Through Our Eyes

Showtown, Blackpool’s award-winning museum, is proud to announce a powerful new community-led temporary exhibition, Through Our Eyes: Little People Beyond the Circus, opening on 12 February and running until 12 April 2026.

This immersive exhibition explores the history of little people in Blackpool, placing their lived experience 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 draws on Showtown’s internationally significant Blackpool Tower Circus Collection and new community-led research to reframe how these histories are told.

Through Our Eyes goes beyond traditional museum interpretation. The gallery has been designed at the height of little people, with display cases, interactives and sightlines lowered to challenge assumptions about accessibility and to highlight how the world is usually built for people of average height. By physically changing the environment, the exhibition invites average height visitors to consider the inaccessibility of everyday spaces for little people.

The project creates a safe and respectful space to explore complex and sensitive historical narratives around exploitation, identity, and representation. Advance content notices are displayed throughout the exhibition, and visitors are encouraged to speak to any member of the Showtown team for guidance or support.