Manchester’s People’s History Museum to unveil new Banner Exhibition 2024

Manchester’s People’s History Museum will be unveiling its new Banner Exhibition for 2024 on Thursday 1 February, and it includes historic banners from marches, protests and campaigns dating from the early 1900s to the present day. 

The museum, which is the national museum of democracy, celebrates working class people and the civil society. It is home to around 450 banners in total, and highlights a selection of them in the annual exhibition. 

In addition to the broad collection of march and protest banners, it also has over 2,000 political posters 7,000 badges and tokens, as well as prints, political papers, cartoon, photographs and other personal items. 

The launch of the exhibition will coincide with the reopening of the People’s History Museum, which is closed throughout January for refurbishment work to improve accessibility under the Welcome Project at PHM. 

Banners will be located throughout the whole museum and the little ones will be able to play Banner Bingo to try and see how many symbols they can spot.

What kind of banners will be on display

2024 marks 50 years since the successful miners’ strike of 1974 and 40 years since the miners’ strikes of 1984-85. Some of the banners on display from those historic strikes include Tyldesley Miners’ Association and Eastenders Against Pit Closures, Tower Hamlets Support Group. Another interesting banner from these strikes Gays Against Fascism banner from 1977, which was created in response to the threats gay men received from National Front, but also used when marching in solidarity with the miners. 

Another anniversary recognised in the exhibition is the centenary of the first Labour government, as seen in the Mansfield Labour Party Women’s Section banner from the 80s. This banner has been used in many demonstrations, including the Poll Tax demonstrations in 1992. 

Unions are also heavily represented at the People’s History Museum. They have everything from the Tobacco Workers’ Union from 1925 and the Rickmansworth National Union of Railwaymen banner. 

Some banners also demonstration solidarity with causes overseas, such as the Printers Aid Spain banner from 1937, which was made by the printers’ union in during the Spanish Civil War, and the ‘Raise higher the red banners of the classe struggle!’ banner,’ which are words of thanks from Russia to Britain following the visit of a Yorkshire mill worker to Moscow in the 1920s to help train textile workers. 

There are also modern examples of protest banners, including one from the Calderdale Extinction Rebellion group and Hypervigilance, Baby banner by artist Dara SF Addams.

How to see the Banner Exhibition 2024

The exhibition will be on display at the People’s History Museum from Thursday 1 February to 30 December 2024. It is open 10am-5pm and free to enter, although most visitors offer a £10 donation.