WFFMM-NAAM Conference 2022

The English West Midlands has historically been the heart of motor manufacturing in the United Kingdom and is still a hub for motor car design and production today. The car factories have had a profound effect on their local communities. Many local people have found jobs with the manufacturers, whilst other businesses have grown up to match. Over the past two decades, the industry has changed more so than ever in its history and the factory landscape has altered to reflect that. What effect has this had on the society around the factories? The disappearance of the central hub of a community goes further than the loss of jobs in the locality. The local area and cross section of lives have been shaped by the presence and growth of the factory – now its closure has created a void. With the help of generous funding from Arts Council England, the British Motor Museum has engaged a Community Historian to work with the communities in the areas around the factories or places where a factory once stood. Over 24 months, the aim is to collect the experiences and recollections of people who live in those communities, whether the factory was their primary livelihood or not. The catalyst will be relevant material from the Museum’s collections. In 2021 the Museum will hold a special exhibition of the social culture around the car factory, based on those recollections and curated with the help of the communities.