Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Museum- Free Open Days

16 Sep 2023 - 17 Sep 2023

Catalyst

Come and visit a chemical industry archive with a twist! Discover our quest to find Portraits of an Industry, view rarely seen poetry, stories, art, drama and listen to music from our archives!

Catalyst will be open free of charge on 16th and 17th September as part of the National Heritage Open Days campaign.

Join our quest to track down some special portraits! In the 1940s ICI commissioned a collection of 56 portraits painted by prominent British artists. These portraits were of workers in 26 different ICI factories across the UK and copies of each were made into a book entitled Portraits of an Industry. The whereabouts of only 11 portraits are currently known including three from our archives so the quest continues. Take a look at our display and see if you recognize a portrait that may be hanging in your Grandma’s house!