“…a unique opportunity for the Museum of Lancashire to develop an exciting new relationship with the local Sikh community.” – Kate Eggleston-Wirtz

The Museum of Lancashire hosted the Sikh fortress turban, a spotlight loan from the British Museum, between November 2014 and February 2015. This offered a unique opportunity for the Museum of Lancashire to develop an exciting new relationship with the local Sikh community. I was brought in as an artist to facilitate creative work about place and identity with the community and as a creative consultant for the community gallery area of the display.

As a collective we focused on ‘home’ whereby people of diverse age groups created their own individual house. I was also invited to photograph two Nagar Kirtan events that took place in Preston. This work, and further consultation with the local Sikh community members culminated in constructing my own creative response, an interactive educational artwork about the Sikh religion using a dollhouse as a symbol of a Gurdwara (Sikh temple).

The artwork was displayed alongside the community’s artwork during the exhibition. It has been used in educational settings and proven to be an effective learning source. It will continue to be offered in the future to raise awareness about Sikhism. It was a privilege to work on this project.

Kate Eggleston-Wirtz, freelance artist