Showtown, Blackpool’s award-winning museum, presented Through Our Eyes: Little People Beyond the Circus, a powerful community-led temporary exhibition that ran from 12 February to 31 May 2026.
The exhibition explored the history of little people in Blackpool, placing their lived experiences and perspectives at the centre of the story. Developed through a six-month co-production project with people of short stature and their families, the exhibition drew on Showtown’s internationally significant Blackpool Tower Circus Collection alongside new community-led research to reframe how these histories are told.
Through Our Eyes went beyond traditional museum interpretation. The gallery was designed at the height of little people, with display cases, interactives and sightlines lowered to challenge assumptions about accessibility and highlight how the world is typically built for people of average height. By physically changing the environment, the exhibition invited average-height visitors to consider the barriers and inaccessibility that little people can experience in everyday spaces.
The project created a safe and respectful space in which to explore complex and sensitive historical narratives surrounding exploitation, identity and representation. Content notices were displayed throughout the exhibition, and visitors were encouraged to engage with members of the Showtown team if they wished to discuss the themes explored.
The following videos were filmed during the community group's visit to Blackpool during the development of the exhibition. The group felt it was important to highlight the history behind the exhibition, as well as share their reasons for getting involved in this project and their hopes for what it could achieve.
Please note, the visual elements of both videos feature language used in their historic context which viewers may find offensive or upsetting. We encourage you to exercise care and take breaks when watching as needed.
This video features the project staff and explores how this project came out of material in Blackpool's collections. It explains why spotlighting these stories is important, and how history connects to the stereotypes and negativity that little people still experience on a day to day basis.
Through Our Eyes will also result in a toolkit co-created by Showtown and the community group which will help other museums and archives reframe their collections. The toolkit specifically explores the research and learning of this project in regards to collections featuring little people, but could be adapted for working with any protected characteristic community group.
This toolkit is being developed with aim of being published in summer 2026. The toolkit will officially launch at the Group for Education in Museums Conference in September 2026 with a workshop designed to build sector confidence.
For further information, please contact Showtown's exhibitions team via info@showtownblackpool.co.uk