Barnsley Serves the World
9th March 2022
An Exciting New Exhibition at Experience Barnsley
When you think of Wimbledon, Barnsley doesn’t immediately spring to mind, but did you know that for over 50 years, workers at the Slazenger factory in Barnsley made the tennis balls used at the tournament by the likes of Bjorn Borg, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Rod Laver?
In recognition of their importance to Barnsley, a new exhibition at Experience Barnsley is set to bring the former Slazenger employees centre-court. The retro-inspired sporting exhibition focusses on the factory during the height of production in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The fun and interactive exhibition includes old photographs and quotes from workers, a documentary by Barnsley filmmaker James Lockie and some wacky installations involving tennis balls.
At the launch day on Saturday 9th April, the Experience Barnsley team will be serving up some Wimbledon inspired refreshments such as Pimm’s and lemonade and strawberries and cream. Ian McMillan will be performing his poetry and you may spot a few tennis star lookalikes walking around the museum.
The exhibition opens Saturday 9th April and runs until Saturday 8th October 2022.
