FERRANTI’S DESK
Place a letter on Ferranti’s desk and watch as it comes to life
![© Jason Lock Photography for the Museum of Science and Industry](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5085a2f1e4b022321f5f68bc/1431354326143-AFPW6MYH72AN3XDMUUH0/JL_picture_43.jpg)
© Jason Lock Photography for the Museum of Science and Industry
We were commissioned by the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester to create an interactive desk as part of their exhibition, The Innovation Race: Manchester's Makers Join the First World War.
Through the art of letter writing, Sebastian Ferranti and three other Manchester voices reveal their daily routines during the First World War.
“… a superb “Story Juke Box” in the middle of the small room tells the surprisingly personal stories of the people who mass produced shells in Manchester’s factories.”
The Innovation Race Exhibition
Marking the 100th anniversary of the Ministry of Munitions, The Innovation Race unearths hidden stories of innovation, invention and ingenuity that helped to secure victory on the Western Front.
The family friendly exhibition - complete with hands-on gadgets and creation stations - details the Shell Crisis of 1915 and Lloyd George's subsequent appeal to the city's workers, scientists and engineers to support the war effort.
From shell production and sprinkler systems, to Ferranti fuzes and aerial cameras, Manchester's makers waged war from the shop floor and turned their factories into weapons of mass production. Women started to work in factories for the first time, changing the fabric of society forever.
Collaborators
Jo Lathwood - fabricator
David Graham, Malcolm Hamilton, Katie Belshaw, Mary Eddowes - Voice Over
Latest Projects
Interactive projection wall for Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery, at The National Railway Museum
A multi-sensory dining experience designed for older adults with barriers to accessing cultural activities
Creative workshops inviting people to explore their hopes and dreams for a speculative new city
Installation celebrating LGBTQ+ heritage embedded in the rich collections at RAMM, Exeter
Interactive website and exhibition addressing perpetrator perspectives in contemporary Nazi camp memorials
Designing new diary formats that help promote positive mental health and wellbeing
Explore the Barbican Centre archive through oral histories and projected animations
Touring Sound Booth presenting a collection of women’s contemporary stories of activism
Interactive table that plays a selection of stories relating to the Partition of India