Introduction to the Project
History, Her Story, Their Story, Our Story
“When was the first time you saw a black person?” What would the oldest person in your family say in answer to this question? Is your answer the same? Is it the same as your next-door neighbour or the people living in the next street?
In this project, Gloucestershire Archives worked jointly with Fresh Air Foundations, City Voices (now Voices Gloucester) and renowned photographer Vanley Burke as well as local artists, schools and members of the community to use community answers to this question to build our black history archive and inspire creativity. By collecting stories and oral histories and inspiring creative responses by local artists and communities, this project further enabled us to meet the needs of the wider community and continue to grow the trust we have built amongst local people. As with our previous art projects, we proved that the arts can be a very successful way of involving communities in their heritage.
The project launched during The Gloucester History Festival Spring Weekend 2021 with an interview with Vanley Burke and local creative Rider Shafique, one of the artists involved in the project. Culminating in both physical and online exhibitions as well as a Spoken Word event, the project participants collaborated in the creation of a series of artworks exploring Gloucester’s communities.
The project was co-curated by Jacqui Grange and Raston Williams and involved four Gloucester artists - Rider Shafique, Thembe Mvula, Chantelle Bry Thomas and Phil Campbell who were mentored by Vanley Burke. The artists led school workshops at Sir Thomas Rich’s School and Denmark Road High School and community workshops at The Venture: White City before creating their own work. In addition, each artist chose a piece from Vanley Burke’s iconic portfolio relating to their practice, which then featured in the final exhibition and event at the Museum of Gloucester during the 2021 Gloucester History Festival, and in a limited-edition publication for the participants and permanent preservation in the Archives.
Quotes from project participants and audience members:
“We have been to the museum to see dinosaurs, science and important things, and now my [Black] children can see themselves in these spaces.”
“In the barbers … he turned to me and said they don’t put images of us, people like us, in museums. And it was then I thought I want to literally put US in mUSeum, you know.”
“Working with Vanley Burke, somebody who is a bit older than my parents, and seeing his journey and seeing his documentation of Black life in the UK, and having him as a mentor… I’m living the dreams of my parents…”
“Conversations with Vanley have been thought provoking and helpful for generating ideas on how to approach and showcase work in ways that I wouldn’t have before considered. Vanley’s vast experience on exhibiting his work has been a valuable source of knowledge.”
History, Her Story, Their Story, Our Story was kindly supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.