South Shields Museum appealing for your rainbows to remember pandemic's chapter in history

South Shields Museum & Art Gallery is keen to collect images of the rainbows that people have been displaying in their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Drawings of rainbows have appeared in windows across South Tyneside. Photos submitted by Rebecca Thorpe.Drawings of rainbows have appeared in windows across South Tyneside. Photos submitted by Rebecca Thorpe.
Drawings of rainbows have appeared in windows across South Tyneside. Photos submitted by Rebecca Thorpe.

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) has collections from throughout history that represent the ordinary lives of Tynesiders; this work is ongoing, and they need to collect to represent our lives today.

Over the next few months (and years) the museum and archives service will be capturing ways the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the lives of people living in Tyneside.

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The rainbow has become a symbol of hope during the healthcare crisis and people have been creating their own rainbow artwork and displaying them in their windows in homes across the country.

Kylea Little, Keeper of History at TWAM said: “We want to make sure that the archive and museum collections represent this critical moment in all our lives by collecting objects and stories that show how COVID-19 is affecting lives on Tyneside.

“We’d like people to email us a picture of their rainbow that they may have in their window on display.”

“We can only accept images / information sent digitally at this point in time. Our museums are closed and we cannot accept any post or deliveries.”

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Anyone from South Tyneside who’d like to email their rainbows can contact Adam Bell on [email protected].

You can also email suggestions of items that you may think TWAM would be interested in collecting once the government guidance advises it is safe to do so.