Past Exhibitions
We manage a range of exhibitions that span 6 to 12 months. They are hosted in Bankfield Museum's:
Fashion Gallery
Link Gallery
Main Hall.
We vary the content across:
different themes and periods
art
sculpture
photography
film
textiles
historical and modern objects.
We aim to display collection objects as much as possible so often lead exhibitions to showcase collections not on permanent display.
We also manage Smith Art Gallery, which has a temporary exhibition gallery for exhibitions of six months at a time.
Please see What's On - Exhibitions for our current programme. Examples of previous exhibitions can be found below.
Previous Exhibitions
For King and Country 2014 - 2018
The exhibition featured over 200 objects, 200 images and archives and 60 local stories to explore local experiences during the First World War. From soldiers, sailors and nurses to those at home working in munitions, hospitals and fundraising. The exhibition was awarded the Royal Historical Society's prize for public history in 2015.
Splendid Shreds of Silk and Satin: A celebration of Charlotte Bronte in Quilts
In partnership with the Bronte Parsonage Museum and novelist Tracy Chevalier. An exhibition in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery at Bankfield featuring a quilt made by Charlotte and her sisters on loan from Haworth and a selection of historic quilts from Bankfield Museum’s collection, alongside entries for the Brontë Quilt Challenge sponsored by the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles and the Brontë Society.
Kate Lycett: Lost Houses of the South Pennines
Local artist Kate Lycett's successful exhibition featured new artworks exploring Lost Houses of the region. Drawing upon plans, photographs and written accounts, as well as the sites themselves, Kate recreated some of the lost houses of the South Pennines, including Castle Carr, New Cragg Hall and High Sunderland. Many of the paintings were sold along with a number of limited edition prints and cards, as well as an exhibition guidebook.
Bonnets, Beanies and Beyond
Vendredi Millinery group have worked with Bankfield Museum to create two exhibitions to date, both inspired by the Museum's collections. This second exhibition of their work explored time travel through hats, as part of the Time Keepers exhibition. The group created hats inspired by the past, present and future and also created displays with information on the history of hats, their manufacture and futuristic visions.
19th Century Dressmaking
Local fashion and costume lecturer Phionna Fitzgerald researched several dresses in the Museum's collections and recreated them for display. She also worked with students to recreate dresses to learn dress making techniques. The exhibition featured original dresses, accessories and fashion images from the museum’s collections and Phionna and her students' modern reconstructions.
Waterloo 200
To commemorate the bicentenary of Waterloo, The Duke of Wellington’s Regimental Museum at Bankfield Museum partnered with the National Army Museum on a temporary exhibition.
Wild West
In 2017 our Wild West exhibition explored the myths and realities of the Wild West. Native American and Western artefacts were on display from Calderdale Museums, Leeds City Museums and various private collections, alongside souvenirs from the world famous 'Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show', which visited Halifax on the 8th October 1903.
January 2017 saw the 100th anniversary of Buffalo Bill's death. Born William F. Cody, the legendary 'Buffalo Bill' almost single-handedly created the image of the ‘Wild West’, which endures to this day-with cowboys and Indians, covered wagons and stagecoaches.
Pirates! with Chris Mould
A swashbuckling exhibition of pirates, treasure and adventure featuring original drawings from 'Pirates 'n' Pistols', the award winning children's book by local artist and writer Chris Mould. The family exhibition explored the history of pirates, both fact and fiction and books and limited edition prints of the Bankfield Pirate are still available to purchase from the Museum's shop. The success of this exhibition led us to collaborate with Chris the following year on the theme of Dragons, using Chris's original drawings and a wide selection of objects from the Museum's collections to explore the fascination of dragons.