This short film speaks to the formation of the London Institute in the 1980s and its’ evolution to become the modern day University of Arts London (UAL), from the perspectives of former and current rectors, deans, heads of college, governors, professors and other members of staff. The film features excerpts from interviews conducted by oral historian Rosa Kurowska-Kyffin and I, as part of the wider University of Arts London Oral History Institutional Memory Project, and was edited by Margarita Novikova and the UAL Archives and Special Collections Centre.
Older people’s engagement workshops: In partnership with Kiln Theatre and Henna Asian Women’s Group9/4/2018 All the topics made me think about things…I hadn’t thought about for a long time… We saw our own and each other’s journey through life and got to reflect on them… Here we think deeper, we often look at things on the surface and this has opened my eyes to so many other societies… This has been a chance for listening and it makes you feel noticed. Us, as women, sometimes don’t get noticed but here we have listened to each other. Kiran We express feelings and we listen to others and we think thank goodness for our life, and we see how strong ladies are, it’s amazing to learn… And it was good because we learnt to listen and hear what each other have done in their life. Each session we get to talk and to listen, we got listening and talking skills. Rukhsana I enjoyed every session and the exercises… I enjoyed everyone’s stories and listening with all of my friends and learning about their stories. Sudha I enjoyed everything, especially to socialise, talk and…to share our past lives. Rabeya I liked talking about children and grandchildren. I liked talking about the past. Samine These comments convey the value of participating in a recent life story workshop series, in collaboration with Kiln Theatre and Henna Asian Women’s Group. Over the summer, I have had the pleasure of facilitating a series of creative sessions for members of the Henna Asian Women’s Group, a diverse and spirited group of women from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Uganda and Iraq. Henna Asian Women’s Group has been providing women only services to residents in the Kilburn area and immigrants for more than 30 years. Each life story session focussed on a different theme such as arriving and settling in Britain; childhood; becoming young women; work; marriage; motherhood; cultural and religious identity, among others. Participants were invited to explore and express their memories through storytelling, theatre, drawing, performance, writing, ritual, dance, music and song. It was exciting and enriching to plan and lead the workshops tailored to the particular interests and needs of the group. And it was a great joy to witness the openness, generosity and willingness of participants to take risks and jump into theatre games they’d never tried before, and to share deeply about their personal life experiences. These workshops formed part of Kiln Theatre’s wider heritage learning programme, ‘A Friendly Society’, which takes its name from the Foresters Friendly Society. The Foresters were the original inhabitants of Kiln Theatre’s building, and aimed to help people in need as they ‘walked through the forests of life’. The broader programme encompasses a wide range of opportunities for participants of all ages and backgrounds to discover the heritage of Kiln Theatre and the history of care in the local community through in-depth archival research, the collection of oral histories, engagement workshops, exhibitions, and a community play. It has been a privilege to be involved in this project, and wonderful to work with Kiln’s Creative Learning Manager Heritage and Community, Nick Gibson; Kiln’s Creative Learning Officer, Rio Fry; Henna Asian Women’s Group’s Project Development Officer, Rafat Kiani; and especially, the inspiring women who participated in the workshops.     |
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