Knowledge is Power, the current exhibition at the Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts, describes the history of the pioneering and impactful courses of Adult Education offered by the University of Nottingham during the twentieth century…
When the University College of Nottingham established its Department of Adult Education in the 1920s it was a world first, and a move that would pave the way for the East Midlands to become an important centre for adult learning. More importantly, for the first time, everyday people had the opportunity to revisit their education.
Over the next decades, the department expanded and diversified, offering a huge range of courses and opportunities to people across the East Midlands and beyond - even sending staff to work at Kikuyu College of Adult Studies in Kenya throughout the 1960s.
Within the space provided by the Weston Gallery, the exhibition displays a wide range of material. With original documents from the university archives, including the papers of influential academic and left-wing politician Ken Coates, a collection of historic photographs, and original artwork by the late Marjorie Arnfield, the displays inform the visitor whilst visually developing a sense of continuity and progress.
With this diverse array of objects, Knowledge Is Power leads visitors through the story of an influential, if sometimes controversial, department
As you follow the chronologically-ordered displays around the central column, visitors witness the development of the department and its efforts across its long years of operation; a process illustrated by contemporary advertising, newspaper cuttings and pamphlets. With this diverse array of objects, Knowledge Is Power leads visitors through the story of an influential, if sometimes controversial, department and its students.
"This exhibition showcases how adult education enriches the lives and culture of ordinary – and extraordinary – people. It also demonstrates how education helps to build a fairer and more democratic society." - Professor John Holford, Curator and Robert Peers Professor of Adult Education, speaking on the opening of the exhibition
The exhibition argues that adult education was "an agent of change and social progress". It demonstrates how, with no entry requirements, and classes offered in locations such as workplaces as well as traditional settings, learning was made more accessible to ordinary people. The courses offered by the department are described, with classes ranging from Archaeology to Economics, and initiatives such as the New Opportunities for Women 1982-83, and courses for Miner Students from pits in the East Midlands. The exhibition makes a strong case in favour of adult education and its ability to empower people through education.
Knowledge is Power demonstrates the importance of accessible opportunities for everyday people
One major theme is the lasting impact of these classes, with many students going on to pursue careers or education relating to their experience. Many staff and students became active in the local and national labour movement, and played influential roles in worker organisations and unions, an element of the exhibition visitors may find particularly interesting considering the current waves of strike action across the UK.
Knowledge is Power demonstrates the importance of accessible opportunities for everyday people. The exhibition allows the visitor a glimpse into the history of a department that, throughout the twentieth century, worked to bring open education to the people of the East Midlands and beyond, and of how those people used such opportunities to empower themselves and those around them.
Knowledge Is Power will be running until Sunday 12 March at the Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts
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