Amy Matthews, BA History of Art and Design, selects an item from Brighton Museum that links to local history.

Tucked in the corner of Brighton Museum and Art Gallery’s Images of Brighton gallery is an original model of a red Lambretta Li 150. This scooter tells a story of Mod culture in the 1960s and the infamous ‘Battle of Brighton’ that took place there in 1964.

The scooter has a red and white body; attached are many wing mirrors. It has various stickers on the front and a headlight and visor with a small GB flag printed on to it. Displayed behind the scooter are two enlarged black-and-white photographs. One shows a group photograph of Rockers standing together and the other depicts a mass of Mods on Brighton beach.

The Mods and Rockers were two rival youth culture groups in the 1960s. Mods dressed sharply, they rode scooters such as this one and they cared about their appearance. Their name derived from Modern Jazz, a new musical genre. Rockers, who also cared about their appearance, wore leather jackets, liked 1950s Rock and Roll and rode motorbikes rather than scooters.[1]  Not only did the two groups’ vehicle of choice differ, but also their tastes in fashion and music.

The so-called Battle of Brighton was a violent clash between Mods and Rockers. The events inspired the 1979 cult classic film Quadrophenia, filmed in Brighton. The film follows an angst-ridden London youth, Jimmy Cooper, who escapes the drudgery of his job as a postal worker by becoming a member of the Mods, riding his scooter to Brighton and taking part in the fighting that occurred.[2]

The Battle occurred on 17 and 18 May 1964, a Bank Holiday weekend in the Whitsun holiday. Saturday was relatively peaceful, with only a few scuffles, but Sunday saw fierce fighting as the town was ‘invaded’ by an estimated 3000 youths.[3]  Brighton police were prepared for trouble as there had been clashes at other seaside towns such as Clacton and Hastings during Easter.

In Brighton, fighting centred on the beach and the seafront near the Palace Pier (now known as Brighton Pier). Violent scuffles took place between the police and the rioting groups, windows and deckchairs were smashed and some 26 youths were apprehended and sentenced to juvenile prison. Nothing on this scale was ever repeated, and although the media massively exaggerated the goings-on, Mods and Rockers will always be remembered for their violent clashes on Brighton beach that year.

The scooter not only reminds us of the Mods and Rockers, but of Brighton itself. Large numbers of scooters and motorbikes still flock to Brighton, lining the seafront on weekends and bank holidays.[4]  It is certain that ‘bike culture’ is part of Brighton’s cultural identity; therefore the Lambretta scooter in Brighton Museum is important, as it not only tells a story about a legendary event in the 1960s, but it also illustrates the story of Brighton as a ‘Mod town’ to this day.

This blog post was previously posted on the Brighton Museum blog: https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/2019/03/27/the-lambretta-scooter-mods-and-rockers-in-brighton-museum/

Caroline Hamilton, a University of Brighton / Royal Pavilion and Museums PhD student, outlines how themes of collecting and collections brought diverse student scholars to Brighton.

Collect verb – bring or gather together. Systematically seek and acquire (items of a particular kind) as a hobby

Collector noun – a person who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby

Collection noun – the action or process of collecting

Fig. 1 Polaroids of the Ted Shawn Costume Collection. Photograph by Patsy Gay, Jacob’s Pillow Archives.

In April 2019 the University of Brighton hosted Collectors / Collecting / Collections, an AHRC TECHNE-funded PhD Study Day. Initiated by Annebella Pollen, the event was then coordinated and delivered by myself and fellow PhD student Claudia Treacher.

Our focus was on collectors, collecting and collections as objects of study and as systems of knowledge that shape research practices. In thinking about and with collections, including their definitions and limits, this training day encouraged interdisciplinary dialogue and methodological reflection across arts and humanities. Over the day we saw all facets of collections and collecting covered from eccentric collectors and artists’ collections to personal wardrobes. How items are collected for exhibitions was discussed, as was how exhibition design itself can be or cannot be collected. We divided the day into four sessions: Collections and Acquisitions, Collections and Engagement, Collections and Ethics, and Collections and Exhibitions.

Eight speakers presented on the day from across TECHNE organisations including Brighton, Kingston, Roehampton, RCA/V&A, Royal Holloway and University of the Arts London. Four of the presenters were undertaking their PhD work directly with cultural organisations including Kingston Museum, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the V&A and the British Museum. This institutional experience prompted an interesting discussion on collecting policies and how objects acquired as a collection are stored and catalogued.

Fig. 2 Worthing Museum Costume Store. Photograph courtesy of Worthing Museum and Art Gallery.

The day was a great opportunity for participants from disparate fields, universities and cultural institutions to come together and discuss their research in a closed and positive environment. Each participant shared work in progress and contributed to stimulating discussions on acquisitions and omissions; collector biographies and curatorial historiographies; engagement, ethics and the politics of audience participation. This took place through case studies of nineteenth century aristocratic fashion collections and avant-garde ballet costume; collections-based programming at the British Museum and contested Austrian national history collections; interwar ceramics and the art of conscientious objectors; international art events in Brazil and post-war Italian design exhibitions.

In order to increase engagement on the day, participants shared draft writing in advance, and academic respondents contributed structured reflections to enhance open discussion. In the spirit of developing cross-consortium team-building and interdisciplinary exchange, students were involved in all stages of the organisation. This including the selection of papers and the organisation and chairing of panels. Claudia and I developed skills in academic events management and the peer-review of research, while participating students developed subject knowledge, research toolkits and researcher networks.

The study day followed three previous successful collaboratively-organised and cross-institutional AHRC TECHNE training days: ‘New Thinking in Design History’ (Brighton, 2016), ‘Unpacking the Archive: Methodologies and Challenges in Design History’ (RCA/V&A, 2017) and ‘The Printed and Digital Page: Reassessing Form, Content and Methodology’ (Kingston, 2018). The University of Brighton hope to continue the series into a fifth year in 2020.

Sally Lawrence, BA (Hons) History of Art and Design student and volunteer at Ditching Museum of Art + Craft, reflects on an innovative new exhibition.

The first world war was both devastating and life changing for the people of Britain. From May until October 2019, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft have chosen to explore how a number of women reacted to these changes. The women in this exhibition were finding their feet in a new and uncertain world. They chose to do this by taking their traditional crafts and turning them into creative businesses. Some of the women are well known and remembered but many have been previously hidden from view, and many more were lost altogether in the historical record. While this exhibition does a beautiful job of shouting about some women who have only ever previously been whispered about, there is much more work to be done and things to be said regarding the lives and legacies of craftswomen in Britain. This exhibition is interesting and insightful in its own right but what is even more exciting, is the incredible pathways it has reopened for research into an under-investigated but incredibly important area.

Figure.1: View of Women’s Work: Pioneering Women in Craft, 1918-1939. Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft. 03/05/2019. Author’s own Photograph.

Women’s Work features a range of craft disciplines including pottery, silversmithing, weaving and block printing. The exhibition includes work by Phyllis Barron (1890-1964) and Dorothy Larcher (1882-1952). More commonly known as Barron & Larcher, they were innovative and successful designer-makers, who produced popular and fashionable block printed fabrics. Women’s Work features a number of examples of their work including items of clothing that show the incredible range of patterns that these women able to create by hand and often with very limited supplies [see Fig. 2]. As the exhibition shows, Barron and Larcher used whatever materials they had to hand, from prison sheets to organza, coupled with household items like combs, to create bespoke printed fabrics that caught the attention of some important and wealthy people including Coco Chanel. Although the world they lived in was becoming increasingly industrialised, the quality of their work showed that handmade goods, much like these female makers, were worthy of attention and admiration.

Figure 2: Dresses top and Jacket by Barron & Larcher, n.d. Dress and Waistcoat by Rita Beales and Doreen (Dods) Straughan Protheri, c1940. On display at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft. 03/05/2019. On loan from Crafts Study Centre. Author’s own Photograph.

As a volunteer at Ditchling Museum I have experienced and enjoyed a number of their exhibitions. But this one is very different from any that I have experienced anywhere before. Women’s Work is not an exhibition that claims to know everything but instead it one that is proudly urging visitors to take what they have learned and to run with it, to find out more and to share it with the Museum and the wider world. This it what makes this exhibition so exciting. As the exhibition notes, its purpose is to raise awareness about these women and the thousands like them who help keep craft alive in our ever changing world. It shines a light on craftswomen who have been hidden in the shadows for far too long but it also provides wonderful new directions for research and engagement. When you visit, you will see some beautiful artefacts and will read some interesting stories but most importantly you will have been given a starting point that could take you on some incredible journeys. This is not just an exhibition; it is an opportunity. Don’t miss it.

Women’s Work: Pioneering Women in Craft, 1918- 1939, is open at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft from 4 May- 13 October 2019.