New exhibition celebrates the history of British amusement arcades

Tales from the Arcade offers insights into one of Britain’s most-loved activities of the past decade. On display is Arcade Britania, the work of Alan Meades, Professor of Games Design at Canterbury Christ Church University, and photographs of arcades taken by George Wilson in the early 1980s. In addition to the exhibition and a public talk on the history of arcades in Southeast England, Will Hill, Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design ran an interactive comic workshop. 

Arcade Britannia, is a digital recreation of two 1980s arcades, Manhattan Amusements and Pier Arcade in Herne Bay. It is a celebration of British amusement arcades and their central roles in seaside communities. For over a hundred years, these spaces have delighted their visitors, and emerged as important regional economic, social, and cultural hubs. The digital arcade can be freely explored and includes audio narration about the machines, the events, and is enhanced by the stories of people who worked and played there. 

Professor Meades has written a comprehensive, entertaining book on British arcades, called Arcade Britannia investigating their long history and their place in British society. It is available at all good bookshops.

His work was also a centrepiece featured at the London Design Biennale exhibition, which included an interactive digital recreation of two 1980s British arcades. The exhibition was curated by Dr Katie McGown, Head of Arts and Culture at the University, with the assistance of staff and students from the Games Design course.

This project is a continuation of Canterbury Christ Church University’s coastal communities research and including Rob Ball’s arcade photography and Amusement Arcade Carpet book that was featured at London Design Biennale and is now part of the Martin Parr collection.

Tales from the Arcade features photographs by George Wilson who studied Documentary Photography at Newport University under David Hurn. George documented Cain’s Amusements in Herne Bay in 1981 and 1982, when he was a bingo caller at the arcade. Wilson’s photographs remain the only known body of documentary photographs from British amusement arcades. These were first exhibited in the Daphne Oram Gallery at the University, and many images are held at the British Culture Archive.

The exhibition is open from 10am to 4pm (Monday to Saturday) until Thursday 29 August at Beach Creative, Herne Bay.

Tales from the Arcade is part of a wider project funded by Canterbury City Council UKSPF Fund and Beach Creative CIC working in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University.