Yorkshire at Work pays tribute to Yorkshire’s rich heritage of craftmanship and industrial achievement. Privacy Policy        Cookie Policy            Accessibility        Terms             Like us on Facebook  Twitter and  Instagram