You wander countless streets
pass a pandemic that seems
to go on forever.
But nothing is eternal.
Photography © John Stadnicki, 2020
Community support
Migration Stories – Cultural Exchange Project initiated by Univ. of Gloucestershire at Museum in the Park
A week to go! 12th November 2017 from 10.30 am!
So happy to be part of this and to support an excellent project!
Migration Stories / A Cultural Exchange which celebrates the diversity and the powerful cultural impact of our migrants’ stories and experiences.
‘Spoken languages can both unite and separate human kind. Through education we can learn to speak other languages and this entitles us to appreciate cultures around us. However, linguistics alone are just one conduit of understanding – our sense of what is to be human in the world is also built on non-linguistic cultural experiences – we learn through stories, legends, music, food, dance, festivals, artefacts and images.‘ (Excerpt from Daniel Barenboim, on the 16th July 2017, in an impromptu speech at the Proms Albert Hall.)
Photograph: ©John Stadnicki
12th November 2017 at Museum in the Park, Stroud, Gloucestershire is the first part of a beautiful cultural project which will continue and will develop over the next three months.
The workshop will start at 10.30am at Museum in the Park and will bring together narrators, MA illustrators, poets, writers and photographers.
At 11am we will invite illustrators, photographers, writers, students to listen and to be inspired by the unique stories and memories of those who have experienced the joy, the pain, the comic, the humane journey of those, amongst us, arrived from somewhere else.
The narrators Anita Roy, Dolores Phelps, Maria Stadnicka, Fumio Obata, Ro Saul, John Stadnicki will tell us their memories.
Lunch time – bring and share food from our own heritage
Photograph: © John Stadnicki ‘Portrait – Mr. Sova’
The afternoon will create opportunities for smaller groups to discuss in detail elements of the stories and will begin to consolidate ideas for creative responses.
The creative responses will be completed by 6th December 2017 and a small dedicated team will produce a beautiful new Riso book, ready for the launch on the 22nd of January 2018.
Partners involved: University of Gloucestershire, University of Winchester, SGS Stroud College, Museum in the Park, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
We are looking forward to your participation and contribution!
The next event will on the 22nd November 2017 at Museum in the Park, Stroud, Gloucestershire:
Chaired by Dolores Phelps, MPhil/PhD Researcher, Illustration
9.30 Coffee and introductions
10am start
Introduction by Dolores Phelps and Jen Whiskerd
10.15 Presentation by Andrew Melrose
10.45 Presentation by Adelaide Morris
11.15 Presentation by Olivier Kugler
12.00 Lunch
1.00 Presentation by Fumio Obata
1.30 Presentation by Dolores Phelps
2.00 Presentation by TBA OR Panel discussion
2.30 Panel discussion/Q&A – Olivier, Adelaide, Andrew
3pm Closing remarks.
3.30 Close
Come along and get involved!
With Naked Eye
On the way to the palace
I paused and thought for a moment whether my fresh linen coat
Was really appropriate for her majesty;
My feverish hand brushed the pristine fitted jacket and checked
The size of the buttons,
As golden big studs would have looked rather disgusting
To her well trained eye.
It started raining so I had to turn back
As I quickly gathered that my attire would get soaked
And rather mouldy;
So, to avoid a rather embarrassing situation for both of us,
I thought I’d better try a wet suit instead.
Surely I looked better in a suit than a jacket but
I could not find suitable shoes to go with it
And the rain wasn’t that bad after all.
I was by then very late and rushing
To get a front row seat
When suddenly after a short deliberation
I realised with clarity that her majesty appreciated
Me
For who I was
Rather than my fashion sense
So I took the Lycra skin off and
Rushed outside naked in the broad daylight.
The police stopped me
Just as I was about to call for a taxi.
Even to the day I think
Honest people should be treated with more respect
And I secretly believe that
Her majesty needs a good dose of
Postmodern reality check.
Maria Stadnicka 