Mather & Co will lead a project aiming to inspire young audiences with the history of the suffragette movement and to empower the next generation to make change in the world. The new exhibition, At Home with the Pankhurst Family, will showcase the Pankhurst family’s achievements in new and engaging ways
“I personally feel incredibly privileged to be part of the team working with the Pankhurst Centre on this new interpretation,” says Leanne Clydesdale, project designer at Mather & Co.
“The significance of this building not only in the story of the Pankhurst family and their role in the continuing campaign for women’s rights and freedoms, but also in the socio-political history of Manchester cannot be underrepresented. This building has an important story to tell and we hope to inspire debate and thought within its walls for many years to come.”
Located at 62 Nelson Street in Manchester, once home to the renowned Pankhurst family, the Pankhurst Centre building is an iconic site for women’s activism.
From 1898 to 1907, Emmeline Pankhurst and her family lived in the house which hosted the first ever meeting of the suffragette movement. It’s where leading campaigners in the votes for women movement would gather and where Emmeline would first utter the call for action, “Deeds Not Words”.
The scheme has been made possible courtesy of funding from AIM Biffa Award History Makers, as part of the Landfill Communities Fund.
Tessa Chynoweth, curator of the Pankhurst Centre, says the organisation is “extremely grateful” for this support as it will enable the team to “unlock the story of this unique family and highlight the significance this building has played in the history of women’s suffrage and its role in inspiring future changemakers”.
Chynoweth adds that working with Mather & Co and volunteers has led to the creation of a “very special visitor experience” which, for the Pankhurst Trust, is a “vital step forward in our vision to ultimately see the entire building conserved and restored”.
The collaboration has also left Sarah Clarke, managing director at Mather & Co, feeling “proud of the fact the Pankhurst Centre acknowledged the strong female presence in our company at all levels of the business – which feels very empowering”.
The completion of At Home with the Pankhurst Family will mark the reopening of the Pankhurst Centre, expected to take place in the summer of 2021.
