- The University of Sheffield is hosting a new global exhibition for the 2021 Being Human festival of social sciences
- The exhibition explores how the tactics and behaviours of anti-Blackness exemplify the variety of assaults and exclusions people of colour endure as they struggle to claim ‘homes’
- The exhibition is open to all to enter artwork on the theme of ‘home’, imagining a new truly inclusive future for the city, the nation, and its inhabitants
- Pre-exhibition workshops will be held on 23 and 25 September to allow participants to explore the themes and express their experiences creatively
Being Human Festival returns to University of Sheffield this year with an event designed to bring the city together with creativity.
His House to Our Home invites the people of Sheffield to submit artwork sharing their stories about making the UK home: the challenges, victories and future visions for how we can build an inclusive community together.
The artworks will form part of a month-long global online exhibition and selected pieces will be on display at a celebration event for the city at Theatre Deli on 18 November 2021.
This year's festival will take place 11 - 20 November, with the theme 'Renewal' and wants to get people thinking about how we could live differently after a year of enormous global upheaval.
His House to Our Home takes its cue from the multi-award-winning film His House, which depicts the experience of two asylum-seekers tormented by a sinister force in their new English residence. The film provides a metaphor for, and invites important questions about how we dismantle oppressive social structures that can determine our everyday existence. What would a society without such structures look like? How do we tear down His House, and build Our Home?
Dr Maisha Wester, a lecturer from the University of Sheffield School of English is hosting the exhibition. She said: “A home is more than a house. People of all different races, ethnicities, nationalities, ages and genders will have different experiences of what it means to be ‘home’. People of colour in particular struggle to claim ‘home’ in predominantly white nations. The most recent burst of violent anti-Blackness illustrates this clearly”
This exhibition invites the people of Sheffield to contribute artwork which tells the story of home, by depicting their experiences so far, or imagining what a welcoming and racially inclusive nation, city, or house looks like; whether in painting or drawing, collages, music, videos or poetry, it's up to you to be as creative as you’d like!
Anyone can submit a piece of art, and they will all be displayed in the online exhibition, select pieces will be displayed in the Being Human Festival “From His House to Our Home” exhibit at Theatre Deli, alongside artwork by K.O.G and others which were specially commissioned for the event.
Dr Wester, who’s research investigates the ways the literature impacts and informs our language and attitudes to race, will hold a workshop about the exhibition on Thursday 23 September, in which she will lead a conversation on the experiences of the people in the award-winning film and invite people to share their own stories of claiming the UK or Sheffield as their home, and their dreams of what this home should be.
Nyara School of Arts, a local creative organisation will also host an online workshop on Saturday 25 September. Nyara School of Arts champions black history and arts, community building and education through artist expression, will hold sessions designed to help those with the experience of making the UK their home, explore the exhibition themes and respond to them artistically.
Local artist K.O.G has co-directed a film with Dr Wester exploring the question of claiming home as a modern Black citizen. K.O.G provides the entire soundtrack for the film in addition. He is also scheduled to perform at the Nov 18 celebration.
Dr Wester added: “The concept of home is something that is not equally accessible to everyone across the world. As this is about building an inclusive community, I want everyone who has moved here and/ or lives here to feel like they can contribute. Although the first part of the exhibit explores anti-Blackness, it is not saying that only black people suffer this; rather Black people exemplify an alienation common to people of colour and certain ethnicities. Those who aren't people of colour or immigrants should also contribute work meditating on the topic.
“We are really keen in getting people to imagine what a racially inclusive community for Sheffield and Britain looks like by sharing our artistic visions for a new future. The goal of this project is to get people actively envisioning an inclusive home. I also want to give people a platform to express their notions and stories in a way that engenders conversation and discussion, rather than argument and resistance. The act of creating a piece of art can be so intimate and personal, but expressing a story in different ways can change how people perceive the topic. No one person can see all of the angles, but together perhaps we can get it right and build a picture of community that speaks to and has space for everyone.”
Additional information
Submissions to the exhibition can be sent to ourhome@sheffield.ac.uk, for more details about the exhibition or workshops visit: https://hishouseourhome.wordpress.com/
Register to attend the 18 November celebration
Register to attend the His House Online Discussion
Register to attend Our Home Creative Workshop with Nyara School of Arts
Contact
For further information please contact:
