21 November, 2019
With the increasing popularity of online genealogy tools and DNA testing kits, and the long-running success of TV programmes such as Who Do You Think You Are?, there is a growing desire to find out where we come from and to uncover the stories of the ancestors that brought us here. But many of us don’t know where to start – or have become stuck in our research and don’t know where to turn next.
That’s why, on 2 November, we partnered with The National Archives, the London Metropolitan Archives and the National Trust to bring our visitors a Family History Day with a difference.
All images © Elzbieta Piekacz/Migration Museum
We were joined by genealogy specialists, history organisations and local history groups, who offered advice and guidance to visitors on the day. Among them, the Jewish Genealogical Society were on hand to offer expert advice on tracing Jewish ancestors, whilst the Commonwealth War Graves Commission gave information on tracing family who fought during the First and Second World Wars.
Surrey Heritage, Lambeth Archives and The Brixton Society provided advice on tracing local histories; the Black Cultural Archives presented a timeline of the history of Black Britain; and the Families in British India Society shared their expertise in tracing those who lived in India.
Upstairs in our Breathing Space Café, we hosted a series of talks and workshops by a range of speakers who complemented our exhibitors’ expertise with personal, practical and historical perspectives.
Our headline speaker, TV presenter Robert “Judge” Rinder, opened the day by speaking about his experience of being featured on the BAFTA-award-winning series of Who Do You Think You Are? He shared what he learnt about his grandfather in Poland, and how the experience shaped his personal connection and understanding of his forefathers. This, he shared with a rapt audience, has given him a renewed appreciation not only for what Holocaust survivors had been through, but also for what this country had given his family.
Roger Kershaw, Migration Records Specialist at The National Archives, followed in our Breathing Space Cafe. Drawing on over 30 years of experience in researching records, he shared how items in the key collections of The National Archives, such as passenger lists, passports and registration records, could be searched and interpreted.
In the afternoon, author and Migration Museum trustee Robert Winder added a new dimension to the conversation, encouraging us to reflect on the wider historical context of our individual stories and to consider who has shaped our historical frames of reference. In doing so, the author of Bloody Foreigners suggested, we become acutely aware that, far from being dead and buried, the past is always with us, pressing into the present in persistent and unexpected ways.
Else Churchill, Staff Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists, rounded off the talks programme with advice on researching your 20th-century ancestors, looking at distinct features of 20th-century life and the sources and techniques genealogists can use to supplement the gaps in knowledge – from divorce records to social media, drawing on her own research into her family.
Over in our Artist Studio, we staged a series of workshops focused on practical advice and tips for family history researchers. Migration Museum trustee Sarah Caplin and her sister-in-law Judith Schott ran a hands-on session on compiling a family history. In their candid conversation, the two drew on their personal experience as they talked about everything from the impact of research on the individuals being researched, to the challenges of writing up the histories of those who are no longer with us.
They have also compiled a handy resource, available to download here and at the bottom of this post.
After lunch, Maureen Roberts and Claire Titley of the London Metropolitan Archives gave us a helpful guide to the documents, events and training courses on offer at the London Metropolitan Archives and how to make use of this invaluable resource.
Meanwhile, downstairs in the main hall, guests flocked to “Ask-The-Expert” drop-in workshops with Catherine Troiano, Curator of National Photography Collections at the National Trust, bringing with them family photographs, some as dating back to the late 19th century. Throughout the day, Catherine ‘unpacked’ visitors’ family photos, learning about styles, materials and dates, and finding out how these fitted in with photography’s wider history.
We were also joined by Kitty and Alan, two World War Two eyewitnesses with the Imperial War Museum’s “We Were There” programme. They shared their stories of living through the war in London. Kitty revealed why many railings in Kennington are curved, and what the area local to the Migration Museum at The Workshop looked like before the blitz.
Over at the Migration Museum stand, our Head of Creative Content, Aditi Anand, was collecting personal stories for the Migration Museum’s upcoming exhibition Departures – which looks at 400 years of emigration stories from the departure of the Mayflower to present day. If you missed the opportunity to share your story on the day, please see below.
Those in need of a break re-fuelled at a series of stalls run by local organisations and social enterprises. Usman, of Haven Coffee, served up freshly ground coffee to keep our guests on top form, Local social enterprise Brixton People’s Kitchen offered warming soups, with the south London chefs at Panache Food offering hearty lunches.
A big thank you to everyone who joined us on the day. We hope that you enjoyed the day and left inspired and equipped to continue your family research independently. We hope that our inaugural Family History Day will be the first of many such events that can inspire all of us to unlock and explore our pasts – watch this space.
Through finding out more about our family stories and exploring the journeys our ancestors have made, our Family History Day illuminated the central role of migration – whether within the UK or beyond its borders, or both – in making us who we are today. But even more than this, understanding where our families came from can open our eyes up to different aspects of human experience in unexpected ways. A connection with the past bleeds into our present and future, providing us with greater context, understanding and appreciation for what our ancestors went through – and perhaps, what is happening now.
Resources and links
Sarah Caplin and Judith Schott – advice on writing personal histories
Family History Day – programme of talks and workshops
26 August, 2019
All images © Elzbieta Piekacz
On Saturday 17 August 2019, we joined forces with the Black Prince Trust (BPT), Vauxhall One and Kick It Out to present the first Borderless Cup Lambeth, an inclusive football and basketball tournament for Lambeth residents and community organisations.
At all levels, sport has the power to help us overcome divisions as we put aside our differences. When you’re on the football pitch or the basketball court it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from – you pick up a ball and you’re in play.
The Borderless Cup Tournaments are about recognising these connections between migration, diversity, and sport, and moving beyond the ‘borders’ that divide us in our everyday life to celebrate #AllOurStories.
And that’s exactly what participants and bystanders at the first Borderless Cup Lambeth did! Over 80 local players took part in the football and basketball tournaments.
Meanwhile, volunteers from the Migration Museum collected stories from the local community, with the aim of creating a display at the Black Prince Trust Community Hub.
Following the action-packed afternoon, participants and visitors to the Black Prince Trust Community Day headed over to the Migration Museum, located just around the corner from the BPT on Lambeth High Street.
At the Migration Museum, visitors enjoyed music and a well-earned drink, as well as the chance to have an exclusive private viewing of our current immersive exhibition Room to Breathe.
The winners of the football tournament were awarded their medals and goody bags from former professional football player, anti-racism campaigner, and friend of the museum, Paul Canoville. Paul shared his story with the audience and praised the teams’ passion and fire for the game. He also told us what theMigration Museum means to him.
Meanwhile our basketball champions were awarded their medals by chair of Vauxhall One, Aseem Sheikh, who congratulated the players on their impressive athletic abilities.
We hope that this is the first of many Borderless Cup Tournaments. We would like to give a big thank you to all the teams who participated, to the Black Prince Trust for hosting the tournaments, to Vauxhall One for making the event possible, and to everyone who shared their story with us on the day.
Sponsors and partners
This event was sponsored by Vauxhall One and supported by Kick It Out, The Black Prince Trust and Powerleague.
1 August, 2019
A workshop in Dima Karout’s art studio in Room to Breathe at the Migration Museum at The Workshop, November 2018 © Rudy Hajjar
Our initial staging of our Room to Breathe exhibition at the Migration Museum at The Workshop in Lambeth in 2018/19 served as a setting for a series of six residencies by London-based migrant artists. The residency programme and the art studio space in which it took place was curated by visual artist and educator Dima Karout.
Our artists-in-residence were chosen through an open call process. Each of the selected artists was invited to the art studio within the exhibition as their studio for around one month, during which time they worked from the studio, producing artworks, engaging with visitors and hosting a series of participatory workshops. As part of the residency programme, Assunta Nicolini, Andrew Steeds and Dima Karout created an online publication in the form of interviews with resident artists that we published on the Migration Museum’s blog. On this page, you will find links to these articles/interviews, as well as introductory articles about each artist – see below.
The residency series culminated in Borderless, a final group exhibition in summer 2019 curated by Dima Karout, displaying artworks created by all of our artists in residence.
Below, you can find a summary of the residency programme – the first such programme undertaken by the Migration Museum, with links to interviews with each of the artists, including information on the educational workshops and participatory activities that each artist created in their art studio space during their residencies, as well as information on Borderless, the final group exhibition, and Create, Curate Communicate, a talk with the curator and artists, which took place in June 2019.
Dima Karout, Artist and Curator in Residence (1 November–2 December 2018)
Workshops:
Meet the Artist – Dima Karout Every Sunday in November 2018
Fingerprints woodcut and linocut workshop – by Dima Karout Saturday 10 November 2018
Connect the Dots workshop – by Dima Karout Saturday 24 November 2018
Habib Sadat, Artist in Residence (6 December 2018–13 January 2019)
New Art Studio, Artists in Residence (17 January–24 February 2019)
Workshops:
New Art Studio drop-in workshop Every Saturday from January 19 until February 23 2019
Ceyda Oskay, Artist in Residence (28 February–31 March 2019)
Workshops:
Drop-in sessions with artist-in-residence Ceyda Oskay Every Sunday between 3 March and 31 March 2019
Pillow-making workshop with Ceyda Oskay Saturday 23 March 2019
Family T-shirt making workshop with Ceyda Oskay Saturday 30 March 2019
Shorsh Saleh, Artist in Residence (4 April–28 April 2019)
Blog/interview with Shorsh Saleh
Workshops:
Flying-carpet weaving workshop with Shorsh Saleh Sunday 14 April 2019 and Saturday 27 April 2019
Drop-in sessions with artist-in-residence Shorsh Saleh Every Saturday between 6 April and 27 April 2019
Belén L. Yáñez, Artist in Residence (2 May–2 June 2019)
Workshops:
Free drop-in sessions with artist-in-residence Belén L. Yañez Saturday 4 May
SEEDS – Collage workshop with Belén L.Yáñez Saturday 18 May 2019
Awakening, Sweet & Sour – Participatory performance Thursday 23 May 2019
Exhibition dates: 6 June–28 July 2019
This public event, hosted by Dima Karout and featuring many of the artists who participated in the programme, was held on Thursday June 13 to officially launch the exhibition Borderless and to present and reflect on the residency programme as a whole.
Future plans
The Migration Museum hopes to stage further residency programmes for artists in the future. Sign up to our mailing list and follow us on social media to be the first to know about any future residency plans and open calls.
