A Very Strange Photoshoot

Since December, our Concourse Case Team have been hard at work developing a display which will be installed in the basement level of the Twentieth Century Galleries at the Geffrye on 17th May. Each team member has chosen an object - one from each of the Geffrye's 11 period rooms - and researched its connections with the wider world.

As part of their display panels, each team member will appear in a photograph with their chosen object. Back in March, photographer Em Fitzgerald took the team's photographs, and the Web Resources Team snuck along behind the scenes to see how it was all going.

As you'll see, this was not quite a conventional photoshoot, but we're not giving away exactly what was going on - you'll just have to come and see the display for yourself from next Tuesday!

Don't forget to come and along from next week and see the finished product and find out what on earth was going on!

Also - for those who haven't found it yet, we now have our own page on the Geffrye website, from which you can access our interactive map of the world.

Project update: in which we get to travel back in time

No mystery object this week, I'm afraid. They'll be back soon! Instead, we thought we thought we'd give you an update on some of the other things we're working on.

As well as writing this blog for you, we've been busy preparing some permanent resources which will eventually appear on the Geffrye's website.

The Geffrye is a museum of English homes, but not everything in its collection is English. We're putting together an interactive map of the world which will show you where objects in the Geffrye collection started their lives, so you can explore the world at home for yourself.

We've tried to do a little of this on the blog already, which is why we've been asking you where things are from and asking you to look for international objects in your own home.

This week, we've been finalising our designs for the map and collecting together some photographs of the objects. Early one morning the Geffrye's curators kindly let us into the galleries to take some of our own...

For a few brief minutes we got to pretend that we had travelled to English homes of the past! (With a digital camera, of course.)

Our permanent resources should be complete and on the website for you to enjoy in early May!

Calling all photographers!

...or anyone with a camera!

Nowadays, most people have some way of taking a photo, whether they have a fancy SLR a mobile phone with a camera, and photo-sharing sites like Flickr are an excellent way to show off your snaps and contribute to online collections. We're looking for people who can get involved with the Geffrye museum and our project by showing off photos you've taken.

The World at Home project has its own Flickr account - we're filling it with behind the scenes images from the project.

Concourse case team

Getting started is easy: Flickr allows you to sign in with your Facebook or Google accounts, but you don't need to have one to sign up! You can organise your photos, show them at their best, and share them with others in groups and discussions. Plus, privacy controls mean your images are secure. It's a great way to stay in touch and to take part in all kinds of events and communities - like the Geffrye. Take the Flickr tour to find out more.

The Geffrye Museum has uploaded many of its own images to Flickr, letting you get a closer peek at the museum now and in the past. It also has its group, called 'Around the Geffrye's rooms and gardens' where anyone can upload images from their visits to the Geffrye. It's full of amazing shots, but we think it could do with even more visitors showing off their images.

If you've ever taken a picture in or around the Geffrye, why not investigate signing up to Flickr and connecting with other photographers? We'd love to see your work.

Keep an eye on this blog too - soon we'll be posting some photographic competitions to do with our 'around the world' theme and our favourite contributions to our Flickr group will be posted here!

Welcome to the World at Home!

As a museum of the home, the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch allows you to follow the story of the English home over the last 400 years.
 

Geffrye Museum / photographers David Clarke & Marcus Leith

But look more closely, and you might find the ‘English’ home is not as English as you thought it was.
 

Even though different countries are separated by different languages and cultures, there are many connections between them. The Geffrye has many objects which can tell stories about England’s links with the rest of the world. If you visit the Museum’s set of period rooms, you can already see many of these international influences in the objects on display.

Our team from UCL’s Institute of Archaeology is working with the Geffrye as part of the Stories of the World project to highlight some of these influences other countries and cultures have had on objects and rituals that are now part of the English home.
 

The UCL team outside the Geffrye Museum

We’ll be helping the Geffrye run family events in April, as well as creating a permanent children’s trail and activities. We’re also developing a new display to be installed in May and web resources to go with it.

‘Who are we?’
 

We’re Vicky and Hannah and we are the Web Resources Team. It’s our job to let you know all about what we’re doing and add some extra insights into the project. We’ll be with you until the display goes live, giving you updates, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses of some of our favourite Geffrye objects and perhaps even setting you a challenge or two!
 
As well as our blog, you can follow us on Twitter. And for the photographers out there – or anyone with a camera – we’ll be running Flickr groups so you can send us your own pictures.

While we’re doing all this, we’ll be developing the resources which will be added to the museum’s website. If all goes to plan, we’ll have an interactive feature, as well as a slideshow to give to you!

We’re all really excited about our project and we hope you enjoy it!