PCT100 Creators

We are delighted to announce that the Powell-Cotton Trust has been successful in securing a National Lottery Project Grant from Arts Council England to deliver community-focused activities marking the 100th anniversary of the Trust.

The PCT100 Creators project will invite visitors to create responses to the museum, house, and gardens, and to its collections and stories, through hands-on participatory activities.

Our team of experts and curators will unearth unseen, unfamiliar or rare items from our extensive material culture and natural history collections. Elsewhere, lesser-known stories about family life at Quex House will be revealed; our grounds unearthed and explored.  Join us at one of their talks or tours throughout the summer months to learn more.

Artist-led workshops will help participants engage their imagination and creativity, with activities linked to our collections – such as Adinkra printing inspired by West Africa, bead sewing inspired by our Zulu collections, and poetry and creative writing linked to the Powell-Cotton archives.  These will help people to bring their own unique perspectives to our objects and the collections.

Throughout these drop-in days across June through to September 2026, visitors will create their own responses to the collection and the stories, with the final artworks coming together to form a community-created temporary exhibition, on display at the Powell-Cotton Museum in October 2026.

If you can’t make it to us, then the project can bring the Museum to your local library.  Our ‘Museum on Tour’ days, in partnership with Kent County Council Libraries, will be an opportunity for people to take part in object handling sessions alongside ethical storytelling and craft activities.

Sarah Corn, CEO of the Powell-Cotton Trust, stated: “Whilst we hold extraordinary collections with a powerful legacy, many visitors remain unaware of the museum’s purpose, the origins of its collections, or the stories that connect local and global heritage.  This project enables us to share more about some of the lesser known parts of the Museum, House and Garden’s history, to spark conversations, to inspire creativity and to help connect us with our local community.”

This project complements many other planned activities taking place this year.

Learn more about our centenary celebrations

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