Category Archives: Oral History

Events, Heritage, Oral History, Reminiscence

E-Learning Educational Consultant – Freelance role

Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage is a Community Interest Company which creatively explores heritage through life stories, project themes and local memories with diverse audiences. We celebrate our 10th anniversary this winter.

Based in Brighton, we work flexibly across the UK to deliver training, consultancy, and projects – both funded and commissioned. Our diverse portfolio offers something for everyone, engaging a wide range of groups and individuals in activities. We are unique in utilising reminiscence, creativity and archive material to blend culture and history.

We create projects engaging a wide range of groups including schools, older people, intergenerational participants, and clients in creative and heritage activities, encouraging engagement and outreach, whilst exploring memories and archive material.

E-Learning Educational Consultant – Tender for Freelance role 

Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage is looking for a short term freelance online education consultant (e-learning) to support our organisation to deliver teaching and learning strategies online.

We seek someone who can engage with us to create a pilot online training scheme which will be delivered between January – February 2021, and who has the experience, knowledge and confidence to do so in a way that means Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage is able to deliver this online in a professional way.

** If you are interested, please see the role specification here –  Freelance E-learning consultant – Strike a Light **

We estimate this work will take between 3-4 days between December 2020 and February 2021. We have allocated £500 at £20 per hour for this role.

How to apply

Please send a copy of your CV and a covering letter responding to the person specification to Nicola Benge – Creative Director of Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage – contact@archive.strikealight.org by or before 9am on 30th November.

The successful candidate will be notified on 4th December 2020.

Arts, Books and Postcards, Community Arts, Editorial and design, Events, Festivals, Heritage, Music, Oral History, Reminiscence

Brighton Dome Brighton Festival – I Was There project

From Tea Dances to Rock n Roll, Bring Your Stories to Life for Our Heritage Project

Were you mesmerised by Pink Floyd’s first performance of Dark Side of the Moon? Did you sneak into David Bowie’s infamous 1973 Ziggy Stardust gig as a teenager? Have you got a special memory of taking part in Brighton Festival Children’s Parade? Or did you ever perform on the Brighton Dome stage?

Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival want to record your memorable stories as part of a new heritage project, I Was There to capture our history for future generations.

Delivering the project is Sussex-based organisation, Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage, who will be training a team of volunteers to conduct oral history interviews with participants.

The interviews and collection of memorabilia will be archived for future generations, and selected stories will be presented in an online exhibition and feature in a public programme of tours and talks at Brighton Dome.

Tea Dances at Brighton Dome 2013

Kate Richardson, Participatory Interpretation Manager, Brighton Dome said:

“We’d love to hear people’s unique recollections or from anyone who has a special connection to Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival – whether it was 50 years ago or more recently. We’re keen to speak to audience members recounting how they felt about seeing their favourite artist or witnessing a sporting event; performers and participants who took part in a show, as well as former employees who can tell us what it was like working behind the scenes.”

Since being converted into a performance venue 150 years ago, Brighton Dome’s three stages have seen a dazzling array of illustrious artists and musical icons such as Patti Smith, Beyoncé, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix, as well as hosting tea dances, wrestling matches and graduation ceremonies. And since 1967, Brighton Festival has brought thousands of international artists to the city with Guest Directors including Anish Kapoor, Laurie Anderson and Kate Tempest.

Jimi Hendrix on stage at Brighton Dome in 1966

  • The interviews will take place between February and July 2020 and will be conducted by trained oral historians.
  •  A member of our interview team will be in touch to organise where and when the recording should take place, at a time and place convenient to you.
  •  Each interview will take approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.
  • The recordings and edited transcripts will be archived.
  • Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival will have the rights to use archived material as a resource.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting the oral history project as part of their contribution towards the refurbishment of Brighton Dome’s Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre.

If you are interested in taking part or have any questions, please email nicola.benge@brightondome.org

Arts, Books and Postcards, Carnivals and processions, Community Arts, Editorial and design, Events, Festivals, Heritage, Mosaic, Music, Oral History, Plays and musicals, Reminiscence, Textiles

Wishing you Festive Greetings from all at Strike a Light!

Strike a Light – Arts and Heritage wishes you Festive Greetings
from all at Strike a Light.

A Happy New Year in 2020!

Thank you!

We’d like to say a big thank you for supporting us this year! To all of you who’ve attended sessions, worked with us, volunteered,or enjoyed our arts and heritage activities and events across Sussex.

We look forward to continuing forward with our unique blend of arts and heritage into 2020.

We’re closed until 6th January, look forward to seeing you then.

2019 has been a busy year for us with numerous projects, new clients, training and activities.

** 2020 is our 10th anniversary! **

Keep you eyes peeled for exciting new developments in the new year.

Arts, Books and Postcards, Community Arts, Editorial and design, Events, Festivals, Heritage, Music, Oral History, Reminiscence

Brighton Dome Brighton Festival – Making Memories Oral History Project

We are delighted to be working with Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival to deliver a new project starting in January 2020 to capture memories of events, performance and shows at Brighton Dome over the years.

Graduations, tea dances, roller derbies, pop icons, Suffragette protests, cutting-edge art, silent discos, hairdressing championships, tear-jerking theatre, fierce debates and Eurovision winners. We’ve seen it all.

‘And since being converted into a performance venue 150 years ago,
our stages have been graced with a dazzling array of illustrious artists, writers, dancers, musicians, actors and directors – from Harold Pinter to Maya Angelou, Muddy Waters, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder to David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Leonard Cohen and all the late Dancing Queens in between.’

As a volunteer, you will plan and hold interviews to creatively re-tell moving memories from Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival visitors.

This work will end up being part of an exciting story-telling project
about one of the most vital arts centres in heart of Brighton & Hove,
and the memories collected will be shared with generations to come.

Volunteers will:
• receive all training and equipment will be provided
• receive expenses
• need to be aged 18+
• need to commit to the project until July 2020
• need to attend a two hour research session once a month
• need to attend one day training sessions on 25th January 2020
and another date in April.

To find out more, you can download the research job description here Oral History Volunteer RD

If you would like to talk about the project and sharing your memories, please complete our contact form to get in touch!

Arts, Books and Postcards, Community Arts, Editorial and design, Events, Heritage, Oral History, Reminiscence

Shalom Sussex Symposium – Extra tickets

Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage hosts a symposium for the Shalom Sussex – Jewish People in WWI project tomorrow – Tuesday 10th December 2.30-6pm.

This event is free to attend but tickets must be booked, we have a few spaces left:
http://bit.ly/2OOzb4p

Speakers include – Dr Diana Wilkins – Shalom Sussex Research Coordinator, Gideon Reuveni – Director of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies, and Professor Mark Connelly a specialist in Jewish memorialisation post-WWI and Jewish veterans in the 1920s.

Event timings:

2.30pm: Event Start & Refreshments

2.40pm: Shalom Sussex Project Manager introduction

2.45pm: Professor Mark Connelly –  Director of Gateways to the First World War and specialist in Jewish memorialisation post-WWI and Jewish veterans in the 1920s

3.45pm: Dr Gideon Reuveni – Director of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies discusses his new co-edited book and the wider topic of The Jewish Experience of the First World War

5pm: Shalom Sussex project findings with Dr Diana Wilkins and researchers

5.50pm: Shalom Sussex Project Manager conclusion

6pm: Ends

The symposium takes place at:
Room 105, University of Brighton, 154-155 Edward St, Brighton BN2 0JG

PROJECT INFORMATION

Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage CIC, in partnership with the Centre for German-Jewish Studies,
Jewish Care and the Jewish Historical Society of England is facilitating this project
Shalom Sussex – The Jewish Community in WWI.

The project focuses on the contribution Jewish people in Sussex made during the First World War – both on the home-front and abroad on the battlefield.

To mark the end of the Centenary of the First World War, between March 2019-March 2020,  this  project is enabling people in Sussex to come together to preserve the memories and heritage of the Jewish people who lived locally during and post the First World War to collect these hidden histories.

http://shalomsussex.co.uk/

Arts, Books and Postcards, Community Arts, Editorial and design, Events, Heritage, Oral History, Reminiscence

Shalom Sussex Symposium – Extra tickets

Due to the huge response to tickets for this event, we’ve now issued ten further spaces for the Shalom Sussex Symposium. If you would like to attend, book your free tickets using the details below.

Get them soon!

Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage is hosting a one day symposium for the Shalom Sussex – Jewish People in WWI project on Tuesday 10th December 2.30-6pm.

This event is free to attend but tickets must be booked, we have a few spaces left:
http://bit.ly/2OOzb4p

Speakers include – Dr Diana Wilkins – Shalom Sussex Research Coordinator, Gideon Reuveni – Director of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies, and Professor Mark Connelly a specialist in Jewish memorialisation post-WWI and Jewish veterans in the 1920s.

Event timings:

2.30pm: Event Start & Refreshments

2.40pm: Shalom Sussex Project Manager introduction

2.45pm: Professor Mark Connelly –  Director of Gateways to the First World War and specialist in Jewish memorialisation post-WWI and Jewish veterans in the 1920s

3.45pm: Dr Gideon Reuveni – Director of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies discusses his new co-edited book and the wider topic of The Jewish Experience of the First World War

5pm: Shalom Sussex project findings with Dr Diana Wilkins and researchers

5.50pm: Shalom Sussex Project Manager conclusion

6pm: Ends

The symposium takes place at:
Room 105, University of Brighton, 154-155 Edward St, Brighton BN2 0JG

PROJECT INFORMATION

Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage CIC, in partnership with the Centre for German-Jewish Studies,
Jewish Care and the Jewish Historical Society of England is facilitating this project
Shalom Sussex – The Jewish Community in WWI.

The project focuses on the contribution Jewish people in Sussex made during the First World War – both on the home-front and abroad on the battlefield.

To mark the end of the Centenary of the First World War, between March 2019-March 2020,  this  project is enabling people in Sussex to come together to preserve the memories and heritage of the Jewish people who lived locally during and post the First World War to collect these hidden histories.

http://shalomsussex.co.uk/

Arts, Books and Postcards, Carnivals and processions, Community Arts, Editorial and design, Events, Festivals, Heritage, Mosaic, Music, Oral History, Plays and musicals, Reminiscence, Textiles

Get in touch!

To keep up to date with Strike a Light’s free activities:

Follow our website here
Join us on Facebook
Twitter @strikealight
Email: contact@archive.strikealight.org
Instagram: Strikealight_artsandheritage

or drop in to our venue – Studio 8, Open Market, Marshalls Row, Brighton BN1 4JU

Arts, Books and Postcards, Community Arts, Editorial and design, Events, Heritage, Oral History, Reminiscence

100 Years of Council Housing


The Housing Act 1919, more commonly known as the Addison Act after then-minister for health and housing Lord Christopher Addison, paved the way for funding to councils to build 500,000 homes over three years. It is credited with establishing the principle of large-scale, state-funded provision of council housing at low rents.

We are pleased to be delivering a project to celebrate a centenary of council housing in Brighton and Hove for Brighton and Hove City Council.

“Brighton Corporation had begun slum clearance efforts back in the 1890s and even built a small number of homes to rehouse – though at rents they couldn’t pay – some of those displaced.   In 1919 much remained to be done; the local Medical Officer of Health estimated 3152 new houses were needed to ensure a decent home for all.”

This project will explore and commemorate this for the anniversary, and to celebrate the fact that the council is now building homes once more.

We will share more about this project in due course, but there will be activities and celebrations coming up!

Arts, Books and Postcards, Community Arts, Editorial and design, Events, Heritage, Oral History, Reminiscence

Shalom Sussex Symposium

Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage is hosting a one day symposium for the Shalom Sussex – Jewish People in WWI project on Tuesday 10th December 2-7pm.

This event is free to attend but tickets must be booked, we have a few spaces left:
http://bit.ly/2OOzb4p

Speakers include – Dr Diana Wilkins – Shalom Sussex Research Coordinator, Gideon Reuveni – Director of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies, and Professor Mark Connelly a specialist in Jewish memorialisation post-WWI and Jewish veterans in the 1920s.

Event timings:

2.15pm: Shalom Sussex Project Manager introduction

2.30pm: Shalom Sussex project findings with Dr Diana Wilkins

3.30pm: Professor Mark Connelly – Director of Gateways to the First World War

4.30pm: Dr Gideon Reuveni – Director of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies discusses his new co-edited book and the wider topic of The Jewish Experience of the First World War

5.30pm: Drinks and light festive buffet.

The symposium takes place at:
Room 105, University of Brighton, 154-155 Edward St, Brighton BN2 0JG

PROJECT INFORMATION

Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage CIC, in partnership with the Centre for German-Jewish Studies,
Jewish Care and the Jewish Historical Society of England is facilitating this project
Shalom Sussex – The Jewish Community in WWI.

The project focuses on the contribution Jewish people in Sussex made during the First World War – both on the home-front and abroad on the battlefield.

To mark the end of the Centenary of the First World War, between March 2019-March 2020,  this  project is enabling people in Sussex to come together to preserve the memories and heritage of the Jewish people who lived locally during and post the First World War to collect these hidden histories.

http://shalomsussex.co.uk/

Arts, Books and Postcards, Editorial and design, Events, Heritage, Oral History, Reminiscence

Archives Alive – New reminiscence sessions across Brighton and Hove

We’re pleased to be delivering 18 distinct Reminiscence sessions with older people across Brighton and Hove for QueenSpark Books between now and March 2020 for their Archives Alive project, which is funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.

Since 1972 QueenSpark Books has been dedicated to gathering, preserving and making accessible Brighton & Hove’s histories. They do this through publishing oral histories or creative responses to local history, via books, e-books, exhibitions, events, websites and other projects.

We’ll be exploring local memories and personal histories in Portslade with the Memories Past group, central Brighton at Brooke Mead Sheltered Housing Scheme & Kemptown through Hyman Fine House Jewish Care residence.

We’ll be using four books created by QueenSpark in summer 2019 which have been recently published and have encouraged researchers to delve into the archives of existing books to share memories in a more contextualised way.
You can find out more about these publications here: https://queensparkbooks.org.uk/projects/archives-alive-project/