Knowledge is Power
This exhibition ran from Thursday 27 October until Sunday 12 March 2023, at the Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts.
The University of Nottingham was a pioneer in providing education for working class adults. It was here, in 1920, that the first department of adult education in Britain was established, followed by the appointment of the first professor of adult education, Robert Peers, in 1922.
Over the next 70 years, the Adult Education Department worked with unions, employers, local councils and voluntary organisations, offering courses across the East Midlands. Many of its students and staff were leading figures in the labour movement locally and nationally.
The department also shaped the region in the development of local historical, archaeological and geological societies.
Adult education classes and students provided the core for trade union organisation in many industries. Students and former students became leading figures in local and national politics, as councillors and MPs.
Drawing on the records of the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), University College Nottingham, the papers of Ken Coates and many others, this exhibition showcases how adult education enriches the lives and culture of ordinary – and extraordinary – people, and helps build a fairer and more democratic society.
In this online version of the exhibition you can read a selection of the exhibition boards and find out more about the exhibition content.
Knowledge is Power: Class, Community and Adult Education was jointly curated by Professor John Holford and Manuscripts and Special Collections.
On 25 February 2023 writers attended a writing workshop inspired by the Knowledge is Power exhibition, organised in association with The Writer Highway and Five Leaves.
You can read their excellent work here: Writing Knowledge is Power
Many thanks to Cathy Grindrod at The Writer Highway and Pippa Hennessy at Five Leaves Bookshop & Publications
Exhibition themes
Further Research
Items from our collections are available to consult in the Manuscripts and Special Collections reading room on King's Meadow Campus.
Links to our catalogues, and specific collections relating to the exhibition can be found below.
Films: Watch our series of films about items which feature in the exhibition
Co-curator Dr Rebecca Moore discusses work by artist and adult education tutor, Marjorie Arnfield.
Co-curator Dr Rebecca Moore presents material relating to Ken Coates and Bill Silburn's St Ann's Study.
Co-curator Professor John Holford presents an introduction to the Knowledge is Power exhibition.
From the blog
Read our blogs and guest blogs about adult education
Adult Education Archives
Helena Souza Lima reflects on her work experience placement working with material from the archives
Go to the blog
One hundred years on: New types of University and new possibilities for lifelong education?
Dr Iain Jones reflects on a century of Adult Education
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Experiencing Adult Education at Nottingham
Professor Mark Gilman shares his experiences of adult education
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Adult Education and Workers’ Control
Tony Simpson, from the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation and Spokesman Books discusses the exhibition
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A grand day out from Rochdale to Nottingham via Aachen: to Know Power
Helen Chicot, Reform and Prevention Lead at Rochdale Borough Council, writes about her group visit to the exhibition.
Go to the blog
Events
Programme of talks and film screenings coming up at the Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts. Recordings of some of the talks will be available after the exhibition closes
Adult Education and the Left: Culture, Democracy, and Labour
Tuesday 31 January, 1-2pm
Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts
Professor John Holford reflects on how adult education has shaped British politics and culture – and why we need it even more today.
Adult Education and the University of Nottingham
Tuesday 8 November, 1-2pm
Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts
Nottingham pioneered the education of adults from the 1870s onwards. John Beckett, Emeritus Professor and historian of the University, looks at how adult education emerged as a separate field after WWI and flourished for 80 years, before going into decline in the 1990s.
Film screening: St Ann's (U)
Friday 2 December, 7pm (90min)
Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts
A chance to see Stephen Frear’s 1969 documentary about daily life in St Ann’s, Nottingham, shortly before its so-called “slum clearance”. The film is based on research by Ken Coates, Bill Silburn and a University of Nottingham/WEA adult education class. A panel discussion will follow the screening. With thanks to the BFI National TV Archive.
Learning Through Adversity: Educating Adults in Post-Pandemic Worlds
Thursday 24 November, 1-2pm
Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts
Professor Sarah Speight discusses education affected by crisis between 1922 and 2022, in the aftermath of world wars, global pandemics and environmental change. She considers how adult education reshaped itself to serve its constituents through the darkest of times – and helps us face today’s challenges.
Film screening: Portrait of a Miner and Band Fever (15)
Thursday 9 March, 7pm (85min)
Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts
A unique opportunity to see two short films made by the National Coal Board about Nottinghamshire miners and their communities: Portrait of a Miner (1966), shot at Thoresby Colliery, while Band Fever (1978) focuses on a juvenile jazz band competition in Mansfield. A panel discussion on adult education, trade unions and Nottinghamshire’s mining communities will follow the screening.
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