Call out for artists and participants!
Barbara Walker Engagement Project
This engagement project draws inspiration from Barbara Walker's series of artworks, Burden of Proof and Louder than Words. It is an intergenerational public engagement programme linked to the Whitworth's exhibition: Barbara Walker: Being Here.
Louder than Words powerfully expresses the lived experience of the 'Stop and Search' process, and the series Burden of Proof reflects on the stories of individuals touched by their lived experience of being part of the 'Windrush' generation.
Central to this public engagement programme are two artist commission, open to local artists. The commissions will respond to two of the key themes within Barbara Walker’s exhibition, and will connect to both our Age Friendly (50+ years) and Whitworth Young Contemporaries (18-30 years) programmes. Both artists chosen will have lived or secondary experience of either Windrush or Stop and Search.
The two comissioned artists will work alongside a bespoke focus groups, drawn from our local community groups, unlocking personal stories through social conversations about their lived experiences. Empathetic resources will be developed as part of this co-creation process, to help raise awareness of concerns around both Windrush and Stop and Search.
The exhibition Barbara Walker: Being Here, opens on 4 October 2024 and runs until 26 January 2025
Young Artist – Call Out
Louder than Words engagement project
We want to commission a young Manchester-based artist (18-30 years) with lived or secondary experience of Stop and Search, to work alongside the engagement programme and the Barbara Walker: Being Here exhibition.
Am I eligible?
We’re looking for artists who have:
• Lived experience or knowledge of Stop and Search.
• An interest and experience in working creatively with community groups.
• A knowledge and understanding of our neighbouring communities to the Whitworth.
• A minimum of 2 years of practice as an artist.
Focus Group – Call Out
Louder than Words engagement project
'The use of stop-and-search powers by police in Greater Manchester has increased by 25 times the national average. More than 100 people in the region were stopped and searched by police every day last year, new figures show.' BBC, 12 June 2024.
We are looking for a group of up to ten people, 18-30 years with lived experience of being Stopped and Searched.
Am I eligible?
• Are you aged 18-30 years?
• Are you based in Manchester, living in Rusholme, Moss Side, Hulme or Whalley Range localwith lived experience or knowledge of Stop and Search?
• Would you be happy to share your stories in this focus group?
• Do you want to look at ways in which your lived experience can help others?
50+ Artist – Call Out
Burden of Proof engagement project
We are creating an engagement programme inspired by Barbara Walker’s exhibition, building on the themes of Windrush from Walker’s series of works called Burden of Proof, working with a local focus group. We want to commission a Manchester-based artist (50+ years) with lived or secondary experience of Windrush, to work alongside the engagement programme and the Barbara Walker: Being Here exhibition.
Am I eligible?
We’re looking for artists who have:
• Lived experience of Windrush.
• An interest and experience in working creatively with community groups.
• A knowledge and understanding of our neighbouring communities to the Whitworth.
• A minimum of 2 years of practice as an artist.
Focus Group – Call Out
Burden of Proof engagement project
We are putting together a focus group of people aged over fifty with lived experience of Empire Windrush. This focus group will come together to respond to Barbara Walker’s series of work called Burden of Proof, to share their personal experiences of Windrush. The group will work with an artist to develop a resource from the stories that will hopefully be of benefit for families responding to the Windrush compensation processes.
Am I eligible?
• Are you a resident of the Whitworth’s local community with lived experience of Windrush?
• Would you be happy to share your stories in this focus group?
• Do you want to look at ways in which your lived experience can help others?
If you would like to find out more about joining the focus groups contact denise.bowler@manchester.ac.uk or claire.cowell@manchester.ac.uk
Barbara Walker in her studio, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Cristea Roberts Gallery, London © Barbara Walker. Photo: Chris Keenan
