The World Stories gallery explores global culture through the eyes of young people.
The seven ‘World Stories’ were created in partnership with young adults and teenagers from Brighton & Hove and people with links to the places and cultures reflected in the World Art collections.
Each story explores how, in different places and in different ways, culture brings people together. These narratives demonstrate how culture defines who we are and helps to connect yesterday to today, yet is always changing and adapting.
The seven ‘World Stories’ are
• My Journey in Islam:From Brighton to Makka – curated by members of the Young Ummah, a group for young Muslims in Brighton & Hove, using personal items and film to explore the Five Pillars of Islam.
• Iranian Identity through words and art – historic tiles, intricately carved wooden pieces, and contemporary art works reveal the enduring importance of written words or ‘calligraphy’ in Iranian culture.
• 
Celebrating the Manau – this display looks at the role of the manau, a dance festival in northern Burma (Myanmar), in promoting the unity of the Kachin community, an ethnic nationality.
• Football in Brighton and Bamako – created by young people from Brighton & Hove and Bamako, Mali, about a shared love of football.
• Arctic Worlds – historic carved ivories, tools and equipment from northern Canada and Alaska, displayed alongside contemporary art works, reveal how life is changing for Indigenous Arctic communities.
• Objects for the Afterlife – our museum records suggest that the llama-skin bag and personal possessions in this display were found in ‘the grave of an Inca princess’. Can this be true?
• Making Malagan – carved wooden masks and sculptures reveal the shared history of the Nalik-speaking community of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
Gallery Trail
A World Stories: Young Voices gallery trail is available for families. It can either be collected at the museum entrance, or can be downloaded in advance of your visit.
Access
The Royal Pavilion & Museums’ Access Advisory Group supported museum staff and designers to create a gallery that is as inclusive and accessible as possible.
Colours and Contrasts
We have aimed for a design that is clean and uncluttered with good levels of contrast on all text, objects and gallery furniture.
Film and Sound with BSL In-Vision and Subtitles
All film in the World Stories gallery has BSL In-Vision and subtitles provided.
Transcripts
Transcripts for all sound and film can be found in the large print labels and transcript booklets at either end of the gallery.
Large Print Labels
Gallery text follows accessible print guidelines. Large print label texts and close-up pictures of objects are available in the large print labels and transcript booklets at either end of the gallery.
Lighting Levels
There is no natural light in the gallery. Many of the objects on display are made of natural materials. For conservation reasons light levels have to be kept low.
RNIB PenFriends
PenFriends offer audio-described orientation information for Blind and partially sighted visitors as well as information about key objects on display. Pick up a PenFriend from the museum information desk. PenFriends come with a simple graphic booklet with a page for each gallery display. Scan the dots in the booklet to listen to the information.
Find out more about the RNIB PenFriend.
Smartphone Content
Visitors can listen to audio recordings of young people talking about some of the objects on display in the gallery. The recordings come with BSL In-Vision. This content can be accessed by scanning QR codes in the gallery using a smartphone.
In order to do this a QR code reader must be installed on the phone. Many readers are available for free download from the App Store and Google Play.
Tactile Objects
Some objects in the gallery can be touched or tried on. These include a replica of an Iranian tile, a replica of a mask from New Ireland, a selection of Arctic materials and reproductions of Kachin traditional dress from Burma.
There are three outfits from Burma on open display. These are part of the permanent collection and, for conservation reasons, cannot be touched.
Where is it?
The World Stories gallery is on the ground floor of Brighton Museum, next to the 20th Century Art & Design gallery. On entering the museum via the foyer, visitors can step into the 20th Century Art & Design gallery and turn right into this gallery.
The gallery can also be accessed from the entrance from Brighton Dome. On entering the museum from the Dome, visitors can take the first right into the World Stories gallery.
Supporters
World Stories: Young Voices was the South East’s flagship museum project for the London 2012 Festival and part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
World Stories: Young Voices was supported by:
The James Henry Green Charitable Trust
The Garfield Weston Foundation
The David Perrin Bequest from the Rotary Club of Brighton
The British Museum Partnership UK
The Royal Pavilion & Museums Foundation
Downloadable Resources
- Download the World Stories Gallery Family Trail [PDF]
- Download the Large Print Labels and Transcripts booklet for the World Stories gallery [PDF]
Related content
- Learn more about the World Art collections
- Read posts about the World Stories gallery on our main blog
- World Art Tumblr
