This Spring we have commissioned poets, photographers and artists to be part of our Connecting People and Places Exhibition. Designed to increase recognition of how migrant and communities of diverse ethnic heritage have influenced heritage across England, our participants will depict what heritage is to them. We spoke to some of our volunteers to find out what it means to them to be part of the project.
We spoke with Anna O’Neill from Liverpool who will be one of our volunteers helping set up our exhibition at The Liverpool Lighthouse. Anna in her spare time likes to paint so she felt particularly connected to the creativity behind the exhibitions. In her spare time, Anna is an avid reader and is also learning the British Sign Language (BSL). Keen to work in the heritage sector, we delved deeper into why she wanted to volunteer for Blueprint for All as part of the Connecting People and Places project.
What does heritage mean to you?
Heritage covers a variety of things under its umbrella. To me, heritage is a sense of belonging. It is about the people and cultures that have come before and how understanding values, traditions and artefacts handed down from previous generations has enabled your unique, inherited sense of identity. Heritage ultimately helps us understand and explain why we are the way we are.
Why did you want to be a part of the Connecting People and Places project?
The Connecting People and Places Project enriches the understanding of the buildings and places in our national history, which is fascinating to me especially after watching BBC’s ‘A House Through Time’ which showed how one house can connect so many people from different backgrounds, it would be interesting to see this on a national scale.
Have you ever worked in the built environment sector or in the heritage sector?
While studying History with Archaeology at the University of Chester, I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer at the Cheshire Military Museum. During this time I work as part of a team updating the archives to include a digital database. I was also tasked with creating my own exhibition for Remembrance Sunday, which focused on the different war memorials in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Our Connecting People and Places Exhibition at the Liverpool Lighthouse in Liverpool will be running from the 9th-13th May – get your FREE tickets here.
Not from Liverpool? Not to worry we also have Exhibitions running in Leicester, London, Cambridge, Sheffield and Bristol.
Hear from Adelle A’asante, an artist from Yorkshire, her work, entitled ‘Beans Hall’ is a comment on local building the Piece Hall in Halifax, commenting on her heritage and identity as a Black African woman in the UK.