Deaf Heritage Centre becomes part of the British Deaf Association
Deaf Heritage Centre becomes part of the British Deaf Association national heritage programme
Last week Museum Development North was at the Deaf Heritage Centre in Manchester for the formal handover of the stewardship of its museum and collections from the British Deaf History Society (BDHS) to the British Deaf Association (BDA).
For the last 18 months MD North, supported by AIM, has been working with the BDHS to consider options for the future of the Deaf Heritage Centre.
The Deaf Heritage Centre, an Accredited museum, now becomes part of the BDA’s national heritage programme. Located in Manchester Deaf Centre on the University of Manchester campus, and with the BDHS maintaining an office within the BDA-run museum, it brings three significant Deaf organisations under one roof for the first time to partner together and collaborate.
Originally based in Warrington before moving to Manchester Deaf Centre during the pandemic, the museum has worked with Museum Development since 2013. It has received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support audience engagement and to open up its collections through digitisation, and from Art Fund for the purchase of key works. 2023 marked the 30th anniversary of the BDHS and the collection.
Founded in 1890, the BDA is a national Deaf-led organisation that works directly with Deaf people that use British Sign Language (BSL). Its work concentrates on campaigning for equal rights on a national level and working at a local level empowering Deaf people to achieve access to their local public services.
The Deaf Heritage Centre now forms a central part of the BDA’s growing commitment to Deaf culture, history, identity and British Sign Language (BSL) as a living heritage. Another recent achievement was the BDA’s and Deaf Sports Personality of the Year team’s recognition for their work on 100 years of DeaflympicsGB history at the Sporting Heritage Network Awards in November.
At the event last week a special tribute was paid to Peter Jackson, whose leadership and dedication to the preservation of Deaf heritage guided the BDHS to create this unique collection, set up the museum and achieve Accreditation. Peter will continue his association with the Deaf Heritage Centre in his new role as Honorary Curator and we look forward to working with him and the new team at the BDA over the coming years.
Images: Left to right (click to enlarge)
The BDHS signing the documents
Peter Jackson accepting his award
Share
