Sophie Hollinshead
The populace of Nottinghamshire, who are old enough to remember, have been given the opportunity to contribute to an exhibition of the Festival of Britain, currently on display at the University Adult Education Centre, Shakespeare Street until 23 March 2007. The Exhibition opened with a lecture delivered by Sophie Hollinshead, Art Historian for the School of Education, who was also responsible for collating the material. Sophie said of her motivation; "It's important that we record people's first hand experiences of such significant cultural events. Being able to interview people who were actually at the Festival or took part in local activities helps us to create a true sense of the real impact of the Festival on people’s lives and will provide a valuable local archive for historians and researchers.
After a Radio Nottingham and Nottingham Evening Post appeal for personal experiences, Sophie was overwhelmed with the response she received. "Many people have been in touch with me about their memories of the Festival of Britain and I have been able to start compiling an archive of those reminiscences. I've been really impressed with the number of people who have loaned or donated goods for the exhibition". But this exhibition is not just a walk down memory lane " '50's design is enjoying a revival of popularity at present, and rightly so. The Festival of Britain was hugely influential in developing a clean, colourful, modern style that is still relevant to design today".