An art exhibition which explores the untold stories of people of colour, who have lived in South Yorkshire for centuries, has returned to Sheffield.
‘Dig Where you Stand’, which opened last month, explores the unknown history of communities that often go unheard.
The multi-venue exhibition was initiated by creative director and artist in residence at Sheffield City Archives Désirée Reynolds, in 2021.
She said: “Dig Where You Stand is not only about telling our own stories but retelling them, inserting them into the fabric of the city, and locating where we were to show where we are now.”
The project reimagines the lives of African-Caribbean working-class individuals, often reduced to mere statistics in archival records.
The exhibition, which ends this Sunday (August 18) is displaying artistic pieces across a range of public spaces. There is a mixture of painting, poetry, puppetry, soundscapes, film, textiles, and live performance, from 14 artists of colour, across Sheffield city centre.
Venues include: Persistence Works, Sheffield Cathedral, Moor Market, Sheffield Central Library and the Winter Garden, all of which are free to enter.
The exhibition has taken inspiration from Sven Lindqvist who encourages people to explore their own histories, and Saidiya Hartman’s concept of ‘critical fabulation’, Reynolds and other collaborators highlight the racial aspects of working-class history, particularly before 1945, challenging mainstream narratives that suggest people of colour only arrived in Britain post-World War II.
The National Lottery Grants for Heritage, who supported the exhibition, awarded over £112,000 to the University of Sheffield, and promised to; commission new works by local artists with a public exhibition, hold a year-long training programme in archives for women of colour, and create educational resources for schools and community groups.
Artist & Advisor to Dig Where You Stand, Johny Pitts, said: “I grew up Black in Sheffield without a sense of history connected to the contemporary culture that surrounded me. Dig Where You Stand is an innovative, creative and soulful corrective to the reductive version of Sheffield we so often see in mainstream media.”
The project aims to disrupt the marginalisation and erasure of people of colour from historical records. By doing so, it empowers racially marginalised groups to reclaim their place in history and encourages them to explore their heritage through the archives.
