Creating stories from the Archives

1pm - The event will start with a short talk welcoming us to the Gurdwara followed by a communal langur (a free kitchen/meal).

2pm - The workshop will begin with a short introductory talk (15 minutes) about a long-standing migrant worker activist collective, the Indian Workers Association Great Britain and their archive. This will be followed by a creative workshop in which participants can use surrogate material from the archive to develop a collage (1 hour). We will close the workshop by reflecting as a group on the material and the process of making our collages (15 minutes).

The Indian Workers’ Association (Great Britain), a long-standing migrant worker activist collective, is working with Northumbria University to co-create a community-based archive of some of their work from the 1960s to the present day.

We will creatively explore this archive through the creation of collages using copies of some of the archival material to try and understand more about the struggles, resistance and activism of migrantised workers in the past and how this might resonate with present day. We will explore the material to consider the different ways in which migrantised workers have been part of the wider working-class movement in Britain, the ways in which they have fought for workers’ rights and how this links to other campaigns such as anti-racism, immigration struggles, civil liberties and anti-imperialism.

We will also use the workshop to explore how creative approaches, such as collage, can be help us to engage with and make sense of material from the past.

Sarah Peck, Assistant Professor, School of Geography & Natural Sciences, Northumbria University.

Any adult is welcome to attend.

The workshop will be held at: Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Cottenham Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE4 5QU

The Gurdwara is reachable by car or public transport. Buses 10,11,37,38,38A all stop at Westgate Road -Tindal Street bus stop. It is a short walk from this stop to the Gurdwara.

The workshop will be in an upstairs room with a lift available.

Please note no tobacco or alcohol should be brought into the Gurdwara and modest dress and a head covering are requested. A head covering can be borrowed from the Gurdwara if needed.

Please do get in touch to discuss any specific accessibility needs (sarah.peck@northumbria.ac.uk).

The event will be particularly interesting to those interested in migrant rights, working-class struggles and the histories of activism. It may also be of interest to those who are keen to think about how archives can be explored through creative practices

1-2pm Welcome to the Gurdwara and langur (free kitchen/meal)

2-3.30pm Creative Workshop

Spaces are limited, please book by November 25th