Last week I went to see the ‘Luton in 50 Objects’ exhibition at Wardown Museum and Gallery.
This exhibition is curated by journalist and writer Sarfraz Manzoor. Sarfraz’s memoir, ‘Greetings from Bury Park’, about living in Luton as a British Pakistani teen was adapted into the film ‘Blinded by the Light’. He has recently become Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire.
May 2024 was the 50th anniversary of when Sarfraz arrived in Luton and the exhibition is a reflection on his life and home town told through personal objects belonging to the people of Luton.
There were some objects directly connected to the life of the guest curator; postcards, telegrams, and letters relating to family history; and objects relating to Luton events and activities. With the personal objects there was a theme of things related to the immigrant experience and with the impact of service in war. I especially liked the brown teapot provided by a lady who had come from Denmark to the UK. The were objects related to public service (nursing and policing), involvement in the sports and the arts, setting up businesses and charitable work. The football club had some objects. One of the most striking objects was the old sign from the 33 Arts centre in Guildford Street. So a good reflection of most aspects of the town and its people’s lives.
When the ‘Luton in 50 Objects’ exhibition was first announced my immediate reaction was to start thinking about objects related to Luton’s industrial history. I did think that this was a bit of a gap in the choice of objects for the exhibition. There were some objects related to people’s working lives, objects that referenced Vauxhall and the airport, and the hat industry was well represented. But I would have included a few more objects about Luton as a place of manufacturing. However, one intriguing object that did kind of stand for this was included. I thought it said some interesting things about technology and innovation. This was a ‘Solar 250 Projector’ an “iconic” disco light apparently designed and manufactured in Luton 50 years ago.
The ‘Luton in 50 Objects’ exhibition is at Wardown House Museum and Gallery until the 20 October.
More photos can be found here.
