Power: Freedom to Create - an exploration by Rosie Davey

The National Justice Museum is home to over 40,000 objects relating to crime, law and punishment. As well as permanent displays, a court room and jail cells the museum has an evolving and dynamic exhibitions program.

Click the link for more information: https://www.nationaljusticemuseum.org.uk/museum/

The museum also has a Project Lab. A friendly space to pause, reflect and read. It's a space that changes trajectory depending on the main exhibition. It's a enviroment for safe conversations, a place where ideas can be voiced free from judgement

The restrictions of Covid-19 however put a stop to physical meet ups and exhibitions. And so this project, a virtual project lab took flight on social media. Over the next few pages you'll be able to gain an insight into the conversations that took place around the exhibition Power: Freedom to Create.

A huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who interacted with our posts, ask questions shared their perspectives and contributed to this important conversation.

In conversation with Roseanna Davey, Project Curator for this virtual Project Lab:

How would you describe your artistic practice?

"Ahh that's a hard one! I would have to say its curious and playful. I enjoy using creativity as a tool for communication and as a way of exploring new ideas.

I am always open to using new methods when working with audiences, the reception is always different and you never know what will happen!"

What have you found most inspiring about the National Justice Museum?

"I honestly think it has been the audiences reactions. As you will see later in this virtual project lab, the honest and frank responses to the questions I posed were powerful and thought provoking. The imagination of the creative responses were fantastic. Objects from The National Justice Museum were taken and repurposed in a way I couldn't have imagined".

What do you hope to achieve through this project?

"I hope that although the museum was closed, and the project lab space shut the collection was still accessible, just in a different format. I also hope that this virtual project lab is the starting block for more explorations in this format".

A Virtual Project Lab

In response to the exhibition Power: Freedom to Create the Project Lab will be taking on a new trajectory exploring themes of power within creativity and where it comes from.

Will be looking at items for my three main collections – Legal,

Police and Prison. We will be assessing their power and reimagining it.

Through a series of conversations and creative challenges we are going to contort play with and question the perception of power

We then asked our digital audience a series of questions.

Here are their responses.

.

We then asked a series of questions...

These objects show a police riot helmet, riot boots, an a shield from the 1990s. The truncheon was used at the Peterloo massacre in 1819.

Police uniforms have been especially developed to offer protection to the wearer, also designed to control and manage crowds and individuals.

Thinking about our exhibition Power: Freedom to create do you think these items have power?

We asked our digital audience to take part in a creative call out.

...and the responses were fantastic!

""Creativity is a form of expression for me. It brings me joy, it brings me something to my existence that wasn't there before. It is my way of leaving my mark on this world"" "That's tough. I honestly don't think I have an answer. It j"ust catches sometimes, like you can't force it, it's just a feeling.

Sometimes people, like being around them; my friends are a great inspiration, conversations etc."

"Do you think if you didn't have those people around you your work would look different?"

"Yeah - 100%

A huge thank you to our brilliant audience for your thoughts, comments and conversations.

And to Andrea and Simon for allowing me to use this space to expand my practice.