Croydon NOW Exhibitions
Croydon Now
'Croydon Now' is the contemporary exhibition space within the Museum of Croydon. It features local groups leading on their own exhibitions with support from the Museum of Croydon team. The subjects and contributors will be broad-ranging, but will always have something to say about experiencing Croydon in the present.
Croydon NOW is a showcase space for our community outreach, project and partnership work. It is also a way of keeping you up to date with our work. The displays bring all the things that we do around Croydon back into the museum, hopefully bringing new audiences with them and making the museum meaningful to people who don't think it's for them.
The Croydon NOW gallery is in the Museum of Croydon on Level 1 of Croydon Clocktower.
Monday - Saturday, 10.30am - 5pm
Closed Sundays and Bank Holidays. Entrance to this gallery is FREE.
Current Croydon NOW Exhibition
26 June - 15 September 2010
This exhibition brings to life some of the memories of Croydon residents about 'Make do and Mend’.
‘Make do and Mend’ was originally a war time pamphlet, issued by the Ministry of Information in 1943 with the aim of encouraging people to be thrifty. It offered tips on how to re-invigorate old clothes by darning and fixing frayed edges, and how to keep moths away.
The philosophy of ‘waste not want not’ was a part of people’s everyday lives during the second World War and ‘Dig For Victory’ campaigns ensured that people grew their own vegetables and reused their leftovers. And through the ‘National Salvage Drive’, Croydon residents, even at this time, were recycling paper.
During February 2010, the Museum of Croydon undertook reminiscence sessions with local people from sheltered housing, to unlock some memories of wartime thriftiness and make do and mend. Their stories have formed the basis of this display. Listen to their memories on the screens, and learn about one young local group who are particularly resourceful when making new clothes!
Downstairs in the 'Treasures from Trash' exhibition, go and find out about creative recycling from around the globe – and how you can do your bit to save our world’s resources.
Photo of a group of local women ‘Knitting for Victory’, 1942. Photo courtesy of Croydon Local Studies Library & Archives.
Croydon NOW Exhibition Archive
'Sailing to Britain: Discovering the Lives of Lascars'
30 April - 19 June 2010
This unique exhibition introduces you to the lives and stories of Lascars. Lascars were migrant sailors shipped to Britain from Africa and Asia by the East India Shipping Company. They were often used as cheap labour.
This exhibition covers the period 1805 to 1918. During this period, Lascars worked on trade ships and in the navies, sailing between Europe and India, China, Malaysia, Thailand and East Africa. Many ended up making Britain their home.
As seen through the eyes of London's young people, Sailing to Britain is the first exhibition of its kind.
'Photo of Lascar sailors'. Image reproduced by kind permission of the Museum of London.
'Sailing to Britain' is a Heritage Lottery Fund supported project, led by Tara Arts in partnership with the London Boroughs of Croydon, Wandsworth and Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
Scene Again: Croydon Art Through Local Eyes
8 February - 1 May 2010
'Scene Again' showcases and celebrates our community art project during the 'Scene Unseen' exhibition. In the exhibition gallery (Ground Floor, Clocktower) you can see the artwork produced by the artist and community groups involved in the project. In the Croydon NOW section of the Museum of Croydon (Level 1, Clocktower), you can see an exhibition of photos and video footage taken during the project, which ran between October and December 2009.
Find out more about the 'Scene Again' community art project.
Monday - Saturday, 10.30am - 5pm (Croydon NOW) and 11am - 5pm (Exhibition Gallery). Closed Sundays and Bank Holidays
FREE
‘Collaboration’
17 October 2009 - 30 January 2010
Find out how the BRIT School and St Giles' School have worked together to reinterpret William Golding’s ‘The Lord of the Flies’.
'Back to the Future'
10 August - 10 October 2009
'Back to the Future' looked at the work of the Local Studies Library & Archives Service.
The exhibition featured interviews with staff and local people who use the service as well as showcasing the treasure trove of information relating to Croydon's history which they collect.
The exhibition aimed to help you to find out how you can use this material to find out about the history of your family, the house you live in and anything else you want to know about Croydon in the past.
The Local Studies Library & Archives is based on Level 3 of Croydon Clocktower, and is free to visit.
Local Studies Library & Archives Opening Hours:
Monday: 0900 - 1900
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 0900 - 1800
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 0900 - 1800
Saturdays: 0900 - 1700 on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month, closed on other Saturdays
Sundays: Closed
Visit the Local Studies Library & Archives pages on Croydon Council's website (opens in a new window).
'Indian Strings & Dances'
Friday 10 April - Saturday 1 August 2009
Find out about Indian music and dance traditions as practised in Britain today and take part in an extensive events programme of talks, demonstrations and activities.
From 10 April the exhibition will be displayed in the Croydon NOW gallery, Space C and the Clocktower Cafe and Court area until June and then continues in the Croydon NOW gallery of the Museum of Croydon until August 2009.
Find out more about the 'Indian Strings & Dances' exhibition here.
'Croydonisation: A tale of Regeneration in London’s Third City'
Saturday 20 September - February 2009
‘Croydonisation’ is a photographic installation by artist Corinne Silva, exploring regeneration in Croydon Town Centre from the 1890s, through the period of major development of the 1960s and 70s, to town planners’ and architects’ proposed visions for the future.
The exhibition highlights aspects of Croydon’s architectural heritage as well as its ongoing transformation. The work invites reflection on both the impact of regeneration and the personal and collective memories and histories that are embedded in Croydon’s streets and architecture.
The exhibition opened to coincide with London’s Open House Weekend and continues in the Croydon NOW gallery of the Museum of Croydon until January 2009.
Wandle Street, 2008
Photograph by Corinne Silva.
To see a list of all buildings in Croydon which took part in Open House London 2008, visit the Open House website (opens in new window).
'In Our Own Words: Stories of Croydon’s Day Centres’
Wednesday 28 May - Thursday 12 September 2008
In Croydon, the way that people with learning disabilities spend their days has recently changed. 'In Our Own Words' explores people with learning disabilities' memories of work, discos and friends - both then and now.
The 'In Our Own Words' Exhibition is part of the 'Days Gone By' participative research project, co-ordinated by the Open University. The project explores the history of learning disability through the changes in post-war service provision.
To find out more about this project visit the Open University's 'Days Gone By Project' website (opens in new window).
The 'Days Gone By' Project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Croydon NOW: Croydon's Climate Challenge
February - 17 May 2008
This exhibition explored what Croydon is doing to reduce it's carbon emissions and live more sustainably.
We asked a local family, community groups, some young people, two schools, a local business and Croydon Council to show us what they are doing.