Uncovering shared histories

Connecting diverse communities with Wycombe Museum and Chiltern Open Air Museum

Report Compiled by Daffodil Forbes

March 11

University Museums and Special Collections Service

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Contents

INTRODUCTION 4

METHODS 6

Approach to working with community groups 6

Approaches to interviewing individuals 6

Survey of 100 People 6

Group Interviews 7

INTERVIEWING AND MEETING WITH VARIOUS CULTURAL BASED GROUPS 8

Caribbean Movers and Shakers 8

Chinese Movers & Shakers 9

Dosti Asian Women’ s Group 10

INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS OF PROMINENT COMMUNITY MEMBERS 12

Cecil Browne 12

Tonnie and Sade Adoh 13

Arif Hussain 14

Sebert Graham 15

Gorden and Karen Stewart 16

SURVEY FINDINGS 18

Wycombe Museum 18

Chiltern Open Air Museum 18

Other Museums 19

DISCUSSION 20

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 21

APPENDIX 24

Survey Results 24

Wycombe Museum 24

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Chiltern Open Air Museum 28

Other Museums 31

About you 32

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 35

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Introduction What has been obvious and of some concern for some time to both the staff and the management of Wycombe Museum and The Chiltern Open Air Museum (referred to as COAM throughout), is that neither their visitors nor their list of volunteers reflect the local community and its cultural diversity. In fact a member of staff observed that; “We see ethnic minority children visiting only on school visits, but we almost never see those children return with their parents as we do most other children”. Also noted is that neither establishment has any visible Black, Asian or other minority museum staff (paid),

senior council managers or trustees.

It is fully accepted by the staff and the managers of both museums, that barriers may exist that cause a lack of interest and lack of involvement from the minority communities; the primary complaint voiced by these communities is that the museums do not display any artefacts relevant to their cultural backgrounds.

The true shame of the absence of involvement from the minority communities is that there is a permanent and negative impact on both museums as well as the diverse communities concerned. Any real and vivid contributions made by these diverse or multi-heritage communities that have enriched the local area to date, is not being captured, recorded or documented. The end result being that the history and objects that reflect the diversity of the areas served, are being lost to future generations with every day that passes.

In the long term, if the museums are not attended by their communities or thought of as useful and necessary, they may become vulnerable to cuts in funding which in turn may mean they can do even less for these communities. It is of paramount importance to all concerned; the museums, funding bodies, and every community grouping regardless of age, ethnicity, or length of residence, that the institutions in question understand the needs of each of these demographics since the community wellbeing of all, as individuals and as a whole, is interdependent.

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In an attempt to help both Wycombe Museum and COAM better understand how they can work with these community groups, The University of Reading has commissioned research through the Volunteers for Museums project (funded by Renaissance South East). The primary purpose of the research is to find ways in which to engage these missing communities by seeking to identify those barriers which may discourage attendance or involvement in the museum, and to propose actions that will help remove them.

It is hoped that by building on personal/professional connections and the museums’ current local contacts, a network of communication with identified community members of all ages can be established.

The research, documented and reported on herein, is into the perceived needs and interests of community groups, in an attempt to inspire and support the ideas suggested.

This report will propose the best way of reaching and engaging each community based on experience and research. All findings, ideas and suggestions documented here will be presented to the museum staff, volunteer and key project team members. The findings of this report will be used by museum staff and project staff to plan new, mutually beneficial voluntary roles to support both the museums and their teams, with a sustainable plan for building and maintaining the community links.

Since one of the primary functions of both museums is recording and serving its living, changing surroundings and peoples it is hoped that should plans suggested here be implemented, it will go

some way to achieving an accurate portrayal of the entire local community.

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Methods Three primary methods in the collection of evidence were used:

1. Interviewing and meeting with various cultural based groups

2. Interviewing several prominent individuals in the communities concerned

3. Survey of 100 people, targeting mostly minority communities

Approach to working with community groups

The Wycombe Museum recently initiated an Oral History Project to collect and collate information from interviews held with local individuals, particularly those of the minority cultures within High Wycombe/Buckinghamshire, about their migration, settlement and contributions both social and economic from 1950 to the present day. As a result of this endeavour, a link has been forged between individuals, community groups and the museums, which has been further explored for this report.

The necessary information has been gained through the attendance of various community group meetings, in some cases attendance has been required for several weeks so that members have become accustomed to talking openly in the presence of a representative of the two museums.

The initial visits with the groups were to observe their dynamics and interactions in an attempt to put them at ease, in order to garner a general idea of how best to gain the information and opinions required.

The groups approached for both the Oral History Project and research opinions were:

NHS Health groups Caribbean Movers and Shakers

Dosti Asian Women’s Group

Chinese Movers and Shakers

Approaches to interviewing individuals

Prominent members of the various communities were identified through existing contacts and conversations with group members. These individuals were then interviewed and asked about their initial perceptions of the museum. They were also invited to explore how they currently use the services, how they might use the facilities in future, and to make suggestions as to how to promote further use of the museum.

Those interviewed were;

Cecil Browne: Local author, senior lecturer and head of the maths dept. at the local college.

Sebert Graham: Author, councillor, past Mayor of High Wycombe.

Gorden & Karen Stewart: African and Caribbean community leaders; Caribbean & African Saturday School leaders/co-ordinators.

Tonnie & Sade Adoh: Tonnie is the Chairperson of the African Forum and former governor on a local school board. Sade is Chair of the Nigerian Women’s Group in Buckinghamshire.

Arif Hussain: Magistrate and local businessman.

Nabeela Rana & Neha Azad: Facilitators for the Dosti Asian Women’s group.

Andrew Winton: Facilitator for the Chinese Movers & Shakers group.

Survey of 100 People

A basic survey of the minority communities was conducted in an attempt to determine what was already known about the museums, what they would like to see happening at the museums and

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whether they would be prepared to assist the museums on a voluntary basis with any suggested future events (see Appendix).

Group Interviews

Due to time constraints the only groups interviewed when conducting research for this report were three local community groups developed and supported by the NHS, namely; the Dosti Asian Women’s Group, Caribbean Movers & Shakers and Chinese Movers & Shakers.

The reason for the selection of these bodies is that the three groups are made up of people who comprise the minority communities that Wycombe Museum is seeking to engage with for the Oral History Project. As stated previously, once their confidence was gained through the recording sessions (of their personal stories), this then lead to questions generated by both interviewer and interviewee which reflected the sort of information required for this report. The groups were asked to take part in this research by first filling in the survey created for this report. They were also encouraged to put forward any ideas they had as to how either museum might be able to help and engender participation in events at both the Wycombe Museum and COAM by their respective communities.

Movers & Shakers (M & S) is a ‘healthy ageing’ programme designed to engage isolated and socially disadvantaged communities and encourage them to lead healthy lifestyles. M & S members are volunteers who establish and run weekly sessions. They receive support from a team of organisers, namely the Community Development Team of NHS Buckinghamshire in partnership with associated partner agencies, including: Buckinghamshire County Council Adult Learning, Buckinghamshire New University, Trinity United Reformed Church and most importantly, dedicated community volunteer members.

The success of the Caribbean M & S in July 2009 has led to the birth of two new groups, The Dosti Asian Women and Chinese M & S groups. It should be noted that the groups are not culturally exclusive and include members from a variety of cultures in addition to the major culture after which it is named. Members choose physical, mental and creative activities, with servings of healthy lunches to complete the programme of social inclusion for older adults. Professionals are regularly invited to deliver health and social care talks.

Olga McBarnett, Senior Community Development Lead (for NHS Buckinghamshire) is the initiator of this popular innovative project that has scooped first prize in the NHS South Central Health and Social Care Awards 2010. Movers & Shakers proved to be a winning favourite in demonstrating quality, innovation, prevention and procurement in the Mental Health and Wellbeing category.

It is envisaged that M & S will be supported and replicated in other areas of the county so that more people can benefit from this community engagement project.

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Interviewing and meeting with various cultural based groups

Caribbean Movers and Shakers

Amongst the elderly members of the Caribbean community, there is the general view that their stories are unimportant. Therefore it has been quite a struggle to convince them that their memories have worth as recordable living history. This is not only interesting to museums, but important and necessary for future generations, so that they may be better informed of their heritage, history and community. It is also important to emphasise that working with the museums created an opportunity to correct an unfortunate trend, namely the history of the minority groups and individuals going unrecorded and unrepresented.

An old Caribbean proverb says that “A man without knowledge of his history is like a tree without roots.” However, many of the Caribbean elders in the local area regard themselves as ‘ordinary folk’ and believe they do not have much to offer in the way of these ‘roots’. Nonetheless they do enjoy reminiscing, and many varied and interesting tales have been recounted in informal discussions. When these stories have been recorded and relayed back to the members of the community, many of them have had their interests in the museums piqued and have begun to recognise that the museums can have a role in supporting a wider representation of their heritage and culture.

The general apathy and lack of engagement with the museums is not specifically aimed at these institutions alone. During this exercise it was voiced that there was a general distrust of British institutions or authorities that have tended to interact with them with some form of ulterior agenda. This goes some way into explaining why it was so important to ensure that when reaching out to work with these community groups and representatives, a slow and measured approach was taken, as highlighted above.

Through discussions with individuals within the communities it became apparent that before they arrived in England many of them were qualified nurses or teachers; people of high education and status. However, on arrival they were told their qualifications were not recognised, their education was snubbed and they were relegated to roles such as auxiliary nurses, porters, bus conductors, factory workers and the like. As a consequence it is often painful for many of these men and women to recall their experiences and they instead choose to forget them. In this regard, disinterest in the local museums can be seen as more a symptom of the betrayal that they may feel, and a belief that their contributions were ignored in the past and appear to remain unappreciated to this day.

However, once they begin to talk about their experiences, their recollections of strong social interactions, their struggles with the establishment, their resourcefulness and the growth and development of their community, it becomes obvious to anyone listening that this is when the men and women of the elder Caribbean community truly begin to come alive. These conversations about their heritage allow the elderly to validate their experiences, to recognise that they have fought to utilise their talents and from it all, forged lifelong friendships. This in turn reinforces the need for these stories to be recorded and to be made available in some form of central repository, such as a museum.

Discussions about exploring a sense of shared heritage for the area can be difficult. This is particularly true when individuals have been excluded in some way or their skills devalued.

These conversations have been undertaken with care and respect for the validity of these often painful experiences. For example, one Caribbean lady spoke of the rejection she experienced on arrival in her town from the local Catholic Church, when she and her husband had approached them to get married. She stated that the hostility she experienced made her question other aspects of her faith

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sufficiently enough to eventually lead her to join the (Church of England) congregation at St. John’s Church in Desborough Road. This is one of the few local churches that welcomed the couple as their earliest Anglican Caribbean members.

The welcome at St John’s church was the exception, rather than the norm. One Caribbean gentleman remembers being told that his family’s attendance was making the normal congregation feel uncomfortable and it would be better if they did not return. Others found disproportionate amounts of seats reserved but watched as they were never occupied during the services. This lead to black people hiring any hall they could with tithing money and setting up their own churches, which many agreed turned out to be a much livelier place of worship and more like the churches they were used to back home. However, weddings and christenings still had to be held at one of the established churches due to church officials not being ordained.

Once people began to explore their own stories and realised that others were interested in them, it became easier to ask questions such as; “What would encourage visits to each of the museums?”. It was also easier to encourage people into thinking of the museums as somewhere they could be comfortable visiting, and to make suggestions as to what would make the experience enjoyable.

A Caribbean lady suggested that it would be nice to have a garden party in the gardens of the Wycombe Museum, especially for the elderly, when they could all wear their ‘Sunday Best Hats’ – a typical ‘old school’ Caribbean tradition when attending social events or galas.

The logistics of arranging activities for the elderly generally means that extra hands are usually required and this creates an opportunity to further involve the younger members of the respective communities. This is consistent with the Oral History Project, where a deliberate effort has been made to involve younger community members. This forges intergenerational links and mirrors traditions of passing histories down from the elders.

Chinese Movers & Shakers

This group describes themselves as the invisible and forgotten people; an unfortunate view since they have a history and culture just as rich as either the Asian or Caribbean communities and have been established in the Wycombe area for at least an equal length of time. However, they are a much smaller and more tightly knit community.

They generally appear to be a self sufficient group, but would welcome the opportunity to be more inclusive and to be included. To this end they have been asked to take part in the museum’s Oral History Project. Unfortunately, there are significant barriers to their full participation in helping the museum in its efforts to fully document their experiences, the most obvious being the ability to obtain the continued services of a translator. This has further complicated and delayed efforts to develop more formal interaction with this group.

Every effort will be made to encourage and facilitate anyone who wishes to be interviewed so that their stories are recorded alongside everyone else’s. As yet there are no young Chinese interviewees, it is hoped that one or two will be introduced to the project and encouraged by their community to come forward to carry out these interviews so the ethos applied will be the same for each community taking part; forging intergenerational links at every opportunity. If this proves to be untenable, then a young person from another community can be used.

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If there are difficulties due to the language barrier, this only means a little more time will be required in order to obtain a translator. The greater the number of diverse communities included in the project the richer and more varied the pictures painted by the stories shared, and very often a different experience on the integration process is discovered.

Nevertheless, further links have been made with the groups as they have taken up an offer from Carol Wright, arts & crafts co-ordinator at the museum, to join in with a pilot scheme where it is hoped that Carol will be able to train a couple of members from each group, i.e. The Caribbean M & S, Dosti Asian Women’s Group and the Chinese M & S. The plan is to equip selected members of each of the groups by providing training in basic craft skills which they then can take back and share with other members of their group.

Carol is an arts & crafts expert and is looking forward to delivering these training sessions. This will mean that each group will have their own semi-skilled arts & crafts session provider, thus saving on the cost and time of having to employ and pay someone to deliver the sessions. A further benefit is that if a native speaker undertakes this training, a translator is no longer needed when they wish to conduct one of these sessions. With this link being established it is hoped that Carol will be able to step in and give further training as and when required. It is hoped that this is the first of many ways these community groups can benefit from establishing connections with the museums.

Dosti Asian Women’ s Group

The Dosti Asian women’s group is equivalent to the Caribbean and Chinese Movers & Shakers and is run by three Asian ladies: Nabeela Rana, Nazmeen Akhtar and Neha Azad.

The group has been in existence for nearly five years and was started with the aim of promoting social gatherings for Asian women. It has grown from 2 founding members to approximately 25 individuals. The group are very proud to have won the “Building Bridges” award and the “Movers and Shakers” group award for the region, awarded by the NHS.

Dosti is organised along the same lines as the other two NHS groups, with one hour of gentle exercise followed by one hour of social discussion. However, they do not have access to a kitchen and therefore do not have a meal at the end of each session, which is a central feature of the other two groups.

The group meet on Tuesdays, as often as their religious calendar will allow. When children are on school holidays they try to arrange for group outings, visiting places they can also take their children. For this, transport is arranged with one of the local taxi firms. On the whole the Dosti group is more of a social gathering, where the women take the opportunity to disseminate information about their community by way of weekly update; sharing in conversation and perhaps a joke. Although Punjabi is the main language spoken, Nabeela happily translates between English and the various dialects spoken within the group, so that everyone is informed as to what is going on.

When asked about their experiences of first settling in this area many of the ladies regarded the old days, as they called them, as hard but full of good memories, and they were happy to recount stories to one another. Nabeela explained to them that these stories were in fact the very ones that the Oral History Project were attempting to document. Many felt that the hard work and harsh times had been rewarded by their children obtaining an education and gaining better jobs. However, many of them felt that this success was bittersweet because those children did not have the time to enjoy their lives as much.

As with the other groups they were encouraged to share these stories with the wider community. However, they appear to be even more reluctant with regard to having their experiences recorded

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individually. It was eventually decided that if the women could recall their stories as a group, then the majority of the members would agree to being recorded for the interviews.

Asked how the group felt the museums could increase the attendance of their community, Nabeela, Neha and the ladies presented a number of ideas. One such idea was to have an exhibition of Islamic Art to coincide with Islamic celebrations.

The idea of recreating a typical Asian home or front room that could be displayed at either museum site was put forward, and a few suggestions as to the contents were made. Also, a time capsule of typical Asian artefacts could be made up.

Nabeela stated that the ethos of the group was to encourage the women to take part in any activity aimed at or working towards better integration of the local communities. As facilitators the group leaders had done a lot to persuade the women to try to learn about other communities in an attempt to help them gain a better understanding of different cultures and reduce their feeling of isolation.

Many in the group felt that neither of the museums was sufficiently advertised within the wider community. A few ladies had allowed their children to play in the gardens of Wycombe museum but had not ventured inside the museum itself as nothing outside suggested that there might be anything of interest to them.

The group also said that a lack of parking spaces was considered a barrier to visiting Wycombe Museum. The women who had made use of the facilities felt there were not enough activities of children.

An invitation was extended to a couple of the regular members to attend the Arts & Crafts Training Workshop to be run by Carol Wright.

Some members of the group had heard of COAM but were unaware of what it had to offer. This coupled with the fact that it was not easily accessible made the prospect of a visit less likely. The majority of the group had never heard of COAM, but once informed about what the open air museum had to offer, the members of the group became quite interested in the possibility of organising a trip with their children during the Easter holidays. Arrangements were then made for Nabeela Rana to be sent information by email detailing the new group discount rates. The group were also informed of the COAM’s free weekend on the 26th and 27th March 2011.

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Individual Interviews of Prominent Community Members

Cecil Browne

Cecil Browne was born in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 1957 and came to High Wycombe in 1970. Cecil was one of the first black pupils to attend The Royal Grammar School. Attending University of London where he attained a BSc degree in Maths, he then went on to obtain his Masters in Education at Brunel University. Cecil returned to High Wycombe where he has lectured in mathematics at a local college for the last twenty-five years, eventually becoming the Head of Mathematics. He was one of the founding members of the Caribbean Saturday School in High Wycombe and has been involved with many community programs and activities, the most recent being the organisation of Caribbean Community Day at Adams Park where Wycombe Museum first promoted the launch of the Black and Asian section of its Oral History Project. Cecil recently published his first book of short stories: The Moon is Following Me, which is about Caribbean life and is available in the museum shop. He wrote this book hoping to encourage others in his community to tell their own stories, and is now in the process of completing a second edition.

As a prominent community member who has been involved in establishing many community events and resources over the years, Cecil was invited to comment on ways in which he thought the two museums could best attract ethnic communities. He felt that if the museums were to host at least three family orientated events annually, which were targeted at the specific communities, this would serve to establish the museums intentions. It would have the added effect of communicating to the members of those communities that the museums are places which cater for them, so that they would then naturally visit more regularly as a matter of interest to see what was happening. He noted that any events or exhibitions would need to be well advertised and promoted within these communities and that the museums would need to consider sponsoring functions (not necessarily financially) and patronising other community events.

Cecil stated that in London there had recently been an exhibition of “The West Indian Front Room”, a re-creation of typical West Indian sitting rooms of the 50s through to the 90s, that he believed Michael McMillan (another local author) had been involved in setting up. He thought that Wycombe Museum could easily accommodate such an exhibition given its relationship to the furniture trade.

Cecil voiced a more controversial idea for an exhibition, namely the recreation of a slave ship cargo hold with a looped voice-over recording describing what it might have felt like to have been chained up in the hold throughout the ship’s voyage. This could be displayed at COAM or in the garden of Wycombe museum. He recognised that this would be an emotive experience, but that it would draw a lot of interest and would be relatively inexpensive to create since the only materials required would be some old reclaimed wood and some iron for the manacles or chains, which could be forged at the wheelwright hut at COAM. He would plan and do the voice-over for the looped recording and organise volunteers to help build the cargo hold. Local connections could be drawn from the fact that John Newton, the vocal abolitionist and composer of the famous hymn; ‘Amazing Grace’, had his parish and home in Buckinghamshire.

Cecil also thought the museum could actively help in promoting Black History Month in October, and indicated that he would be happy to help out in any way he could in any project the museum thought to accommodate, given sufficient notice. He was particularly interested in delivering talks or lectures on Caribbean life, and on cricket or maths.

An additional suggestion of Cecil’s was that the Wycombe Museum could actively encourage connections with the Hairoun Caribbean elderly centre, however, there would be a need for better disabled facilities in the museums. Alternatively, a member of staff could visit the group at the centre to deliver a crafts session or to take some (movable) objects of historic or cultural interest and give a

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short presentation. One last event suggestion made by Cecil was that perhaps either museum could host a Health Day.

Tonnie and Sade Adoh

Tonnie Adoh is the chairman of at least two community groups; the African Forum and WACCF (Wycombe African and Caribbean Community Forum). He was also a local school governor. His wife, Sade, is secretary to both of the aforementioned community groups and is chair of the Nigerian Women’s Group in Buckinghamshire.

When asked why they thought Black and Asian communities were not visiting either of the two local museums, Tonnie expressed the view that (probably as a result of cultural differences) the museums were not places where a young mobile migrant community would expect to find artefacts or memorabilia that related to their own cultures.

Sade disagreed with this view, stating that as there was actually nothing in the museums that reflected the existence of these diverse communities then there would be little interest shown by the said communities in visiting either of the museums. She felt this to be the case, as children from these communities who had visited the museum with their schools had seen nothing pertaining to their cultures and so had no invested interest in the visit or relaying the details to their parents. If the children had returned home talking about something they connected with or recognised on one of these visits, then this would have informed the parents that the museums actually did have something of relevance, and that they themselves might wish to see it, thus in turn inspiring a family visit.

Sade related that if the museums presented culturally relevant exhibitions that were properly advertised, these communities would then attend. The museums need to make sure that the advertising is reaching places frequented by the relevant communities, for example the mosques, the Hilltop Community Centre, and the black and Caribbean churches.

Tonnie thought that the museum needed to be more creative in its attempts to engage with these communities. He suggested that the museum might be able to commission a competition or events of interest, for example; an African and Caribbean local history walk.

Sade stated that Oxford had devised such a walk and she had for some time been thinking that it might be possible to have a similar event in Wycombe. Tonnie suggested that enquiries should be made as to whether the larger London museums were able to lend articles of interest to our museums. He believed that a large number of African artefacts are stored away and not on display in these larger institutions and wondered if a request could be made by our local museums for use of those items kept in storage. He was certain that if the London museums would not help in this then the different High Commission Offices should be approached as they have items of interest which could be loaned for display.

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Arif Hussain

Mr Hussain came to Wycombe in 1976 and attended the local Cressex Secondary Modern School before going on to Bucks College to obtain his A levels. He read for his chemistry degree at Kings College London after which he returned to the Wycombe area. He runs a successful business, is a Magistrate, a member of the Probation Board, is on the Board of Governors of The Royal Grammar School and is also responsible for setting up and the running of ‘Five Pillars’, a small charity set up originally to raise funds to build and run an orphanage in Pakistan after the earthquake of ten years ago. The charity has gone on to raise thousands of pounds, helping people in need and for many other causes at home and abroad.

Mr Hussain is a level 2 Cricket Coach and is very heavily involved with the Totteridge Road Mosque as he is of the Muslim faith. Mr Hussain believes very strongly that one should give back to one’s community.

Mr Hussain has had some previous contact with the Wycombe Museum. When his charity; Five Pillars, was first established it held a very successful fundraising event in the museum gardens which was mainly attended by the Asian community. Aside from this he can only recall one other event held approximately eight or nine years ago when the museum was used for another Asian based event. This function, he believes, was set up specifically with the purpose of encouraging a connection between the Asian community and the Wycombe Museum. It was an exhibition and display of Asian arts, food and culture held in the gardens, but it would seem nothing further came from the event.

He says that given the above, the first and foremost difficulty is the lack of communication between the Asian community and the museum. He believes that the majority of the Asian community are unaware of the existence of either museum and those who are, do not see them as relevant, believing that the museum is only concerned with the local history of the area and nothing to do with their own history. He added that more regular, perhaps smaller events needed to be held to educate each party about the needs and opportunities that either side could offer the other.

He also mentioned that more of a focus should be directed towards arranging for school children, mainly from the Asian communities, to be able to visit the museum regularly, maybe as part of an extra-curricular activity. Mr Hussain highlighted that marketing of the museum is paramount to bringing the communities in, and targeted advertising, specifically to the local mosques would ensure the word got around.

He also suggested that the museum could be involved in facilitating a group exhibition with some of the local charities collating artefacts and art from Asian countries like Pakistan. This could be a semi-regular affair linked with the charities and aligned to specific causes. Another way in which the museum can reach out to the Asian community would be through the arrangement of group visits to other museums, which may be exhibiting artefacts of some relevance to the community.

Mr Hussain further suggested that some of the Asian community’s religious ceremonies be factored into the regular museum event calendar; Eid being one of those ceremonies which occurs bi-annually. Aspects of their religion could also be celebrated, such as the birth of Mohammed ‘walk’, in which Muslims are encouraged to walk through the town to various sites which have relevance to the local Muslim community. For example, if the museum were to have an exhibition relating to Islam, then the organisers of the walk could incorporate a visit to the museum into their celebratory walk.

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Sebert Graham

Local councillor and past Major of High Wycombe, Mr Sebert Graham was born in Jamaica. Upon arrival in England, in 1960, as a young man, he originally resided in London. In the 70’s he moved to High Wycombe when the company he worked for relocated to this area. Mr Graham has, for many years, been involved voluntarily in the Caribbean community, facilitating many community based projects and sitting on various committees. He first stood as a town councillor in 1989 and was later elected High Wycombe’s 221st Mayor in 1996. He is presently Chairman of WMCO (Wycombe Multi Cultural Organisation) and the WDC official key holder and caretaker of the Hilltop Community Centre. His political life is documented in; One People Mayor – A Journey, which is on sale at the Wycombe Museum.

Mr Graham first wanted to express his appreciation and pleasure that institutions such as these two museums were taking steps to engage the Caribbean community. He wanted it on record that he had been impressed with the event held at Wycombe Museum last October to launch the Black and Asian Oral History Project. He also stated that he felt sure that the communities and the museums would be enriched by any future connection or collaboration. However, he felt compelled to stress that our community had been multi-cultural for over 40-50 years and recording this fact he felt was long overdue, with the result being that many of the stories, artefacts, personalities and records of contributions made in the community have been irretrievably lost.

Mr Graham believes in order to recapture some of this information that has been lost, the museums could commission a project to search through documents and other written records of the area to find or confirm events concerning Black and Asian people. For example, evidence of first arrival, why certain communities settled here rather than elsewhere. He suggest that the museum could commission someone to go through old newspaper articles stored by the local press, research records of births and deaths, trace pictures that might be held by old employers or their families of works outings, visit or request copies of school records or photographs etc.

Mr Graham is of the mind that the application of serious effort into the gathering of information relating to the various communities would demonstrate the museums’ desire to paint a more complete picture of the history of the communities’ contributions, as well as helping to unblock submerged memories. This, he states, would go a long way in convincing the community that the museums are genuinely interested in serving the entire community. He is certain that when such efforts are recognised by members of these communities they will seek the museums out in order to readily offer their services.

On the question of what could be done to further attract Black and Asian people into using the museums, Mr Graham’s first observation is that the museums themselves need to be better advertised within the Black and Asian communities in particular, and the wider community as a whole. He said he had never heard of COAM but on hearing about it and where it was he was now very interested in visiting the site.

Secondly, as with previous interviewees, he also felt that the museums needed to stage more functions that catered to the communities they were trying to reach. For example, hosting events where they invited prominent or successful Black or Asian speakers, e.g. artists, musicians, politicians etc. who were not necessarily from the Wycombe area

Mr Graham stated another way of addressing this issue would be by making more use of the local radio station. He even suggested that the museum join with the communities they were seeking to engage and apply for funding from the new government ‘Big Society’ so as to start their own radio station, in order to promote themselves.

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He also believes that the museums should be applying as much effort into engaging the young, not just Black and Asian, but all young people, encouraging them to become more accustomed to attending the museums in as many ways as possible. One of the ways Mr Graham thought the museum could achieve this would be by devising various competitions, for example, the old fashioned spelling B’s, or poetry and art competitions, as well as visiting local schools to promote these attractions.

Gorden and Karen Stewart

Gorden and Karen Stewart came to England in 1987 from Guyana. Gorden came to High Wycombe to study for a degree in Timber Technology. He later found work in chemical wood treatments at a research laboratory in Marlow. Karen, his wife, joined him a year later and took up employment in the NHS. She also attained a degree in Management whilst working full time as a Human Resource Officer.

Gorden is a founding member of a local African Caribbean group; ‘Afrikan Heartbeat’, and is a school governor at a local state school. Gorden and Karen are also members of many other committees concerned with African and Caribbean communities.

As a couple they have always been dedicated to the ethos that knowing your history directs your future. This belief compelled them to seek extracurricular, culturally specific, tuition for their children at a local Caribbean Saturday School, Akacia. The school is run on a totally voluntary basis and over the last 15 years the Stewarts, together with other volunteers, played a major role in organising, maintaining and running the Saturday School. Including fundraising for and recruiting volunteer teaching staff and classroom assistants. The Saturday School caters for children primarily but not exclusively from African and Caribbean families, with an age range from 5 to 16 years. For those students aged 15 and above the lessons are targeted at supporting those studying GCSEs.

In 1990 the couple were two of the founding members of a small local community group named ‘African Diaspora’, which together with Wycombe’s branch of the Commission for Racial Equally (CRE) and the then Wycombe College (now Bucks New Uni.) devised, organised and delivered the first black history course for adult learning in the area. The course originally ran for ten weeks of the autumn term. It continued for several years in different forms, but was dissolved following the college’s change of status.

The Stewarts are heavily involved in organising events for October’s Black History Month (BHM) throughout the local area. When the events of BHM were first organised they were initially situated in one location; The Roundhouse, which is a youth and community centre in the town centre. Subsequently, events were spread out and are now held in many different venues within the town, and are organised by a variety of other individuals and community groups, for example: the Wycombe Library hosts an annual culturally relevant lecture, The Hilltop Community Centre organises a Black History Quiz Night or a Dinner and Dance, as well as an official ‘Sending Off’ evening for African and Caribbean students who have successfully gained university places, the New Bucks University, in conjunction with ‘Afrikan Heartbeat’ runs a short Black History course on a chosen topic (with guest speakers). Last October, as previously mentioned by Mr Graham, Wycombe Museum held a buffet and launch evening for the Black and Asian Oral History Project.

When asked what they would like to see the museum doing for their community the Stewarts were quite clear in that although arranging transport would present some problems, it would be very beneficial for the children from the Saturday School to have organised visits to both museum sites.

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Gorden stated that it was important to foster and promote the use of museums in the young since museums were not necessarily a natural place of interest amongst African and Caribbean communities in this country. He believed it was the same in the wider community and that it would be the more educated people who visited and regarded museums as places of interest.

Both Gorden and Karen felt that if the museums were to attempt to bring exhibits of cultural interest into the area, it would inspire a lot more interest in visiting the museums in the African and Caribbean Community, and that the Saturday school would then definitely organise specific visits.

Gorden was very interested in the craft training (to be delivered by Carol Wright) being made available to members of the Saturday School staff, although logistically, such an endeavour would have to be arranged for a Saturday afternoon. Furthermore, on visiting COAM himself, he was pleased to discover that contrary to the generally perceived notion that there was little of relevance to the African Caribbean community to be found there, that in fact, for him, there were elements of strong cultural resonance. For example, the Wheelwright shop and the exhibits on wood joinery. His Grandfather had been a Wheelwright and he himself recognised some of the techniques and wood joints as being in use in the Caribbean.

Also, the reconstruction of the old furniture factory and some of the products that were made from wood would be familiar to older members of the community who invariably worked in one of the many furniture factories in High Wycombe when they first arrived in the town. They would also, perhaps, recognise some elements of the reconstructed Victorian classroom as being still in use when they went to school in the Caribbean.

Ironically, Gorden recalls that when his father came to England on a visit, he took him up to London to visit the national museums, but had he known of COAM, he would have taken him there instead, as the exhibits had more direct relevance to their family.

Gorden was also keen to offer his expertise in wood-working and wondered if the museums would consider sessions where children could be taught how certain wood processes were carried out and how pieces of furniture were put together. He hoped that this could be done during a visit by the Saturday School, at either one of the museums.

When asked if there were any specific exhibitions that would be of interest to the Saturday School, the Michael McMillan front room exhibition was mentioned again. However, Gorden added that the local community could be asked to contribute artefacts or memorabilia, so as to make their own local exhibition. Gorden also suggested that an exhibition could be produced in photographic form; with a display of photographs, presenting people in their own front rooms. This could be displayed in a space using actual furniture and articles. These items could be made up of articles donated or lent to the museum by various individuals in the community. Photos of the front rooms could be sold as picture postcards or the framed prints sold as art work in their own right.

A number of the ideas presented by Gorden and Karen matched viewpoints and suggestions previously mentioned by interviewees. Gorden made mention that he would be particularly grateful for any assistance that could be afforded him from the museum with regard to making this year’s Black History month a success. But he made it clear that this should be tempered with respect for the community, and not give any impression that the event had been totally ‘high-jacked’. This, he stressed, could cause BHM to lose the support of the community it was originally designed to celebrate.

The Stewarts observed that with the increased number of events during October it had become more difficult to avoid clashes. It was therefore very important to find a way for all the organisations and individuals involved in planning local events, to communicate as much information about dates and times of events as early as possible and perhaps work together to draw up a timetable to prevent clashes.

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Survey Findings

Wycombe Museum

Overall 67 of the people surveyed had heard of Wycombe Museum and 40 of the people surveyed had actually visited it. This left 33 who were not aware of its existence. When questioned, the key message coming through is one of awareness with over 70% of people who had not visited Wycombe Museum not knowing that it existed or what went on there. Generally people knew where the museum was but a number of people did feel there was nothing there of interest to them. Breaking this down further, of the 27 people who had heard of Wycombe Museum but did not visit, over 50% said that this was because they didn’t know what went on there. Peculiarly, there were a number of people who had not heard of Wycombe Museum and therefore not visited but still believed there was nothing there of interest to them. This suggests that lack of interest may relate to a general perception of museums and not just a reflection of attitudes towards specific sites.

When questioned about facilities at the site, many people were uncertain about what Wycombe Museum offered visitors. 58% of people were unaware that the museum was free. Interestingly a number of people who had already visited Wycombe Museum were unaware that there was no entry fee. This may be because the reasons for their previous visit/visits may have been for special events, school visits or courses. The Wycombe Museum needs to raise awareness of the fact that general admission is free. A high percentage people of wanted to see facilities which are already provided in the museum e.g. 58% wanted to see displays of local artefacts. This again underlines the minimal public profile of the museum. However, one key facility that people wanted was better facilities for the disabled. This is important as there is restricted access to the first floor of the museum for people who are unable to use the steep stairs. A wide range of cultural events were suggested (see Appendix) some of which have been developed into recommendations for future projects.

Chiltern Open Air Museum

It was very disappointing that of the 100 people surveyed only 10 had visited COAM. The two main reasons given for not visiting were: a). being unaware of COAM’s existence, or b). unable to visit due to the lack of transport. These same two reasons were also voiced by those living in Chesham, hence being in the immediate locality did not affect the response. It should be added here that at Chesham Museum, which is in Chesham’s main market square, staff were unable to think of more than three or four visitors from the Asian community from the past seven years. Those who did visit the Chiltern Open Air Museum did so infrequently. It should be stated that this survey was targeted at Black and Asian people and was only given to others if they happened to be attending on the day the researcher interviewed that group.

46% of people did not know the museum existed and only 4.4% thought that there was nothing there for them. The key message here is one of awareness with over 85% of people not knowing the museum existed, or what went on there or where in fact it was. These reasons seem to outweigh the fact that people felt there was nothing of interest to them. Breaking this down further, of the 28 people who had heard of the Chiltern Open Air Museum but did not visit, less than 50% said that this was because they didn’t know what went on there. As with Wycombe Museum, there were a number of people who had not heard of COAM (and therefore not visited) but believed that there was nothing there of interest to them.

Non-visitors were asked what they thought COAM offered. The fact that a number of facilities and activities highlighted in this section of the survey are not a part of COAM (i.e. aeroplanes), indicates a low level of awareness as well as a misconception about the museum and what it presents.

However, when questioned about what they would like to see, as with the Wycombe Museum, a high percentage of people wanted to see facilities which were already provided. This, as previously stated, indicates that better publicity within the ethnic communities should increase their attendance. One key facility that people wanted, however, was better mobility equipment (which is very important bearing in mind the size and layout of the site). When asked 'what would encourage you to visit for the first time or to visit more often?'. As with Wycombe Museum, a wide range of suggestions were made.

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Other Museums

The survey also asked people about their general museum visiting. 67 did visit other museums, the majority of museums highlighted were based in London, perhaps because it was mentioned in the question, but there were some further afield. The Natural History Museum (27) and the Science Museum (24) were mentioned by several people.

Several people said they visited all types of museums, other people said they visited museums that had displays of African art or artefacts. It was interesting to note that many of those asked included visiting art galleries as museums they had visited. And a few stated that they had and would visit any museum that they heard had something of relevance to them. This tends to support the idea that if our local museums were able to show relevant exhibitions, which were then adequately advertised, they would then see the targeted community attending.

When asked: ‘how far would you be prepared to travel to a museum?' the results were very encouraging. Most people said that they would travel any distance to visit a museum provided that it was relevant and of interest (62). This view is also borne out in the varied list of museums that people said they have already visited.

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Discussion From the survey which was conducted with the participation of the three Wycombe Black and Asian based groups, as well as the Black and Asian general public in Wycombe and Chesham; 67 of the people asked had heard of Wycombe Museum compared with only 37 who had heard of the COAM. Most, if not all of the 33 who had not heard of Wycombe Museum did not live in the Wycombe area. Over 95% of the people surveyed in Wycombe knew of the Wycombe Museum, however, only 40% of the people surveyed said they had visited Wycombe Museum and of those who did visit, very few visited regularly. This confirms the need to put in place a strategy to engage with these communities as soon possible.

COAM’s obstacle appears to be a general lack of awareness of its existence, especially, but not exclusively amongst the Black and Asian community. Many people spoken to during the compilation of this report expressed their lack of knowledge with regard to the existence of COAM, and admitted it would be somewhere they would visit at least once, especially those with young children. Only 10 of the people surveyed had been to COAM (See Appendix: Q10) However, once people are given the relevant information about what is available on the site, it would seem that they express a genuine interest in wanting to make that first visit. When people were asked why they had not visited, 70% said either that they did not know it existed or that they did not know what went on there. Being an open air facility, off the beaten track, and being open only in the summer, COAM possibly needs to remind the general public of its ability to accommodate larger scale events.

A lack of awareness as to what goes on at either site seems to be the key message coming through in this survey, interestingly for both museums 70% of non-visitors gave the same two reasons for not visiting, namely; not knowing the venue existed or not knowing what goes on at either place. (See Appendix: Q5 & Q12)

There was a good cross section of age ranges within the 100 people surveyed. Of the number who said they had visited either museum, most had only visited once. Again this might be an indication that they found little at the sites of sufficient interest to require a second visit. This might also affect the ‘word of mouth’ about what could be found at each museum. Of those who had visited COAM, two people said they visited twice a year, however, this represents 20% of those in the community who visited, since only 10 people surveyed had been there. Of the 40 people who said they had visited the Wycombe museum, 9 said they visited twice a year which means that between 20% and 25% of those who visit do so bi-annually, which tends to suggest that once visited, both museums would get a steady number of the community returning.

Since it was suggested by a member of the Caribbean community (who has extensive experience in arranging events) that it would only take three visits a year to increase a person’s general interest, such that calling in to enquire about future events would then come naturally, it should be noted that this could be achieved with a couple of culturally based events each year.

If you look at the number of people who say that they visit museums in other areas; 67 (See Appendix: Q16) of those surveyed, this does not support the idea that the Black and Asian Community do not use museums, as suggested by an interviewee in this report. On the contrary, people are clearly prepared to travel to museums and in some cases quite a distance if they believe they will find something of relevance, also noted was interest in visiting a particular museum was quite varied (See Appendix: Q17). Creating relevance and publicity seems to be the necessary task for the museums in improving the attendance of minority communities. In the survey it can be seen that The Natural History Museum had been visited by 27 of the 100 and another 11 visited other history related museums, leading one to believe that if there were more engaging displays and events at the COAM and Wycombe museums then they should attract a fair amount of community interest.

Of those asked, 31 people would be interested and/or prepared to volunteer for or help to set up functions that were of interest to them, which highlights a desire for the museums to be doing more for the community at large.

Regarding COAM, 23% stated that they do not know what goes on there and a further 15.5% said that they did not know where it is. From the answers given to question 17, over 50% of people are prepared to travel to London to visit museums which, it can be argued, do not have the direct relevance to them that somewhere like COAM provides.

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Conclusions and Recommendations It would appear that the two main reasons for the lack of patronage of the two local museums are: the lack of knowledge about the existence of either museum, (especially, but not exclusively, COAM), together with the lack of information as to their content, whether it is regarding their permanent features or any organised events. This is applicable to these ethnic groups surveyed but also to the wider community.

The second reason is the perception that there is nothing of relevance present in the museums either to the individuals personally, or with regard to their cultures or communities. The Black and Asian communities have seemingly applied the Oxford English Dictionary meaning of a museum here; “A building where objects of historical, artistic or scientific interest are exhibited and preserved”, whereas museums today try to record the passage of living things, events, happenings, and the peoples involved. People of an area change just like the buildings and landscapes change and all this human experience is worth recording for those yet to come.

The communities are willing to provide support to the museums through sharing personal histories and the desire to connect socially with one another, so the onus is on the museum to foster this interest.

The research carried out for this report by way of the survey and interviews have presented for discussion several ways for either museum to increase the attendance of, as well as encourage continual support by, the Black and Asian communities.

The first recommendations to be implemented should be the ones that have little to no additional cost to the museums:

a) Make connections with the communities using existing staff skills, to reach out and visit organisations such as schools, community groups, sheltered housing projects etc. offering their expertise (e.g. Carol Wright, Arts & Crafts Officer at Wycombe Museum).

b) Making use of the list of the museums volunteers - these volunteers will have serviceable skills and knowledge which can be applied to tasks in the museums. (Whilst researching this report a number of members of the community put their names forward as volunteers, some as general volunteers, and many as volunteers for culturally specific events.)

c) Free entrance. During the weekend of 26th & 27th March 2011, entrance to COAM is free - this is an annual occurrence and should be advertised to the communities referenced in this report and out to the wider Wycombe community.

d) Community Calendar 2012 -Manchester Caribbean Society produced a calendar some years ago of 12 of its 80 year old Caribbean elderly, each passing on personal words of encouragement intended for the younger generation. The calendar featured a large A3 size colour photo of the individuals and a smaller inset photo of them in their youth, or on some other prestigious occasion, with quotes printed at a strategic place on the calendar. A number of the calendars were given away free of charge, however, a sufficient number were sold to make a small profit and cover the cost of printing. There is no point in pretending that our minority communities are fully integrated or that they need to be. However, it is hoped that as a result of some or all of the activities (recommended by this research) being taken up by the museums, some links will be created with the communities. This idea can be adopted and modified. For example, it is more than likely that a multiple cultural event calendar could be collated by August/September, so that it would be ready for release/sale in Black History Month. The calendars themselves will be made up of twelve community appropriate images, which can be put together to reflect each separate community or an integration of all community events and personalities as demand dictates.

e) Black History Month - the promotion of Black History Month as a relevant means of encouraging and connecting with the communities in question. Host at least one event during this October and/or assist in the promotion and advertising of events taking place at other venues. This would establish an expectation within the community which would in turn cause them to seek out the museums for the relevant information. Advertising for BHM would not be a further expense to the museum, since it is hoped that the events known about and booked in April/May, when the museums own half-annual advertising mail shot is published, will be included. The museums could also distribute the BHM flyer from both sites, so that they can be taken by anyone who is interested.

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f) Black and Asian Art Exhibition - to show the diversity of Black and Asian art by displaying the work of five/six local Black and Asian artists. The exhibition will be in the small gallery, upstairs at Wycombe Museum. The space has been booked from September 2011 until February 2012, with an official launch evening planned for the first Thursday in October, to coincide with the start of BHM. It is intended that these events are considered as contributions from the museum. Since it is expected that the launch evening will be attended by more people than last year, arrangements are being made to have a marquee placed in the garden of the museum, where a buffet will be served, and where the guests and press can congregate. Two artists and one sculptor have already been selected and agreed upon, a fourth is in the process of being agreed and two further Asian artists are required.

g) Photo Exhibition - the search is on for a venue which can host a display of photographs of the local community from the 1950’s to 1990’s. These pictures are of relevance to the Wycombe Museum’s Oral History Project, but the display could be viewed somewhere other than at the museum, so that it is in the domain of the wider community. For example, it has been suggested that it could be accommodated in one of the many empty shops in the town centre. The display will contain pictures, such as copies of original passport photos, first pictures taken on arrival in England or last taken when departing native countries, school photos (either single, class or entire school pictures) and old studio family pictures that are reflective of the era.

h) ‘School Daze’- evening using a picture taken at the Green Street School, or any other school group photos that reflect the diversity of the community. Use photos to encourage reminiscing and recording of past experiences; ‘where are they now’ event.

i) Joint Religious Event – a celebration, perhaps to open Black History Month.

j) African Drumming Dance and Oral Tradition Summer School this is possibly the most ambitious of all the recommendations and would first require a successful application for some means of funding (Young Roots Heritage funding to be applied for before the end of March 2011).

Cressex Secondary School has already agreed to provide the venue at a very reasonable price and the space has been reserved. Hamilton Road Primary School may also be prepared to come on board as a second site for the lower age range. The Summer School plans to start 1st August and end on 12th August 2011, it will run for five days a week, Monday to Friday. The core learning time will be between 10am to 4pm, with one hour for a lunchtime break. There is a possibility for a Breakfast Club from 8.30am, and for an Afternoon Club until 5.30pm

Activities will include lessons in African drumming, African dance, Brazilian dance and drumming, storytelling, choreography, performance planning, filming, photography of the week and making tie-dye costumes. The attendees will be expected to end the week with a performance to be attended by their parents.

k) Community Events

Dosti Asian Women’s Group

Trip to the museum and picnic in gardens of Wycombe Museum

Trip to the COAM with children

Host a Bollywood film

Train up a member of Dosti group to deliver arts and crafts session

Caribbean Movers & Shakers Group

‘Sunday Best Hat’ tea party in gardens of Wycombe Museum

Trip to COAM for storytelling and ‘memory lane’ activities

Train up a member of the Caribbean group to deliver arts and crafts session

Chinese Movers & Shakers Group

Train up a member of the Chinese group to deliver arts and crafts session

Trip to COAM

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l) Gorden Stewart to attend wheelwrighting workshop at COAM.

m) Angie Anderson of AMRA Productions – African drumming and storytelling Summer Camp at COAM and Hamilton Primary School in High Wycombe; After School Club.

n) Better publicity in Wycombe venues such as the library, black community churches, mosques, Wycombe Swan etc. as to what COAM does and where it is located. Possible bus or coach set to run from Wycombe Museum to COAM.

o) Using COAM as a venue for summer camps, themed/period weddings, concerts and Asian festivals.

Discussions with staff at the museums once the report is read may highlight some other areas of low expense but high PR value.

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Appendix

Survey Results

Visiting and Volunteering at local museums

In all there were 100 survey forms completed so the results can be viewed either in actual numerical terms or as percentages.

1. Where was the survey completed?

6 African Drum class 3 Chinese community 30 Chesham High Street

15 Caribbean Movers & Shakers

35 General 11 Dosti - Asian Women's Group

Surveys were conducted at a number of Wycombe based groups as well as being done with the general public.

2. Have you heard of

Yes No

Wycombe Museum 67 33

Chiltern Open Air Museum 37 63

Wycombe Museum

3. Do you visit Wycombe Museum?

40 Yes 60 No

4. If yes, how often do you visit?

• Once a year (5)

• Whenever there is an activity of interest

• Occasionally (9)

• When there is a cultural event

• Once (7)

• About 6 times a year

• Annually, sometimes twice a year

• Once a year or with guests visiting

• 2 - 3 times a year (9)

• Monthly

• Several times a year

• Mostly in the summer to sit in the gardens

5. If no, why not?

41.6% Didn't know it existed 30.0% Don't know what goes on there

13.3% There's nothing there of interest to me 13.3% Not sure where it is

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Other reasons given for not visiting were

• Too busy

• My children have grown up, but I visited a lot when they were little

• Haven't thought about it, not advertised enough

• No transport

• Don't live in the area

• Have sent Caribbean elderly there though not been myself. On a day trip organised for CE someone had to stay at the home for those who couldn't attend because of a disability

6. If you don't visit, what facilities and activities do you think are there?

• I'm sure there are facilities and activities for every individual

• Historical artefacts pertaining to Wycombe regarding my community

• I don't know (11)

• History, antiques, garden, books, souvenirs

• Activities involving children in the history of their town. Furniture making and paper mill exhibits

• Just items in display cabinets

• Exhibits, events, Wycombe is a diverse community - it would be good to have exhibits about this

• Exhibitions, events, community venue, somewhere to meet with friends and look around!

• Souvenirs, historic info, books

• I don't know stuff about Wycombe

• Don't know - history stuff?

• Many culture things

• History (4)

• Past history and town

• Old things and olden days (2)

• Historical figures and facts

• Local things

• Chairs and chair making (2)

• Exhibitions

• Chairs over the years, snack bar and gardens

7. Are you aware that Wycombe Museum is free?

40 Yes 58 No

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8. What facilities would you like to see at the museum?

48 Garden 64 Exhibition areas 38 Museum souvenirs

42 Play area 36 Tourist information 47 Books

51 Cafe 58 Display of local artefacts 37 Better facilities for the disabled

Other facilities mentioned were

• More diverse info to reflect community

• Activities culturally appropriate for the African community

• Local organisation displaying arts & crafts, and the history about the individual organisation

• More community events

• Model village

• I know they already have these things and they are very good

• I believe these things are already there and it is easy to get there

• Culture related art or art from local architects

• Interactive exhibitions for 2 - 5 year olds/early years

• Better parking. I think more use could be made of the outdoor space in summer

• Lectures, talks of interest, local and otherwise

• Pushchair facilities

• Better childcare

• Things geared more towards 12+ and teens

• Need more marketing and diversity

9. What would encourage you to visit for the first time or to visit more often?

A wide range of suggestions were made.

• More community activities

• Cultural events, especially on dates such as 1 May, 1 August and October (October being Black history month)

• Engaging activities involving African culture and tradition

• Cultural activities

• Now that I know I will try and visit - don't know when

• Better advertisement of the museum and its contents

• Just one visit - I might start from there

• For the exhibits and the view from the garden, peace and tranquillity

• Events for the community - old and young

• Open day, guided tours, workshops

• Free

• Cafe so one could bring friends over and be able to sit and chat after visiting museum

• Parking!!

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• Special exhibitions

• An exhibition e.g. photographic collection of immigrants’ arrival in Wycombe

• More publicity of the artwork that is there (exhibitions) etc.

• Exhibitions/events

• Transport (5)

• An advertised event that was particular to my Caribbean background and culture

• An exhibition or event that I was interested in.

• If my awareness was raised regarding high quality event (community) and the museum

• More advertisements with what's going on there

• More going on for the community

• Regular exhibitions publicised in the local press. Art exhibitions, cultural exhibitions, promotional events i.e. book readings etc.

• More advertising needed as you tend to forget that it's there!

• Free stuff, cookies

• Information on what's on offer there (3)

• If more Asian community art and history was displayed

• Souvenirs from worldwide

• Seeing more adverts as to what is going on

• Special exhibitions

• Presentation/talks/lectures about the Caribbean, or Caribbean experience in Britain

• Narrator

• Tea in the summer outside in the garden

• History books

• More cultural and religious exhibitions

• If it had an exhibition on Islamic Art or an Asian family event

• To know where it is

• Going with others

• Exciting new things to see/learn about

• Religion and culture, religious art (2)

• Religion and culture, religious art, canvas

• Scientific books

• Advertising

• Shows

• Free trip here

• Mums

• Got more promotion towards it

• Activities

• Cultural relevance but does matter

• More advertising and more interesting stuff

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• Modernise the museum

• Larger variety of exhibits

• The exhibition, garden

• Things for children in holidays

• Not interested

• The fact that it's free

• If there were things for my community

• More culturally relevant information/war exhibition

• More for 12+ and teens

• Different themes that were marketed, and that I was aware of. Looking at more recent history and the influx of new minority cultures, and the impact on town and businesses, and the change from furniture to services

• Display of local artefacts

• Advertising ‘What's On’

• Publicity

• Interests in relation to ethnic community

• If there were things like culturally relevant cards and books that are not stocked anywhere in town, perhaps if the museum were to have a small collection of these, it would be something I would visit for

• If the museum had more about my culture and also where my ancestors came from. I am West Indian but my grandparents came from India

• Indian art – ‘Festival of Light’

Chiltern Open Air Museum

10. Do you visit Chiltern Open Air Museum?

10 Yes 90 No

11. If yes, how often do you visit?

• Once a year

• Once (2)

• Twice a year

• Not very often

• 1 - 2 times a year

• Once on a school visit (2)

• Needed to, for work purposes

12. If no, why not?

46.6% Didn't know it existed 23.3% Don't know what goes on there

4.4% There's nothing there of interest to me 15.5% Not sure where it is

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Other reasons given were

• It's not local to me but I would if it had something of cultural interest

• Too busy

• It's location is the reason many without transport can't go

• Too far

• Over 30 minutes travel time

• Have no transport

• Not open when I have gone

• Not advertised enough to interest me

13. If you don't visit, what facilities and activities do you think are there?

• Activities around flight and aeroplanes

• I'm sure there are facilities and activities for every individual

• Rebuilt buildings from around Buckinghamshire, display of rural crafts

• I am aware as I worked with a girl who was involved with the open air activities

• Planes or air shows

• Not sure (6)

• I don't know history stuff

• Don't know, no idea (14)

• Rebuilt historic Buckinghamshire buildings, demonstrations of country crafts

• Concerts

• Archaic objects

• Aeroplanes

• Children’s activities

• Farm, farming displays (2)

14. What facilities would you like to see at the museum?

44 Play area 50 Display of local artefacts 28 Books

50 Café 29 Tourist information 27 Better mobility equipment

46 Exhibition areas 30 Museum souvenirs

Other facilities mentioned were

• Woodcraft shows, more diverse activities

• More community events

• Model villages

• Art exhibitions - something that depicted the contribution the minority (Caribbean) community have made

• I know they have reconstructed buildings

• Things relevant to my culture

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• Any of them

• Cultural activities

15. What would encourage you to visit for the first time or to visit more often?

As with Wycombe Museum, a wide range of suggestions were made.

• If there were cultural activities of interest (2)

• The showcasing of the African involvement in flight and the development of aeroplanes

• Cultural artefacts and activities

• The awareness that I had today via the questionnaire

• Better awareness of the museum and its contents

• Maybe a first visit might encourage me

• Openness and friendly staff willing to help you explore the history of the museum

• If free (4)

• Easy access for those without transport - a special bus perhaps?

• More advertising for events

• Outdoor plays and/or music events

• If I knew what was there (2)

• Transport (14)

• Exhibits about local area and about people in the area

• Interesting community events, exhibitions, poetry reading etc.

• A function that would encourage Caribbean community to come out and get together and learn history

• Something that will encourage my community

• Not sure as not aware of facilities at present

• I don't know - free stuff

• Information on what's on offer (6)

• Better publicity encouraging you to come and benefits (3)

• More community projects

• Good weather. Special events

• Activities linked to the Caribbean/Caribbean experience in Britain

• More information (2)

• Collective trip for young people

• Knowing where it is (2)

• Good literature and tourism information

• Knowing about you

• Hitler, Malcolm X

• Other people

• If have special exhibitions maybe about local history

• Activities

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• More advertising and more interesting things

• If going with other people (2)

• Don't know

• Better insight into what's there in holiday times

• Culturally interesting exhibition

• Relevant talks, need to know what is there to see

• Better publicity in Wycombe venues such as library, Wycombe Museum and Swan as to where and what is at COAM

• Fairs related to cultures

Other Museums

16. Do you ever visit museums in other areas, for example London?

67 Yes 33 No

17. If yes, what type of museums?

• The majority of museums highlighted were based in London, perhaps because it was mentioned in the question, but there were some further afield.

• Historical

• Natural History Museum (27)

• African arts, history, artefacts

• British Museum (11)

• Fine Art (2)

• British Library, Design and others

• National Museums

• Local museum in Gloucester

• Tate (British & Modern) Gallery

• War Museums (4)

• London Museum

• BT History

• National Gallery, Portrait Gallery, Tring Museum, Ashmolean

• London (3)

• History, Paintings

• Wycombe

• Science (24)

• London, Singapore, Paris & Pakistan

• Duke of Edinburgh

• London Art gallery and Ancient history hall

• USA

32

Under 18 years

18 – 24 years

25 – 34 years35 – 44 years

45 – 54 years

55 – 64 years 65+ years

• Slave Museum, Liverpool

• Toy Museum, Maritime Museum

• Manchester, Manchester Science

• Royal Albert, Imperial War Museum

18. How far would you be prepared to travel to a museum?

13 Up to 5 miles 13 10 - 20 miles

8 5 to 10 miles 62 Any distance if it’s relevant

About you

19. Age

7 Under 18 years 30 45 – 54 years

8 18 – 24 years 8 55 – 64 years

14 25 – 34 years 20 65+ years

13 35 – 44 years

As the following graph illustrates, the responses came from a variety of age groups.

20 Family make-up

15 Single person household 1 Lone parent with child/ren under 16

10 Couple without children 2 Lone parent with child/ren aged 16 +

28 Couple with child/ren under 16 11 Lone Pensioner

31 Couple with child/ren aged 16 + 6 Pensioner couple

9 Couple with children aged both

under 16 and 16+

3 Shared house

33

As can be seen from these results, those interviewed came from a variety of household compositions as represented in the following graph.

21. Ethnicity

6 English 3 White & Black Caribbean 0 Any other Asian background

0 Welsh 1 White & Black African 9 African

0 Scottish 1 White & Asian 31 Caribbean

0 Northern Irish

1 Any other mixed background

7 Any other black African/ Caribbean background

3 British 5 Indian 1 Arab

0 Irish 26 Pakistani 1 Any other ethnic group

0 Gypsy or Irish traveller

3 Bangladeshi

1 Any other white background

3 Chinese

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Couple with

child/ren aged 16

+

Couple with

child/ren under 16

Single person

household

Lone Pensioner

Couple without

children

Couple with

children aged both

under 16 and 16+

Pensioner couple

Shared house

Lone parent with

child/ren aged 16

+

Lone parent with

child/ren under 16

34

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Any other w hite background

White & Black African

White & Asian

Any other mixed background

Arab

Any other ethnic group

British

White & Black Caribbean

Bangladeshi

Chinese

Indian

English

Any other black African/ Caribbean background

African

Pakistani

Caribbean

As the results indicate, there was a good cross-section of people from a number of different communities who completed the questionnaire, as represented in the following graph.

22. Gender

27 Male 72 Female

23 Do you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term impact on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities?

9 Yes 88 No

24. Would you be interested in voluntary work to help set up events run at either of the sites, if the functions were of interest to you?

31 Yes 4 Not sure

54 No

A number of people who said they were interested in voluntary work did not leave their personal contact details. These people can, however, be contacted through the club they belong to.

35

Acknowledgements

Jackie Pinney from WDC for the survey, analysed information and production of graphs

Olga McBarnett, for her introduction to the NHS healthy ageing groups and her help throughout in facilitating interviews with group members. For further information, kindly contact Olga McBarnett on 01494 555579 or email olga.mcbarnett@buckinghamshire.nhs.uk

Also thanks to her co-workers; Clintel Rose and Tayo Owodunni.

Armintha Walcott - Caribbean Movers & Shakers group facilitator.

Nabbeela Rana and Neha Azad - Dosti Asian Women’s group facilitators.

Andrew Winton - Chinese Movers & Shakers group facilitator.

Dr Graham Storer and Michael Bowker help at the above mentioned groups.

All the members of these groups, who provided and shared wonderful meals, and so openly shared their thoughts, experiences, feelings and ideas.

Cecil Bowne, Sebert Graham, Tonnie & Sade Adoh, Gordon & Karen Stewart and Arif Hussain for taking time out of their busy schedules to share their expert views, and for making constructive suggestions on the way forward.

John Orovwuje and Enos Phillips for cover art work and proofreading, only someone who has read work written by a dyslexic will know what a truly amazing help they have been. I really could not have completed this task without them.

Debbie Galley-Buxton, Hamilton Primary School, looking forward to developing the after school project with you.

Mrs Blake & her daughter Dion for the ‘Sunday Best Hats’ tea party idea.

Angela Anderson of AMRA Productions, welcome to the area, I hope to hear those historical drums telling many stories and connecting with many people.

Last but not least all the staff at both museums special thanks to Zara Luxford, Director of Wycombe Museum, and Sue Shave, Director for COAM, and their entire staffs. I have enjoyed getting to know you all.

A special thank you to Grace Wilson, the volunteer coordinator. Just to let you know I have some 26 names and addresses of potential volunteers.

My apologies to anyone that I have forgotten to mention but all help was greatly appreciated. Thank You