I first met Tryphena on a project that a group from the African - Caribbean community participated in based at Nottingham Castle called From the sunshine to the snow.
Our friendship developed as we worked together on the project. We discussed our journeys emigrating from the Caribbean to England. Tryphena told me she emigrated to England in 1952 age 19 years of age, whilst I was aged 16 when I emigrated in 1957. The group discussed how we felt leaving our families behind, our first experiences of the British winter, and the smoky chimneys from the endless sea of factories.
Read moreLegacy Makers Legacy Makers is a community history initiative by Bright Ideas Nottingham Bright Ideas Nottingham and the Legacy Makers volunteers. Legacy Makers started out as a one-year pilot project, ‘Slave Trade Legacies’, in 2014. We set out to challenge heritage sites to acknowledge their links to the transatlantic trade of African peoples. Along the way, we renamed the initiative when we agreed that our ancestors were not ‘slaves’. They were human beings, forcibly caught up in the inhuman trade of African peoples.
Read moreAs a child growing up in 1960s and 70s, during my history lessons at School, many questions often passed through my mind, such as: “what were Black people doing before “slavery”? Up to that point, in my development, I was given the impression, that African/Black people had contributed nothing to world civilization, scientific and technological advancement. In the case of the European/white people, a complete contrast was presented, it was that of, exemplary!
Read moreListen to Louise Garvey read a poem from her latest publication Voices from a Village, available now from our online gift shop.
Read moreThe title 'Standing In This Place' has its origins in my quest to find female ancestors. My family is deeply rooted in the Midlands and I found my working-class ancestors mainly working in the textile and coal industries.
Read moreOn the 75th anniversary of the Windrush, family members of Tom Oliver unveiled a stone dedicated to his life at the Heritage plot that bears his name on the St Anns allotments where he gardened for many years.
Read moreIf you’re from Nottingham you’ll know the Broadmarsh area of Nottingham well. It’s a gateway to the city and doesn’t currently represent the amazing people of Nottingham or their history. At the moment it is a building site in need of love.
This community-driven sculpture is going to be placed in the green heart of the new Broad Marsh redevelopment. A space where people from Nottingham can come, relax and connect with each other, and will be one of the first areas new visitors to the city will see.
Read moreA new statue will highlight the contributions and connections between white mill workers in the East Midlands and black enslaved women who grew the raw cotton supplies in the Americas.
The life-size, bronze ‘Standing In This Place’ statue will be placed in Nottingham’s redeveloped Broadmarsh area in summer 2024. It will highlight themes of sorrow, strength and resilience as it portrays the historical links between East Midlands cotton mills in the late 18th to mid 19th century and the raw cotton supplies that were sourced from estates that used enslaved labour.
Read moreDid you know less than 5% of statues in the UK represent women! We want to change that, with not one but two statues of women.
In 2016 Caroline Criado-Perez researched how many statues were of women out of the 826 across the UK and commented “That leaves us with 25 statues of historical, non-royal women (one of whom is a ghost and only there because she’s looking for the spirit of her murdered husband). Meanwhile, there are 43 statues of men called John.”
Read moreAs the city contemplates proposals for a new statue in the Broad Marsh area, we held a stimulating evening of learning, conversation and connection on the 27 Mar 2023 at Nottingham Playhouse.
Historically many of our statues have been erected by leading civic organisations, businesses and public subscription. They celebrate and commemorate events and people that have helped shape our cities and nations. But did you know only 5% of public statues in the UK represent women and even fewer women of colour? What does their absence signify?
Read moreOver the course of three weekly workshops participants where guided by Lead Writer Panya Banjoko and supporting writer Deborah Tyler Bennet to create a series of poetry pieces.
Read moreOver the project, Rachel has been offering free braiding workshops to encourage the local community to create braids that will become part of the new sculpture for Nottingham.
Read moreRead the summer editions of Radical Routes magazine and Rachel’s article
Read moreOur creative break commissions where open to young people living in and around the city of Nottingham to delve into the project pages and history and respond to the narrative in their own unique way. Their audio submissions could take the form of spoken word, poetry, a short story, a song or soundscape.
Read moreThe local community were invited to come and join local activist and dance artist Deane McQueen in series of movement workshop sessions aimed at women over the age of 50 years of age living in and around the city of Nottingham.
Read moreA group of ten stitchers where invited to attend a series of workshops, talks and museum visits to delve into the history of the two women represented in this project.
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