84/85 – The Longest Year

Wed 06 Mar 2024 - Mon 03 Mar 2025

09:45 - 16:00

National Coal Mining Museum

Free

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Free event Family friendly

Exhibition Heritage Our Year

About

84/85 – The Longest Year is a yearlong exhibition and programme of events, held at the National Coal Mining Museum for England. Opening on 6 March 2024, it marks the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike.

This exhibition considers the strike through memories and stories of miners and their families. Uniquely positioned at a former working colliery, the Museum addresses the broader picture of the strike and gives a voice to those who experienced it.

Shaped by the memories and objects shared through a public call-out and our existing collection, the exhibition looks at three different points of view:

Those who stayed out on strike for the whole year

Those who returned to work early

Those who did not strike

UPCOMING EVENTS

Throughout the year dig deeper into key experiences and elements of the strike with workshops, performances, film screenings, discussions and more.

Poetry Workshops and Coal Anthology

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES OF 84/85

We are looking for people to share their memories of the strike, whether this is as a mineworker, relative of a miner or someone who lived within the mining communities during 1984/85. To find out more, and to submit your memories, volunteer to be interviewed or donate an object, click here.