How National Museum of Mining is charting the ‘longest year’ for miners through art

Communities were split with bitterness which still lingers in some areas. And many communities have still not recovered from the economical and social shifts.

Now the National Museum of Mining in West Yorkshire is staging an exhibition of artwork associated with the strike and its aftermath. It started on March 6 1984 with a walkout at Cortonwood Colliery, South Yorkshire.

Like the strike itself, the display will last a year. The exhibition is called “84/85 – The Longest Year” and it opens at the National Coal Mining Museum for England.

It will run until the anniversary of the end of the strike, Monday March 3 2025 and it includes memories from families and friends as well as the miners.

The free exhibition focusses on the experiences of miners and their families, giving a voice to three different points of view: striking miners, those that went back early and those that did not strike at all. All will have their stories told.

Walking through the space, visitors will uncover the story of the Miners’ Strike from those that experienced it with opportunities to listen to interviews, watch archive footage, read compelling quotes, absorb powerful photography and see artefacts from 1984/85.

Following on from a public call out in November 2023, more than 100 people across the country came forward with their memories of the strike. Each of these memories have been added to the Museum’s collection and a number have been featured in the exhibition.

This public call out will remain open for the rest of the year for people to share their own stories – anonymously if preferred - allowing future generations to discover them at the Museum for decades to come.

The Museum intends to refresh the exhibition and to collate these submissions later in the year.

Designed with local specialists, InchPunch, the exhibition is equally split between the three experience categories and allows visitors to bypass or take in each section in their own time. With opportunities to reflect and share thoughts, visitors can also contemplate what they are willing to strike for 40 years on.

Alongside the exhibition, a packed events programme is planned with workshops, performances, discussions, film screenings and more throughout the year.

More details are due to be announced on the Museum’s website, ncm.org.uk/84-85.

Anne Bradley, Curator of Oral and Social History, said the participation of the public was crucial.

She said: “This exhibition has been a real team effort and we are extremely grateful for the contributions of the public.

"We hope we have created a safe space where these experiences can be gathered and told, preserving them for future generations.”