Cabinet of Curiosities – an Experience with a Difference

IF you’re looking for a magical experience with a difference, why not take a look at the new “Cabinet of Curiosities” exhibition at Portland Basin?

It’s an exploration of the Ashton museum’s strangest and most intriguing artefacts – items such as a 1930s collector’s cabinet of shells and a box of dried sea horses and tobacco pipe fish – that was curated by museum staff. 

With the support of Tameside Council and Portland Basin staff, Ashton-based arts hub Phantasmagoria asked community organisations and a wide range of people, including those with mental-health challenges, neurodiversity, and learning difficulties and disabilities, to help with the project.

They worked with poet and writer Jack Horner, and visual artists Ann Gilligan, Rachel Wood and Toubie Jack, to create captivating stories, poems, drawings, paintings, prints and collages.

Among the participating groups, comprising people of all ages and abilities, were Tameside Women and Families Centre, People First Tameside, Tameside Young Carers and members of Portland Basin Museum’s family workshops and the Phantasmagoria Wellbeing Group.

Tameside Council’s executive member for lifelong learning and culture, Cllr Leanne Feeley, said: “This truly intriguing exhibition is a wonderful example of collaborative creativity and imagination.

“It’s a platform for self-expression and shared goals, and fosters a sense of community and empowerment among those involved, all of whom have added their own unique perspectives, experiences and ideas.

“ ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ is a very special project that celebrates the diversity of imagination. It encourages us to embrace the world with wonder and, most of all, curiosity.”

At the launch, on 13 December, Phantasmagoria also revealed their new Magical Travelling Emporium which provides a pop-up Phanta experience at events and in schools and community centres.

The project was supported by Arts Council England, the National Lottery Community Fund and the Postcode Lottery Foundation.

Phantasmagoria is an arts hub with a difference based on Market Avenue, Ashton. It’s a place where professional artists blend imagination, history and storytelling into a magical world where people of all ages and backgrounds can build confidence through creativity.

Portland Basin Museum, Portland Place, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL7 0QA, is open Tuesday to Sunday (10am to 4pm) and admission is free. It is part of the Quality Assured Visitor Attraction Scheme. “Cabinet of Curiosities” will be on show until 9 February.

www.tameside.gov.uk/portlandbasin

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