All set to take a step back in time

FANS of the “old McManus” in Dundee are in for a funfilled trip down memory lane as the museum puts the finishing touches on its new exhibition – The Street.

The brainchild of curator Gareth Jackson-Hunt, The Street will be a walk-through replica of a typical Dundee street through the ages, complete with all the nostalgic retailers of yesteryear such as Draffen’s department store, Potters’ shoe shop and the John O’ Groats bar.

And excitingly for lifelong visitors, the exhibition will bring back the much-loved, life-size shop and bar dioramas which stood in the lobby of the McManus from 1980 until its recent refurbishment.

“The whole premise behind this exhibit was to try and get the shop and the bar back out, which were firm favourites for everyone from the old

McManus,” said Gareth, who has been working on the project for almost three years.

“People wanted to see them. “But rather than just putting the shop and the bar back out, we came up with the idea of recreating a whole street.”

The exhibition will create a trip down memory lane for visiting families.

It is hoped that as well as stirring up fond memories for Dundonians who visited the museum’s Shop and Bar between the 1980s and late noughties, The Street will get families sharing stories about the different objects which will be on show in the various shopfront windows.

“You’re going to see things from the early Victorian era right through to the modern day,” said Gareth.

“So it’s like taking a walk down memory lane.

“You’re going to remember objects that you – or even your granny – might have seen as a child, or played with.

He added: “We’re hoping that people are going to see this recreation, The Street, and enjoy being there with their families.”

The Street is being built in the museum’s Courier Gallery, with Dundee Rep partnering to help design and build the immersive, life-size set.

Gareth welcomed the partnership, saying: “My sketches over lockdown were transferred to the Rep, and they’ve made it a reality.

“I think that to have two cultural institutions, The McManus and the Rep, working together to make something for the people of Dundee, is great.

“They’re building it as we speak.” A carpenter and set builder have been busy re-installing the much-loved original bar for the exhibition.

The Street will open on November 13 at The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum and will run until October 23 next year.

Carpenter Kristopher Smart installs the bar for The McManus’s latest exhibition recreating a typical Dundee street over the years.

Setting up The Street are Keiron Sweeney, Kristopher Smart and curator Gareth Jackson-Hunt. Bob and Mary Milne at the ’80s bar, centre.