Forty Farms

May 2024 – February 2025

Our annual exhibition for 2024 in the William Bone Building presented the captivating photography of British Life Photographer of the Year, and Cumbrian farmer Amy Bateman.

This exhibition offered a unique insight into the everyday lives, fears and hopes of 40 extraordinary farmers through photography, products, film and words to create an immersive experience.

Over a year, Amy captured the lives and stories of a wide variety of people farming in this breathtaking landscape. From isolated farmsteads unchanged over generations to businesses at the cutting-edge of innovation; from worldclass sheep-breeders to award-winning cheese-makers, Forty Farms is a visual record of farming at a moment of profound change.

The featured delicious tasters in the museum’s adjoining demonstration kitchen, inspired by the stories told through the exhibition.

Forty Farms was a touring exhibition that comes to East Anglia from the South Lakes.

Photos by Amy Bateman

Discover other past exhibition.