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The Centre at the Warwick Words festival

On Saturday 7 November Rachel Moseley and Helen Wheatley gave a 'Teatime Talk' on 'The Story of Children's Television' exhibition at the Herbert Gallery. Helen gave an overview of the early history of children's television in Britain and the Centre's collaboration with the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, whilst Rachel previewed work from her new book Handmade Television: Stop-Frame Animation for Children in Britain, 1961-1974. They greatly enjoyed discussing people's memories of children's television with the audience and the lively discussion that followed about the importance of protecting children's culture at a time of BBC Charter renewal. The event took place at the Friends Meeting House in Warwick, as part of Warwick Words: Festival of Literature and the Spoken Word, and was very well attended and received.

Fri 13 Nov 2015, 10:00 | Tags: events, 2015

The Story of Children's Television, 1946 to the Present Day opened at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry

The exhibition The Story of Children's Television, 1946 to the Present Day opened at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry on the 22nd May 2015 and ran until the 15th of September. The exhibition formed part of the The Story of Children's Television from 1946 to Now project. Rachel Moseley and Helen Wheatley collaborated with curators Ali Wells and Huw Jones at the Herbert on the exhibition which traced the history of children’s television, bringing together seven decades of iconic objects, memorabilia, merchandise, clips and images. From puppetry to CGI and live shows to dramas and fantasy, the exhibition encouraged visitors to share their memories of children's TV. Rachel and Helen have worked with Dr. Amy Holdsworth of the University of Glasgow on a research project at the exhibition which looks at how children’s television culture is a privileged site of memory and nostalgia, and what the role of the museum is in producing narratives of and public engagement with media history. Following its opening stint at the Herbert in Coventry, the exhibition toured the UK until 2018.

Click here for a visual tour of the exhibition.

The exhibition was very successful, and attracted unprecedented crowds to the Herbert. BBC Breakfast's coverage of the exhibition can be found here.

The exhibition is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, BBC, Ragdoll Productions, ITV, Kaleidoscope and the Children’s Media Foundation.

Wed 16 Sep 2015, 10:00 | Tags: events, exhibition, 2015

The Centre holds the Story of Children's Television International Conference, July 6-7 2015

Accompanying the major exhibition ‘The Story of Children’s Television, 1946 to the Present Day’, this conference (organised by the Centre's Rachel Moseley and Helen Wheatley, and Amy Holdsworth of the University of Glasgow) combined discussion of the history of children’s programming with analysis and reflection on the current landscape of children’s television and its future. Papers at the conference acknowledged and analysed the significance of children’s programming in the broader context of television production, discussed its production as both a creative process and a business enterprise, and reflected on the place of children’s television in the broader history of the medium. Panels and papers also discussed the genre in relation to notions of cultural heritage, collective remembering and nostalgia, and considered the impact of change on the production and circulation of children’s television, and viewing practices and the particular issues raised by studying the child viewer. Our keynote speakers were Dafna Lemish (Southern Illinois University) and Karen Lury (University of Glasgow). Members of our industry round table were: Sara Harkins (Head of Children's, BBC Scotland), Jenny Buckland (Australian Children's Media Foundation), Estelle Hughes (Roobydoo Media), and Jenny Buckland (Children's Media Foundation).

Wed 08 Jul 2015, 10:00 | Tags: events, conference, 2015