CURATORS at Blackburn Museum are trying something new with one of their well-known exhibition spaces to celebrate their 150th anniversary.

Members of the Creative Collective, established during last year's National Festival of Making, have taken a significant hand in reimagining what the Hart Gallery can offer.

And the first fruits of the labours of collective members Steve Slack, Lydia McCaig, Devon Rea and Sam Gorman are now on show.

A Blackburn Museum spokesman said: "During our roof renovations we decanted our galleries to keep the collection safe.

"With the space empty for the first time since the early 2000s it gave us the chance for a fresh coat of paint and time to think about how this gallery will look in the future.

"We decided to spend the next year experimenting with our exhibitions and collections in there. CHANGE [of Hart] gives us an opportunity to look at things differently. More voices. Same objects. New stories."

One new exhibit delves into the museum's archives to present '150 years in 150 objects' with everything from a Roman bust to a scimitar, cotton bobbins, a miniature mangle and Victorian handcuffs assembled in one case.

The spokesman added: "The museum has collected many objects from the mundane to the extraordinary since 1874. The things we collect has changed over the years and at the last count we have more than 30,000 items in our collection.

"So to celebrate our 150th birthday and this new gallery we filled this case with 150 of those objects. Sounds simple but with so many fabulous things, it was a difficult choice.

"We decided to display this case with no labels, instead inviting visitors to look closely and see what they spot or recognise."

Museum officials say they are keen to secure feedback on the gallery's new direction.

Nearby is also the Auto Portrait Photo Wall, a wide-ranging project created by the Obscura Collective, also to mark the 150th anniversary.

Using a 70-year-old large format camera, people were encouraged to pose for their own 'auto-portrait' and then taken through the developing process with a pop-up darkroom space.

Each portrait is displayed in negative - with a QR code nearby to see the developed print and other versions.