Vintage red cinema tip-up chairs, movie posters and the smell of buttered popcorn will be used in a multi-sensory reminiscence space to capture stories which celebrate a people’s history of cinema going in Blackburn.
A weekend of SKIP BACK sessions will include a mini-museum and reminiscence space at The Exchange on King William Street where people can share their memories. The display is the creation of local history enthusiast, Eric Nolan, well known for his detailed heritage installations and displays.
Local people with photographs, souvenirs, memorabilia and first hand experiences of the building are invited to come along on either Saturday 24 or Sunday 25 June between 2pm – 4pm when afternoon tea will be available to visitors booking in advance in MeeMaws cafe.
Heritage and Volunteer Coordinator, Lisa Clarke explains: ‘Since we began restoring the building, many local people have come forward to tell us that they remember watching films or working in The Exchange when it was a cinema. Thanks to funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund we are a display area and we are recruiting and training a team of volunteers to begin to interview, research and capture these stories for the first time. This means that we can now save and share our history for generations to come.’
‘Souvenirs such as tickets, posters, uniforms and other cinema ephemera are being photographed. We want to meet staff who worked here or the couples who dated at the cinema and later married. Memories of the building are being captured on film and these will be incorporated in a new multi-media visitor trail using QR codes around the building, presented on a timeline which will become part of the fabric of the building. We are also publishing highlights in a printed scrap book later this year.’
The events are free to attend and include a tour of the building.