The Museum of 2020 is a campaign launched by charity The Young Foundation to ask the public to share a photograph of an object that sums up 2020 for them. The selection includes everything from baked goods, to a favourite bench, a broken chair to a glitterball, and much more.
Anyone can participate in the project simply by sharing their image on social media, using the hashtag #Museumof2020 and explaining why that object sums up 2020 for them. The Young Foundation will collate these for a virtual exhibition in 2021 that explores our changing relationship with 'stuff' and how we come to understand our collective experiences through objects, rather than discussion.
Helen Goulden, CEO at The Young Foundation, comments:
“2020 has been a year of immense upheaval, loss and change for everyone and this has changed the things and objects we value. It has meant us needing and relying on things that we wouldn’t have imagined before Covid-19 came along. Masks are the most obvious example of this. But we know that there are thousands of other objects which have taken on a new meaning for people in 2020. Those objects will be different, because of people’s different and unequal experiences of the pandemic - and we’d love you to share yours!. What will you put in the Museum of 2020?”
To get involved, simply upload your photograph of the object that will always remind you of 2020 and share it on Twitter using the hashtag #Museumof2020. Follow the live submissions via the hashtag.
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For The Young Foundation’s Museum of 2020 by Siân Whyte: “I'm submitting my first ever pair of slippers... I've worn them everyday since March, in a year where I've spent much more time enjoying (and also at times enduring) time at home. Home comforts I never thought I'd wear in work meetings!” Photo: Sian Whyte
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Michelle Graabek’s book sanitiser donation to The Young Foundation’s campaign: “I feel like the book sterilisers our university library bought are iconic COVID-19 contributions to #Museumof2020... so grateful for all their efforts to safely keep our library going!” Photo: Michelle Graabek
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“This tree on a regular walk of mine is my object of 2020. This year someone put a swing up from its branches, teenage lovers nestled under its shad.” - Nominated for The Young Foundation’s Museum of 2020 by K England Photo: K England
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Donated to The Young Foundation’s Museum of 2020 by Jillian Pitt: “This pair of wellies have kept my spirits up during this year. I have happily trudged through mud and watched the seasons change.” Photo: Jillian Pitt