An East London neighbourhood thought they were getting a museum celebrating women's history. Instead, they're getting a Jack the Ripper Museum exploring the legacy of the 19th century murderer.
CBC News ·
One of a series of images from the Illustrated London News for Oct. 13, 1888, carrying the overall caption, 'With the Vigilance Committee in the East End.' This specific image is entitled 'A Suspicious Character.' (Illustrated London News, Oct. 13, 1888)
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There's a new museum set to open in London but local residents are not impressed.
The permit application listed the project as a "women's history museum." But in a controversial move, the East London neighbourhood has learned they are getting a museum named after the horrific 19th century Jack the Ripper murders.
Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe is the mastermind behind the project.
"As we started to curate the exhibition at the museum we realized that actually a really interesting angle to tell this story from was to look at Jack the Ripper... to look at it through the eyes of the women in the East End of London," Palmer-Edgecumbe tells As It Happens guest host Laura Lynch.
Good intentions aside, given the heinous nature of the Jack the Ripper murders, the museum is a tough sell for local residents. They expected a museum exploring women's history and the suffragette movement.
"I don't think we've deceived anyone," Palmer-Edgecumbe reasons when challenged, adding "what we are doing is looking at the social context of that period...we're not actually creating a museum...that's glamorizing Jack the Ripper or glamorizing murder...it's not some kind of gore fest...it's a very serious museum that's looking at the social history of women in the East End of London."
Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe, founder of Jack The Ripper Museum (Jack The Ripper Museum) The museum intends to use Jack the Ripper as a means to examine the abject poverty and living conditions of the time. Some residents view this choice as a sensational marketing strategy to draw in tourists.
Palmer-Edgecumbe argues, "As George Bernard Shaw said, 'Jack the Ripper did more to shine the light on the social conditions of the East End than any other campaigner at the time' and what we're doing is taking that same vehicle."
Map for Jack The Ripper Museum (Jack The Ripper Museum) The museum is open to the public next week. Palmer-Edgecumbe is looking forward to the date as an opportunity to clear up any confusion over his objectives and start a well-needed dialogue with local residents.
"I'm very upset that we've upset some local residents...I think that when they do see what we're doing a lot of their fears and anxieties will be alleviated."
