A £1 MILLION transformation of Jersey Museum’s permanent exhibition could help boost visitor numbers to the Island, the Jersey Heritage chief executive has suggested.
And Jon Carter said that a government-funded free-entry pilot scheme was already attracting more visitors to the site.
“We hope that, together with our exciting new exhibition, which acts as an introduction to further explore Jersey’s history across our visitor sites, this helps with efforts across the sector to boost visitor numbers,” said Mr Carter.
The new exhibition, called La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île, or “Being Jersey”, is due to be unveiled on Tuesday 10 September. It replaces 30-year-old displays and represents a different way of telling the story of the Island’s history, according to Jersey Heritage.
Louise Downey, the organisation’s director of curation, said: “Previously the display here, called The Story of Jersey, built in the early 1990s, was a fairly full chronology of the Island.
“What we realised is that there have been lots of stories that have changed since then, and so much more research done on the Island’s history that we needed to reflect those stories and the fact that there have been lots of developments elsewhere such as the opening of the Maritime Museum and new displays at Mont Orgueil Castle, La Hougue Bie and Hamptonne.”
The new exhibition focuses on key objects and the stories they tell. Highlights include a specially reconstructed heap of mammoth bones from the Neanderthal site at La Cotte de St Brelade, the 1924 suffrage bill passed by the States of Jersey, paintings by Romantic artist Jean Le Capelain, a wall of Islanders’ portraits taken from Occupation registration cards, landscape images by Victorian architect and photographer Thomas Sutton, which have not previously been displayed publicly, and original works by Surrealist artist Claude Cahun.
“History is always changing as we learn new things about our Island,” Ms Downie said. “People are coming up with new ideas about our past and it’s really important that we continue to share their latest research. Alternatively, we might find a completely new object and story that we didn’t previously know about, so we want to have the ability to change things in the future.”
The exhibition is divided into themes, designated by changes in the colour of the surroundings, looking at how Jersey acquired its unique identity. These include the part played by climate change when Jersey first became an island, its relationship with the British Crown, immigration and language, the struggles – such as the Battle of Jersey and the German Occupation – that have shaped its past, and the image of an exotic island with a history of attracting honeymooners and artists, as well as being the birthplace of famous socialite Lillie Langtry.
The Island’s traditional language of Jèrriais is visible throughout and appears in sayings – or ditons – and in Jèrriais translations for each of the interpretation panels.
“There is something for everyone in La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – D’s histouaithes dé not’Île, whether they are regular visitors to the museum or those unfamiliar with the Island’s incredible history and how it came to be the Island we know today,” Ms Downie said.
Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel will open the new exhibition tomorrow, Tuesday 10 September, at 5.30pm.
