Welcome to real-life Quadrophenia! A record breaking project which contributed £1.75M to the local economy
This unique project celebrated the remarkable story of the stylish 1960s youth sub-culture and the 40th anniversary of the release of the cult Mod film, Quadrophenia. The exhibition received funding from Heritage Lottery Fund and BID Leicester whilst working in partnership with Leicester City Council and a wide range of sponsors, in both cash and kind.
Mods: Shaping A Generation was led by Soft Touch Arts, and curated, designed, and delivered in partnership with Arch Creative & Shaun Knapp who are now founder directors of Social Gallery. The project featured a major three-month exhibition at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery that told the story of the Mods through the eyes of those that were there. The exhibition received a record attendance for a spring start, was covered by the national press and won a tourism award for bringing £1.75M into the local economy.
The exhibition included scooters, ephemera, and original 1960s clothing provided by stylist and curator Roger K Burton as seen in the film Quadrophenia. There were also eye witness accounts and photographs from Leicester and Nottingham Mods, most of which had never been seen or heard before. The organisers also teamed up with Alan Fletcher, author of the novel Quadrophenia, and story consultant on the film.
The exhibition turned into a social hub, a meeting point for friends, old and new, to regularly meet up. It appealed to a wide demographic, not only Mod enthusiasts, but a range of audiences, young and old. Many people visited at least twice, with some visitors coming back several times.
It also became an unforgettable audio-visual experience, with many visitors dancing around the gallery, and bursting into tears as they were taken on a trip down memory lane. The ‘sound and vision’ element of the exhibition created one of the most emotionally engaging exhibitions staff at the museum had seen, and visitors were encouraged to take as many photos as possible – changing people’s perceptions of museums being stuffy, and allowing sharing across all social media platforms.
Local young people’s charity Soft Touch Arts, who received funding and managed this ground-breaking intergenerational project developed a programme of Mod inspired creative activities, engaging with their young people, schools and colleges. Soft Touch Arts involved almost 100 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, giving them the opportunity to meet the older generation and participate in creating an ‘inspired by’ Mod culture exhibition entitled ‘Modified’ at Soft Touch Arts which ran alongside the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery exhibition.
What started as a small celebration of Mod culture developed into an ambitious exhibition and festival, captured the imagination of cultural leaders, organisations and a large Mod fan base in Leicester, Nottingham and across the UK. The exhibition turned into a social hub, a meeting point for friends, old and new, to regularly meet up, and the project has connected people, creating lasting positive change for our communities.
Mods: Shaping A Generation was led by Soft Touch Arts, and curated, designed and delivered in partnership with Arch Creative & Shaun Knapp. The project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England with sponsorship from BID Leicester and in-kind support from Leicester Museums & Art Gallery.
