Some of you, by now, would have visited the Sussex Modernism Exhibition at The Towner and seen the 2 central panels of the 14 panelled International Workers Mural. This 89 foot mural was first displayed at the 1976 opening of the Transport and General Workers Union, Workers Recuperation Hotel (now The View, a Unite the Union Hotel for tourism). The mural was/is a celebration of the achievements of unions for improving the lives of workers. The mural was removed during the 2014 renovations. It is in storage at the Birmingham Unite Office. This is the first time any of the panels have been on public display since then, so special thanks go to the curator, Dr Hope Wolf, and to The Towner.
There will be panel discussion on 6th September hosted by the exhibition curator, Dr Hope Wolf. She has invited 3 contributors to the discussion including someone to speak about the mural. So, if you are interested in finding out more about the mural and its tribute to trade unionism, then all are welcome to join us. It is a ticketed event, but hopefully some of you will be able to come along.
The above ‘The War’ mural panel is a fascinating one. It includes the pre WW2 years with a fighter in the Spanish Civil (1936-39) and Solidarity with Spain banner. It shows the Jarrow Hunger March of 1936, a powerful symbol of working-class struggle and resilience during the Great Depression. The panel then leads us through to the post war years with the associated improvements for workers, fought for by the labour movement.
NOTE The above panel, ‘The War’ comes immediately before the 2 central panels that are exhibited at Sussex Modernism. Peoples Eastbourne would love for the full mural to be on exhibition at some future date. Our Mural campaign has gone through various twists and turns, with hopes raised and later dashed etc. Perhaps one day? Imagine it?