Dig Where You Stand is a project which unearths untold stories of people of colour living, working and putting down roots in South Yorkshire over hundreds of years. Last year we commissioned 14 artists of colour to respond to the stories they found in the archives. During July/August 2024 we will be showcasing their work at exhibitions and events across the city.
Dig Where You Stand - launch event
📆Friday 19 July 2024, 6-8pm (doors open from 5:30pm)
📍Persistence Works, Yorkshire Artspace, 21 Brown Street, S1 2BS
Over the last year, 14 artists have been commissioned to dig through local archives and respond to the untold stories of people of colour in South Yorkshire. Their artworks will be on display in various venues across Sheffield City Centre, from 20 July to 18 August 2024. We would love for you to join us at our inaugural event and enjoy a ceremonial blessing, private viewing and party, including a live DJ. No limit on numbers but RSVP if you can: digwhereyoustand.sy@gmail.com
Dig Where You Stand presents ‘We Gather’ with Sheffield
Cathedral
📆Monday 22 July 2024, 7-9pm (doors open from 6:45pm)
📍Sheffield Cathedral, Church Street, S1 1HA
Join us for a special evening of live performances to
celebrate Dig Where You Stand's new and groundbreaking summer exhibition.
Featuring commissioned artists Otis Mensah, CJ Simon, Rosa Cisneros and Désirée
Reynolds. Through live poetry, dance and music our artists will re-imagine the
encounter between two West African sailors and a Sheffield-born missionary in
1820, the psychodrama of a son settling in the steel city as he wrestles with
the fame of his African American father in the late 19th century, and the
female strength of the so-called 'Gypsy Queen' buried in Beighton, Sheffield in
the 1940s.
https://www.dwys.co.uk/events/we-gather-with-sheffield-cathedral
Open Studio with our Artists
📆Saturday 27 July 2024, 11am-2pm (drop in, watch the artists at work, ask questions!)
📍Soft Ground, The Moor (opposite Debenhams), S1 4PF
Drop into the Dig Where You Stand open studio and watch how
three of our artists made their work through shadow puppets, textiles and
poetry. Cole Morris will show how he created shadow puppets to tell the story
of serial dreamer Joe Phillips, who having tried and failed to produce his own
Sheffield westerns attempted to build his own boat and sail back to Jamaica
from the shallow depths of a Sheffield canal. Witness how Jacqui Hilson uses
fabric to sew together the seemingly distant stories of West Africa and South
Yorkshire, honouring the names and contributions of the unknown Africans who
have settled here over the centuries. Observe how Dal Kular binds together her
own journals and makes zines, as the first step to a poetic exploration of the
1939 Register, which appears to name the first non-elite Sikh woman in Sheffield
but obscures her full identity.
https://www.dwys.co.uk/events/open-studio
Dig Where You Stand: An Evening in the Archives
📆Thursday 8 August 2024, 6-7:30pm
📍Sheffield City
Archives, 52 Shoreham Street, S1 4SP
Most of the historical material used by the artists was
found in Sheffield City Archives. We gather there now to hear from visual
artists Kedisha Coakley, Seiko Kinoshita and Patricia Bugembe, alongside Senior
Archivist, Cheryl Bailey. Together they discuss their experience working in the
archives, discovering new stories and producing creative responses in the form
of portraiture, wallpaper and installation. This will also be a unique
opportunity to see some of the original archive material that inspired the
artists’ work.
https://www.dwys.co.uk/events/dwys-presents-we-gather-with-sheffield-city-archives
Creative Workshop with Sile Sibanda (for ages 14 - 17)
📆Wednesday 31 July 2024, 11am-1pm
📍Sheffield Cathedral
Come and join us for a workshop filled with inspiration and creativity at Sheffield Cathedral!
In this workshop, you'll have the chance to learn from the talented Sile Sibanda and unleash your artistic potential. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced artist, this event is perfect for anyone looking to explore their creative side. You will also discover some fascinating hidden history about South Yorkshire along the way.
Ancestral Futures - Public Procession and Street Performance
📆Saturday 17 August 2024, 2-3pm
📍Meet outside The Crucible, Tudor Square at 2pm
A Chinese baby is born and dies in Sheffield in
1855. At just 5 weeks old he’s buried at St Paul’s, now the site of the Peace
Gardens. His dad, Teh Kwei 德貴
aka ‘Tuck Guy’, a magician known for his knife throwing act, was
performing in Sheffield at the time. His signature appears on the death
certificate of his infant son. We think of them when we walk past the Peace Gardens.
Join us for live procession through Sheffield City Centre to honour Teh
Kwei 德貴, his baby, and the
other numerous ancestors from East and South-East Asian communities who passed
through or settled in South Yorkshire.
https://www.dwys.co.uk/events/dwys-procession
