News & Events

  The last stop for the touring exhibition was Manchester’s Central Library where it was shown from 3 October to 8 November 2024 within the Manchester Histories Hub section of the Library. The exhibition was accompanied by a display about the Greater Manchester section of the project, including a set of panels illustrating the stories produced by the adult volunteer researchers from Year 1 of the project and an additional panel by pupils and staff from The Derby High School in Bury dedicated to the stories which they researched. More information about this exhibition can be found at https://crossingfootprints.com/migration-stories-exhibition/. The exhibition was hosted by Manchester Histories and also supported by Fair Futures CIC who delivered the school workshops in Bury. The Central Library is generally known to be the busiest library in the UK, with around 2 million visitors per year. The number accessing the area around the Manchester Histories Hub during the 5 week exhibition period is estimated at approx. 19,000. There was Preview Launch for the exhibition on Wednesday 2 October, 4pm to 7pm. This was an informal opportunity to hear about the Migration Stories North West project and to chat with people who were involved in the research. Kooj Chuhan from Crossing Footprints and Alison Lloyd Williams from Global Link gave a brief talk and were on hand to discuss any aspects of the work and the contexts in which it was produced. Crossing Footprints also organised a well attended Special Event: ‘Migration, Identity, History’ on Wednesday 16 October, 5.30pm – 7pm. With this leg of the Migration Stories North West exhibition taking place during Black History Month, this event explored not only the nature of migrant identity throughout British history but also the intersections between the history of migration and issues at the forefront of Black history. A panel of speakers included Washington Alcott, Louise Wong, Yichao Shi, Alison Fisher and Kooj Chuhan. The event also featured a live music performance by the amazing Jim Parris. Full details at https://crossingfootprints.com/migration-identity-history/.  

  In September our pop-up exhibition reached Liverpool where it remained on display for a month in the foyer of the Maritime & International Slavery Museums on Albert Dock. The Museum had nearly 44.000 visitors throughout the month, including more than 3,000 who attended the Museum’s Border Force Open Day on 14 September, and the exhibition proved very popular. Alayna Ellis, Curator of Border Collections at National Museums Liverpool said, “It was a real pleasure to host this display, it relates so well to the themes that the Maritime Museum will be developing as part of the Waterfront Transformation Project. The display provided a broad cross section of well-researched personal stories, specific to people migrating to and from the north-west of England, reminding us that migration has always happened and is part of the human condition. Each story reflects an individual person travelling in the hope of improving their life, and the impact on that person can be life changing.”    

Our touring exhibition spent the month of August on display in the Maritime Museum in Lancaster where it enjoyed many visitors through the school holidays. On the day the exhibition opened Alison, the project lead at Global Link, gave a talk about the Lancaster migration stories to the Friends of Lancaster City Museum. There was also a get-together at the Museum for the Lancaster project adult volunteers, where we were able to get a first look at the then newly installed exhibition and reflect on and celebrate our achievements throughout the project. We were delighted that our project historian, Prof Corinna Peniston-Bird from Lancaster University, and Global Link’s Director, Gisela Renolds, could join us for this. The launch of the exhibition in Lancaster was also accompanied by a feature about the project in the local newspaper, the Lancaster Guardian. The exhibition has now moved on to Liverpool where it will be on display throughout September in the foyer of the Maritime Museum on Albert Dock. Details here.

During July, the exhibition visited four locations around Cumbria. First, it spent a day at St Catherine’s Primary School in Penrith. The pupils here had taken part in interviewing and recording some stories for our project and CDEC wanted to show them their work and to thank them for taking part. The team had a really interesting conversation about migration with the children, linking the topic to the pupils’ own families and experiences. The exhibition also featured in two of Cumbria’s four Unity Festivals at Kendal and Barrow. These Festivals are an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the multitude of cultures, backgrounds and people who live in Cumbria. They include music, food, workshops and conversation. At the Barrow event, one of the people who was interviewed for the project was also there with her family. Finally, On 22 July the exhibition formed part of CDEC’s 40th anniversary celebration day. We were joined by one of our interviewees who spoke to the wider audience about the importance of taking part in the project and sharing her story.  

We’re excited that the Migration Stories NW pop-up exhibition has started its tour of the region in Chester, where it was displayed during Refugee Week at the Unity Centre, home of Cheshire, Halton & Warrington Race and Equality Centre (CHAWREC), including a well-attended open day on 22 June. The exhibition then transferred to Chester Town Hall where it featured as part of the inaugural Festival of Ideas, coordinated by the University of Chester and other local partners. Local project partner, Heather Swainston, gave a talk about ‘Cheshire Journeys’ as part of the Festival, together with a representative from Cheshire Archives. They also did a presentation as part of the Cheshire Heritage Festival which was taking place at a similar time. Heather and a project volunteer were even interviewed for TV as part of the Festival of Ideas! Heather reports that the exhibition has received really positive feedback in Cheshire with people enjoying finding local connections on the project map. The project as a whole has also enabled Heather to develop new networks with people and organisations in Chester, including the Archives and the City of Sanctuary Group.      

We are proud to announce that we recently published an article in the journal Policy and Practice: A Development Education Review. ‘Migration Stories North West and Global Education: Perspectives from a Community Heritage Project’ explores how our approach to heritage can promote global learning by encouraging new perspectives on migration, both past and present. You can read the article here. Karen was also invited to speak about the article as part of an online seminar on development education and migration, run by the Centre for Global Education & Comhlámh.