New creative project, Sculpting the Community launched
Sculpting the Community is an ambitious new project led by the National Coal Mining Museum, in Wakefield, that celebrates collaboration and creativity, placing communities at its heart. It will culminate in a stunning new exhibition that will be displayed across the country in Wakefield and Barnsley in 2026 and Bishop Auckland in 2027.
The project, which has been made possible thanks to players of the National Lottery through funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme, will deliver high-quality visual art experiences for schools and community groups, with a particular focus on those connected to mining heritage.
At the core of the project is My Village by Betty Miller, a stunning piece of artwork comprising 32 bronze sculptures that vividly depicts life in the mining village of Royston, where Miller grew up. This unique piece, which sets the scene of a typical Yorkshire street in great detail, will serve as the inspiration for a programme of artist-led community workshops. These workshops will encourage local people from Wakefield and Barnsley to create, connect, and share their stories of their own lives and places where they live.
Working in partnership with artists Lenny and Whale, the National Coal Mining Museum will co-create the exhibition which will include handmade and digital artworks. The free exhibition will be on display from Friday, 23 October until Sunday, 24 January 2027.
Through exciting and dynamic workshops in schools and community settings, people will explore themes of heritage, identity, and creativity, making artwork of their own. This will result in a vibrant touring exhibition and new works for the museum’s collection.
Sculpting the Community will tour across venues, including the host Museum National Coal Mining Museum for England (NCMME), Royston Library in Barnsley, and the Mining Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland, bringing art to spaces that resonate deeply with the stories being told.
An important part of the project is a commitment to amplifying female voices within coal mining history. Coinciding with the centenary of Betty Miller’s birth in 1926, who was inspired by other female artists such as Barbara Hepworth, the National Coal Mining Museum will exhibit My Village in its entirety for the first time in over twenty years, alongside newly commissioned works that reimagine Miller’s vision through a modern lens.
Betty, a talented sculptor, ceramist, and teacher from Royston, earned her sculpture and modelling diploma with honours at Borough Polytechnic before specialising in ceramics and embroidered design at Goldsmiths’ College. Her career spanned teaching in state and private schools, lecturing in ceramics at Hastings College of Further Education, and serving as artist-in-residence at Perth College of Art and Clairmont College of Art in Western Australia. Coming from a creative family, her father a local wedding photographer and her sister an artist, Betty’s artistic legacy reflects a lifelong dedication to craft and education.
Through Sculpting the Community, the museum will encourage expression and wellbeing through art as well as sharing the rich history of coal mining through stories and its art collections.
Lynn Dunning, CEO National Coal Mining Museum said: “The Museum has an outstanding art collection that tells the important history of coal mining in many ways. This project is a wonderful way to tell that story while celebrating the talent and imagination of artist Betty Miller in the centenary of her birth. Her sculptures are a wonder to be seen with so much detail and really captures the spirit of a 1950s mining community. For others to be inspired to learn and create is a wonderful way to celebrate the work of Betty and the many other women artists who were inspired by coal mining.”
Artists, Lenny and Whale said: “We look forward to co-creating new artworks inspired by the charming characters in ‘My Village’ by Betty Miller for a vibrant exhibition that celebrates Betty’s work, community and collaboration.”
Anne Sutherland, Mining Art Gallery Curator, said: “Individual sculptures from Betty Miller’s My Village collection proved extremely popular with our visitors when we borrowed them from the National Coal Mining Museum previously. We are delighted to have the opportunity to present the collection in full, in what will be the first exhibition in the Mining Art Gallery devoted to a woman artist.”