The Museum of British Folklore (MoBF) is the first organisation exclusively dedicated to collecting and displaying the folk culture of Britain.
Established in 2009, we have been curating and producing exhibitions across England: from Compton Verney in Warwickshire, to the Towner Gallery, Eastbourne and from the Whitechapel Gallery, London to the Weald and Downland in West Sussex.
We have no permanent home for the museum and most of the time, the collection is held in storage, so we were thrilled when Ben Edge invited us to show some of the collection alongside his painting series, 'Frontline Folklore', which explores the seasonal customs of England.
We are planning an exciting collaboration to produce the exhibition 'Ritual Britain' which has been as imagined as a seasonal journey through the customs of the British Isles.
The exhibition will be held at the Crypt, Euston - an atmospheric venue which is very close to Euston station and Central London. For people who are unable to visit the exhibition in person, we are producing an exhibition catalogue, featuring Ben Edge's paintings and photographs of the museum objects.
We will also develop a series of talks, including a panel discussion with Zakia Sewell (Radio 4, 'My Albion') and an interview with Alex Merry of all women's morris dancing group, Boss Morris to talk about their approach to tradition.
We need to raise funds to cover exhibition production costs (transportation and fabrication) and the exhibition publication (photography and print costs). We also need to cover expenses for our speakers and film showings.
'Ritual Britain' promises to be a timely look at these collective seasonal celebrations which have been much missed over the past year!
Please help us to realise this exciting project and share our collection with a wider public.