Creative Black Country and The Space have awarded two digital commissions as part of Making Our Mark, supporting projects that will share Walsall’s heritage through photography, oral histories and film.
Selected through the Walsall Beyond: A People and Places Digital Commission call-out, Hands Across Walsall and Walsall Sporting Heritage: Kabaddi, Wrestling and Community will explore the people, places and experiences that have shaped the town.
Making Our Mark celebrates the rich and diverse heritage of Walsall’s communities through creative programmes that enable people to discover and share untold stories. Led by Creative Black Country and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the programme supports local groups, organisations and creatives to uncover heritage that matters to the people of Walsall today.
Images by Sharon Hepburn - Hands Across Walsall supplied by The Table CIC
Hands Across Walsall
Delivered by The Table CIC, this project is centred around creating a digital archive, Hands Across Walsall, documenting the extensive photographic work of Sharon Hepburn who showcased Walsall town during the 1980s. As part of the archive, they want to create opportunities for people to engage with photography as they collaborate with community and space.
The digital archive will also contain a map of Walsall created by artist Alice Tanasie, oral histories that uncover the town’s past and documentation of events and updates the archive will discover.
Paul Hepburn said:
“Gaining the Making our Mark commission represents both a transformational opportunity for the ‘Hands across Walsall exhibition’ and a significant moment for the family of Sharon Hepburn. In gaining the funds to move the exhibition online and amplify it, with additional contemporary photographs and an oral history component, means Sharon’s work will reach, and engage with, a wider community. Her family are beyond thrilled that this will also now serve to cement her photographic legacy.”
Image by Sima Gonsai
Walsall Sporting Heritage: Kabaddi, Wrestling and Community
Wolverhampton Wrestling Club will work with filmmaker Sima Gonsai to create three short films exploring Walsall’s grassroots sporting heritage. The project centres around Wolverhampton Wrestling Club and the Walsall Hunters Kabaddi team, bringing together archive material and the memories of players, families and supporters.
Wolverhampton Wrestling Club said:
“We’re delighted to be bringing Walsall’s grassroots sporting heritage to life through film. These three short films will celebrate the remarkable stories behind Kabaddi and wrestling, drawing on the club’s archive and the memories of the people who have shaped its history. From the champions putting Walsall on the international sporting stage to the generations of families who have built a strong sense of community and belonging through sport, these films will share an important part of the Black Country’s heritage with audiences nationally and internationally.”
Sharing Walsall’s stories
Both commissions will receive support from Creative Black Country and The Space to develop their digital work and reach audiences. The partnership brings together community heritage and digital expertise, helping these stories connect with people locally and further afield.
Parminder Dosanjh, Creative Director at Creative Black Country said:
“These commissions reflect the breadth of heritage in Walsall, from photographs of everyday life to the sporting traditions passed between generations. Both projects put local people and their stories at the centre, creating opportunities to share memories, recognise contributions and carry this heritage forward.”
Fiona Morris, CEO and Creative Director at The Space, said:
“We’re delighted to be working with Creative Black Country as part of our Arts Council England funded Digital Firsts programme to support both of the commissioned teams to bring these stories to digital audiences. Through photography, oral history and film, the projects will create new ways for people to encounter Walsall’s heritage, connect with it and share it with others.”
We’ll be sharing updates from both projects as they develop, including opportunities to get involved and experience the completed work.
The projects are being funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and co-commissioned by Creative Black Country in partnership with The Space as part of Making Our Mark.