Spotlight on Heritage – Paul Vernon and the Art of Everyday Storytelling
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In this episode of Spotlight on Heritage, John Coster and Rob Watson are joined by filmmaker and collector Paul Vernon, whose distinctive perspective on storytelling and memory has shaped his creative practice over more than a decade. What begins as a conversation about a local photography exhibition quickly unfolds into a reflective journey through Paul’s unique relationship with visual culture, childhood memory, and the quiet significance of everyday objects.
Paul is no stranger to heritage conversations in Leicester. As a contributor to the Doc Photo exhibitions and a regular at the Saturday Heritage Fairs at the Leicester Adult Education Centre, he brings a perspective that blurs the line between personal memory and collective experience. His Vortex Museum project – an evolving collection of books, toys, comics, and ephemera – isn’t so much a finished institution as it is a living archive-in-the-making. Paul’s process is open, experimental, and refreshingly candid: he doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but instead invites others into the uncertainty of curation, inviting conversations about value, memory, and meaning.
What makes this episode especially resonant is how Paul links his artistic instincts with a deep emotional intelligence. Whether discussing the short film he made with his younger sister, his habit of exploring charity shops, or his enthusiasm for popular culture and storytelling, Paul reminds us that heritage isn’t always about official narratives or grand gestures. Often, it’s in the marginal, the discarded, or the underappreciated where the richest stories can be found.
We talk about:
- What motivates Paul to collect and preserve ephemeral cultural items.
- How storytelling emerges naturally from play, improvisation, and shared experience.
- The role of platforms like Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube in building and sharing heritage projects.
- Why heritage doesn’t have to be static – and how the Vortex Museum continues to evolve through participation.
This is a warm, generous conversation that celebrates heritage as something dynamic and inclusive – something that belongs as much to the everyday collector as to the institutional curator.
Listen in and let us know: What would your heritage collection say about the world you’re part of?
