New online exhibition exploring museum collections through colour – on Google Arts & Culture

16 December 2020

"Colourful Discoveries was originally planned to be our major temporary exhibition in 2020, but due to our lengthy closure we decided to put the entire exhibition online for everyone to enjoy"

Newcastle’s Discovery Museum has launched a new online exhibition in association  with Google Arts and Culture.

Colourful Discoveries encourages people to explore Discovery Museum’s diverse collections through a kaleidoscopic lens, from Victorian silk fans to activist material, 1960s dresses to WWI era packaging, vintage film posters and more.

Originally inspired by Newcastle being confirmed as the host city for UK Pride 2020, the exhibition focuses on the six colours of the Pride flag,

Carolyn Ball, Manager of Discovery Museum said:

“Colourful Discoveries was originally planned to be our major temporary exhibition in 2020, but due to our lengthy closure we decided to put the entire exhibition online for everyone to enjoy.

“With the global reach and stamp of quality Google Arts and Culture provides, we are delighted that we can still deliver something new for our visitors and also connect with wider audiences across the world.

“This vibrant exhibition highlights the breadth of collections held at Discovery Museum that reflect many aspects of Tyneside life.”

The Google Arts interface allows the user to zoom in on detail, allowing close–ups of details a person would not be able to experience if exploring a museum display case. The physical origins and social meanings of colours are also discussed.

The exhibition can be viewed online through Discovery Museum’s website, and the Google Arts and Culture website or app. 

Each week Discovery Museum will be publishing new content on social media celebrating each colour, including objects which didn’t make it into the final exhibition.  This will be complemented by colour themed family activities.

The museum’s digital presence is also expanding with a series of five short films made with north east historian Dan Jackson, author of The Northumbrian: North-East England and Its People, A New History. Dan chose some of his favourite objects in the museum to tell stories about the north east people. These can be viewed via discoverymuseum.org.uk and the museum’s social media channels.