Data Hunters and Story Gatherers: towards community curatorship is a unique project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Hunters and Gatherers is working with a new team of young volunteers to improve collections auditing and research, research significant, untold stories and develop community co-curation and engagement in new and exciting ways.
The project is split between Data Hunters, who are hunting for objects in our collections related to both immigration and Basingstoke, and Story Gatherers, who are researching the social history objects in our collections.
During the project, the team will develop two exhibitions, both co-created with local communities. This year, we will celebrate Black History Month with an exhibition showcasing the vibrant and diverse communities that enrich Basingstoke and in the following year, will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth with a brand new exhibition.
The project also aims to develop volunteer and collections management and expand staff skills, with four internal secondment roles throughout the length project.
Since the start of the project, 33 volunteers have been involved in Data Hunters and Story Gatherer roles. These roles have been aimed at young adults focusing on skills development and opportunities in museums as well as people from Winchester Women’s Institutes interested in working class and women’s histories.
Get involved
We are looking for Data Hunter volunteers to compete in our object hunting challenge starting in March.
Work in teams to inventory objects in out museum stores, scoring team points, earning credits and unlocking rewards as you go.
To get involved, please contact collections@hampshirecultutraltrust.org.uk.
