THE STORIES of more than 100 people who have made the city their home provide the content for a new exhibition that opens next week at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.
Living Together – which is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund – presents a series of conversations with people of all ages and backgrounds that capture the experiences and interactions that have helped bring Leicester’s diverse communities together.
Thanks to National Lottery players, a team from the St Philip’s Centre was able to conduct interviews with 103 people, recording and archiving the conversations for the exhibition, for a book and for the project’s website.
Around a third of those interviewed were born outside of the UK, while a third were born in the UK, but not in Leicester. The remaining third were born and bred in the city.
People were able to discuss anything, from the level of freedom they felt in Leicester to some of the unique aspects of life in the city, with the interviews capturing both positive and negative experiences.
The oral histories include an interview with ‘Barbara’, who felt supported by friends and colleagues of different faiths when she was diagnosed with cancer.
With people from the Muslim, Hindu and Christian communities praying for her recovery, Barbara felt really protected. “There was never any doubt in my mind that I would recover, because of all this support I was getting from all different expressions of faith,” she said.
‘Mezmin’ – a Muslim – won a Community Champions award in 2019, primarily for her work in a predominantly Hindu community. In her interview, Mezmin says: “It is not about your faith or culture or where you come from – it is about being a human.”
Revd Dr Tom Wilson, director of the St Philip’s Centre, said: "Leicester is well-known for its harmony and ability of many communities to live well together.
“This project has documented and preserved the experiences that lie behind the cohesion and community spirit of the city by recording the memories of 103 people who have made their home in Leicester.
“We gave people who live and work in the city the opportunity to record their experience of living within the rich variety of cultures and experiences found within Leicester. The exhibition showcases some of our findings about how we live together.”
The oral histories have been transcribed in a companion book, called Living Together – published by the St Philip’s Centre and available for £10 - and are also available via the project’s website.
More information is available at leicesterlivingtogether.com.
Living Together is a community co-produced exhibition that opens in the Leicester Stories gallery at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery on Friday 6 February.
Entrance to the exhibition – which runs until 24 May – is free of charge.
Picture caption: The ‘Living Together’ book was launched in Leicester last month, with many of those interviewed for the project attending the launch.