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 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 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 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 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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