New exhibition at Leeds City Museum celebrates what it was like to grow up in Leeds

A new display at Leeds City Museum, has brought together memories of The Beatles, Bowie, football and festivals, all celebrating growing up in Leeds.
A new display at Leeds City Museum celebrates what it was like to grow up in LeedsA new display at Leeds City Museum celebrates what it was like to grow up in Leeds
A new display at Leeds City Museum celebrates what it was like to grow up in Leeds

This exhibition, named 'Teenage Kicks', includes young history buffs bridging the generation gap by visiting older people at Age UK’s Arch Café, in order to compare notes on their different experiences of being a teen.

Leeds City Museum’s Preservative Party, who are all aged between 14-24, have used their own research along with items from the museum’s collection, in order to find out what life was like for young people from the 1950s right up until today.

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They discovered stories such as the night The Beatles played the old Leeds Odeon in 1963 and David Bowie’s show-stopping gig at the Leeds Rolarena in Kirkstall in 1973.

They also explored the three games Elland Road hosted during the memorable Euro 96 football tournament, when both France and Spain played at the home of Leeds United.

The research team also looked at the Leeds Festivals from the 90s and 2000s, which were held at Bramham Park and Temple Newsam, where global names like Oasis, Eminem and Guns N’ Roses played on the main stage.

Objects which feature in the display include a Leeds United ticket from their Premier League home clash against Manchester United in 1996, a roller skate from the old Leeds Rolarena on Kirkstall Road, and eye-catching photos which illustrate some of the important chapters in Leeds’s history.

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Leeds Museums and Galleries youth engagement officer, Esther Amis-Hughes, said: “It’s been an amazing experience for these young people, learning what life has been like for teenagers in Leeds over different generations and meeting people who knew what the city was like long before they were born”.

Amis-Hughes continues that “What’s become clear is that, whilst the activities and trends teenagers are into have very much changed and evolved over time, young people share a unique passion and enthusiasm for life that remains the same no matter what era they were born in”

Teenage Kicks can be found in Leeds City Museum’s community corridor and the museum is free to enter.

For more details, visit: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/leedscitymuseum/visitor-information