Cynthia Kenny: A city framed - now open at Wakefield Museum

We've opened a new exhibition at Wakefield Museum celebrating the life and work of local artist, Cynthia Kenny (1929-2021)!

The exhibition, Cynthia Kenny: A city framed, is open until June 2026. It explores our changing city through the artist’s eyes.

Photo credit: Nick Singleton

Cynthia Kenny was one of Wakefield’s most important artists. She painted places in Britain and beyond and exhibited around the world. But Wakefield always held a special place in her heart. From the 1960s to 2000s, Kenny documented Wakefield’s changing landscape.

The exhibition features cityscapes, rural scenes, and detailed studies of buildings. Visitors can admire iconic views and well-known landmarks and discover Wakefield’s hidden gems.

As well as producing her own intricate works, she was a founding member of Wakefield Art Club. Kenny was also a trustee for the Friends of Wakefield Art Gallery and Museum for many years.

The artworks are also brought to life by a new soundscape, created by artist Michelle Duxbury. Her recordings from the city to evoke a day in the life of Cynthia’s Wakefield. Duxbury has also recorded creative audio descriptions for several of the exhibition’s star works.

You can also find out more about Kenny’s influence and legacy. Enjoy an exclusive new film by Nick Singleton featuring interviews with Kenny’s friends, colleagues, and contemporaries.

The exhibition also reveals how Cynthia Kenny continues to inspire artists today, showcasing new photography by members of the Wakefield Museums and Castles Youth Forum.

There's more info, photos and videos from the exhibition on our Cynthia Kenny: a city framed page.

Research, development and recreation of Cistercian ware - Naomi Aderonke

Naomi Aderonke, a local ceramicist who has a passion for history, has recreated a style of pottery made in medieval Wakefield. 

In the middle ages Cistercian ware was made in Potovens (pot ovens) in Wrenthorpe. Initially, they supplied practical bowls and cups to Cistercian monks in their abbeys. The abbeys closed in 1540. However, the pots were so popular in Wakefield that they kept making them. In the 1600s, they started also decorating the pots in coloured slip. 

Naomi lives near the site of the Wrenthorpe pottery kilns. She has researched the medieval techniques and style to recreate examples from our collections. Her work has now gone on display with original Cistercian ware at Wakefield Museum.

Read on to discover more about Naomi's research and work in her guest blog.

Naomi Aderonke hosting her tyg making workshop

Why Cistercian ware?

I was looking for a historical link between Wakefield and Ceramics. I’d been interested in looking into alternative industries that might have been significant in Wakefield's history, that weren't textiles and coal mining.

Being a ceramicist myself I wanted to find a link between where I grew up and the craft I loved. 

Researching this I stumbled upon an article on Engole. Here I learnt of Wakefield's link to Cistercian ware. 

I then cross-referenced with other sources, like the archaeology data service and Historic England's records. I learnt more about Cistercian ware's significance, not just to Wakefield, but the surrounding areas of Yorkshire.

The first hurdles

Initially, I wanted to truly recreate as much as I could of the original process that was used in the 1500s.

Potovens was named for the kilns there. A recreation of the original kilns used is outside Wrenthorpe's village hall. Sadly, I do not have the funding, land or skill to recreate an original replica of a working Potovens kiln.

Another issue I had was sourcing local clay. I worked with a local geologist who obtained maps of clay deposits in the area. I started my inquiries.

I sent several emails to the local parks, castles, estates, canals, lakes. I also contacted the original places the potters would use for their clay, Outwood Colliery.

All answers came back as negative. However, it did give me a deeper insight into the local land.

Most original clay deposits would later become coal mines; leaving the land surrounding them unstable. The old pits themselves have been rewilded into marshland for local birds and animals. The castles, parks, estates and lakes such as Newmillerdam and Pugneys are protected land or have been made unstable due to mining. And finally, the canals cannot be dug up due to it causing canal erosion. 

While initially I felt sad and frustrated at this dead end, I knew that the protection of Wakefield's wildlife and history was more important than a few bags of wild, local clay.

Project research and development 

One of the first things I did once I was able to start this project was contact Wakefield Museum. I wanted to learn more about Cisterian ware in Wakefield from an historian's perspective. 

A piece of Late Cistercian ware pot, decorated with white slip and a heavy iron oxide glaze

I was invited by them to the museum store in Ossett. I got to handle original Cistercian ware dug up from both Sandal Castle and Pontefract Castle.

After seeing these original examples of Cistercian ware I threw myself into the practical development side of the project. 

A Wrenthorpe pot used to practice pulling handles on - hence all the handles! 

What makes Cistercian ware look the way it does?

First I looked for a red clay to recreate the original red clays used at the time. I ended up using one called Keuper Red. This gave me the dark reddish, almost purple, when fired, clay.  

Initially in the late middle ages they used a clay called 'glacial clay'. This white clay was easily found on the surface without too much digging. This clay contained many impurities. It was the main clay used in Brandsby-type pottery popular in the 1200s and 1300s.

The next thing I did with this clay was make around 30 to 40 test tiles. It was important for working out how I was going to make the colour for the pots.

After handling the pieces in the museum store I realised there was the use of two slips under the glaze, not one. A red/brown colour and a yellow slip (or so I believed at the time). 

A Wrenthorpe pot in the museum collection

Trial and error: development

I was not sure how they’d done the yellow slip with glaze. However, I knew from extrapolating the resources and knowledge of ceramics at the time, the colour most likely used in the slip was a red iron oxide.

Red iron oxide tends to create a reddish-brown colour. This explained the rich red-brown colour of the pots, even the ones where the glaze had chipped away (but the surface of the clay had not). 

With this, I created a multitude of test glazes and slips with different red iron oxide percentages. I kept some slip and glaze test tiles without the separate and used a mix of both slip and glaze on others. 

Test tiles stood to dry, with differing percentages of red iron oxide

I also tried to create a yellow slip with yellow staining. Unfortunately, this was a failure, and forced me to go back to the drawing board.

The base glaze was a peer-reviewed transparent glaze for dark clays. This prevented the base glaze from causing any clouding.

After working out the glazes, lead-free compared to the glazes used in the late medieval era, I began to focus on the shapes of the pieces.

Shaping the pieces

Similar to using a sketch book, I used my miniature wheel to create miniature versions of Cistercian shapes I had seen and researched.

Creating smaller versions of these reduced clay usage for failed pots. It also allowed me to create multiple variations of shapes without worry of trimming. 

Miniature test pots

Tygs

I decided to try both throwing and hand-building larger versions of Cistercian ware pieces, specifically tygs. This was a later Cistercian ware style, from around the 1700s.

A tyg was a mug with multiple handles, with each handle breathing up the mug into separate sections of the rim. This allowed people to share and pass around a drink more easily.

One of the original, incomplete tygs in our collection, and Naomi's miniature replica

None of the original tygs would have been hand-built. However, I decided to do this due to my desire to later host a workshop on 'making your own tygs'. A hand-built method would allow me to teach multiple people how to make their own tygs more easily.

Using these initial hand-built tygs, I decided to recreate the traditional yellow designs or post-reformation Cistercian ware again. 

I looked back on references from the museum store, as well as yellow and brown slip ware from Staffordshire in the 1600s. From this, I was able to extrapolate that the slip was actually not yellow at all. Instead, I worked out it was the old white clay initially used in Cistercian ware back in the 1400s. It was tinted yellow by the iron heavy glaze used.

I tried this method out on some of my failed pots. Unfortunately, they held little colour as I’d not added enough red iron oxide, nor dipped them for enough time.

However, as you can see on these zoomed-in areas, when the glaze pooled it allowed a colour going towards the yellow colour I was looking for: 

Two close-up examples nearing the desired yellow slip effect

Final stage

After putting all I had learnt to practice, I focused back on the workshop and end pieces for the Cistercian display for Wakefield Museum.

Firstly, I made and tested templates for the tyg workshop. I created net templates to work out how to get the best effect.

After working that out, I sought to create an example tyg using this method. This was then decorated with Yorkshire iconography such as rhubarb and Pontefract cakes. 

One of Naomi's tygs with a 'Pontefract Cakes' design

For the pieces for the museum display I wanted to respect the original pieces, but I did not aim to make exact replicas.

The choice to do miniatures came from the fact miniature throwing is a big part of my practice. I wanted to reflect not only the original piece but recontextualise it for a modern era.

Most people enjoy collecting miniatures of ceramic pieces. It allows them to collect much more, especially if they have smaller homes. Most miniatures are wholly based on modern ceramics. I think that having the ability to have a small part of history (whether local or international) allows people to reconnect more with the ceramics of the past.

Naomi's miniatures with their original inspiration pieces at the museum store

I would like to thank Wakefield Council for funding this as part of Our Year - Wakefield District 2024 and the help and support of Wakefield Museums and Castles.

Naomi's pieces are now on display with original Cistercian ware from our collection, in a new exhibit at Wakefield Museum.

The Cistercian ware display at Wakefield Museum

Lighting up Wakefield: guide to The Timekeepers by Illuminos

This year's Light Up Wakefield (part of Our Year - Wakefield District 2024) invites you to see spectacular digital installations and experience the city in a whole new light!

One of the 2024 installations is The Timekeepers by Illuminos, which will be projected onto County Hall. 

It is a projection mapping piece based on the 300-year old story of Wakefield-born genius John Harrison. Harrison set his mind to the great mystery of the age – the perfect measurement of time and space. 

The Timekeepers celebrates the great variety of heritage, culture and arts that can be discovered across the Wakefield district.

The installation flies through time and tells stories, large and small from the Wakefield district. 

We're extremely excited, as our collections play a big part in telling the story! It sees some of our tiniest objects made gigantic on the beautiful facade of County Hall.

So what objects can you expect to see in The Timekeepers? Here's a guide to some of the highlights - some you might be familiar with, and others you might not!

The Waterton Clock, 1670s

This is a gorgeous lantern clock which was owned by the Waterton family for generations. 

Charles Waterton (1782 - 1865) of Walton Hall thought that the clock was once owned by Sir Thomas More (1478 - 1535). Waterton believed he was a descendant of More. 

More was Lord High Chancellor to Henry VIII - until he had him executed!

However, the clock was actually made over 100 years after the death of More. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful piece and lends itself brilliantly to The Timekeepers! It's also the oldest clock in our collection.

The 'Castleford Pig', around 1910

The 'Castleford Pig' is literally a window through time! 

Inside this tiny carving of a pig is a looking glass. When you hold the object up to the light, you can see six pictures of Castleford from the early 1900s. 

It's an example of a Stanhope picture viewer, and novelty versions were very collectable. They came in many shapes and sizes, and could feature lots of pictures.

The Timekeepers is about incredible, huge visuals projected onto one of Wakefield's most spectacular buildings. 

So it's absolutely delighted us that our tiny pig, which is only about the size of a £1 coin, is going to be the size of County Hall! 

Glassware made by Bagley and Co Ltd in Knottingley, 1930s

Although originally started as a bottle factory, Bagley's also made decorative glass. It became especially known for its vibrantly coloured glass developed in the 1930s.

However, there's a hazardous reason behind some of these brilliant colours - some were created using uranium, a radioactive element!

Coloured glass production ended in the 1940s when uranium was needed for atomic bomb development in the Second World War.

After the war, Bagley's went on to create a very dark black glass, known as 'jetique'. 

The eyepopping colours of Bagley's glassware makes it perfect to be projected in The Timekeepers. 

If you'd like to see more, there's a whole Glass Room at Pontefract Museum (don't worry, these ones aren't radioactive!) 

Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb

A celebration of Wakefield's heritage wouldn't be complete without rhubarb!

Thanks to good soil mixed with lots of ashes, horse manure and textile waste, and just the right amount of rain, Wakefield specialises in 'forced rhubarb'. The city forms part of the 'Rhubarb Triangle' with Leeds and Morley.

There's a display about the history of growing rhubarb at Wakefield Museum, where you can even hear it growing. The sound might surprise you!

You can also find out more about why Wakefield roots for rhubarb in this blog post.

Phenakistiscope discs, 1880s

They might be a bit of a mouthful to pronounce, but phenakistiscope discs are actually an early type of animation.

They were invented in the early 1800s, long before film or even photography as we know it. 

Our collection of phenakistiscope discs, including this one pictured, belonged to the Farrers. The Farrers were a famous clock-making family from Pontefract. Hence the link to The Timekeepers! 

The Illuminos team bring these discs to life through digitally replicating their analogue animation.

Playmakers - Sykes and Slazenger

A Slazenger quiver of arrows, 1950s

Wakefield has quite the sporting heritage! Our Playmakers collection tells the story of how, for more than a century, Horbury was a centre of sporting excellence and innovation.

The factory at Horbury was first founded by William Sykes, and then became Slazengers during the Second World War.

Horbury-made sporting equipment supplied the World Cup, Challenge Cup, and was endorsed by sports stars including Steffi Graf and Don Bradman.

There's so many stories to tell about our sporting heritage - head to this blog for an introduction!

Commemorative marbles from A Reight Neet Aht, 1930s to 1950s 

Prepare yourself for a torrent of marbles to cascade down County Hall! And no, it's not just because we've lost ours... 

A game of marbles was a big deal in Castleford! From 1936 an unlikely and flamboyant charity event called 'A Reight Neet Aht' created a buzz at the Castleford Co-Operative Hall. 

Known as 'taws', these marbles contests raised money for Leeds Infirmary over the next 20 years.

The marbles for the tournament, along with glass trophies, were made in and around Castleford. They all look mighty impressive projected large in The Timekeepers!

You can don your gladrags for a glamorous game of marbles in A Reight Neet Aht at Castleford Museum.

The Wakefield Pageant, 1933

A group of girls from Thornes House Secondary School and Ings Road Central School acted as a 'ballet' steam train in the 1933 Wakefield Pageant!

The Pageant of Wakefield and the West Riding took place in June 1933 in Thornes Park, Wakefield. It celebrated Wakefield's past and present, and imagined the city's future.

A whole cast of schools and societies took part, each playing different roles from Wakefield's proud history. They also helped to make the costumes and lavish backdrops.

More than 2,000 performers took part in the Pageant over 10 performances. Thousands of people turned out to enjoy the spectacle.

Objects and photographs from the 1933 Pageant are projected alongside The Hatchling in The Timekeepers. The Hatchling was an amazing event during the summer of Our Year - Wakefield District 2024, which saw a dragon hatch in Wakefield.

The Wakefield Pageant was very much the 'Our Year' of 1933!

You can see a special art display inspired by the Wakefield Pageant by artist Louise Goult in the lower atrium of Wakefield One.

Anglo-Saxon cross, around 900 to 1000 AD

This stone cross is the first evidence of a settlement in modern Wakefield. 

The cross was probably used for preaching, and it stood in Wakefield's marketplace until 1546. It then disappeared until 1861, when Edmund Waterton (son of Charles Waterton) rescued it from the demlotion of an old butcher's shop. The cross shaft had been used as a doorstep to the butcher's!

Not only is this object important in telling us about the creation of Wakefield, it was once a vibrant and colourful creation. 

The cross is on display at Wakefield Museum - it is on loan courtesy of York Museums Trust.

Accessibility matters at Wakefield Museum

Wakefield Museum has been shortlisted in two categories in the 2024 Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum award!

The museum has been shortlisted in the categories of Best Accessible Museum and Best Museum Youth Group. 

It is the only museum to have been shortlisted in more than one category!

The entrance to the Wakefield One building, which houses Wakefield Museum

Charity Kids in Museums has run the prestigious annual award since 2004, recognising the most family-friendly heritage sites in the UK. 

From late March to early June, families and museums across the UK could vote for their favourite heritage attraction on the Kids in Museums website. 

A panel of museum experts then whittled down hundreds of nominations to a shortlist of 19 heritage attractions.

We get to find out if we've won at the awards ceremony in October.

You can learn about our Youth Group, the 'Wakefield: Where We Are...' project here. This has now evolved into our new Youth Forum for Wakefield Museums and Castles. 

Read on to explore just some of what we've done to make Wakefield Museum more accessible for all:

Relaxed openings

A visitor interacting with a touch element in the new Seeing Double exhibition

Every Thursday from 4pm to 6.30pm at Wakefield Museum is a relaxed opening session. Visitors can explore the Museum in a quieter, more relaxed setting.

Everybody is welcome! And everybody is welcome to be their full selves.

Any loud noises from videos and interactives are turned down or turned off. Lighting levels are kept low and consistent. This all works to reduce sensory overload and generate a relaxed atmosphere.

There is also a pop-up tent quiet space for anyone who needs it. We don't book groups during this session to help keep the museum quieter.

Pick and Mix station

The Pick and Mix station at Wakefield Museum

We have Pick and Mix stations at all three of our museums. They are full of beautiful tactile tools and resources to support our visitors to get the most out of their visit.

The 'Explore' drawer contains a variety of things to explore our displays in lots of different ways. These include tools to match different shapes, colours, materials and sounds to our objects.

The 'Touch' drawer has a range of fun colourful fidget toys. Perfect if keeping your hands busy helps you to stay calm or to concentrate!

The 'See' drawer is full of different lenses, magnifying glasses and frames. These can help you to look at our objects in another way, and support dyslexic and partially sighted people to change the colour contrast.

Our Visitor Experience Assistant Nat with two small coloured panels from the 'See' drawer

The 'Sound' drawer has a number of ear defenders available in child and adult sizes. These are great for visitors who are sensitive to loud or sudden noises. 

You can also fill up one of our backpacks with a range of items for easy carrying around the galleries!

Makaton

The Makaton sign for 'ring' and the Sandal Castle ring on display

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate.

We have Makaton signage next to star objects around the museum, showing you how to sign that word. 

Most of our Visitor Experience Assistance have had Makaton Awareness training, and we are busy arranging training sessions for our lovely new starters!

Our yearly SEND Christmas event is visited by a Makaton Aware Father Christmas too.

Sensory maps and visual stories

The sensory map for the Seeing Double temporary exhibition

We have sensory maps for our temporary exhibition gallery and the main permanent gallery. 

They show you where audio, visual and hands-on elements are in the space. They also show where seating is available, and any other things like mirrors that may cause sensory overload for visitors.

We also have a visual story for the main museum. This explains what a visit to the museum is like and shows you what is here before you visit. Visual stories are particularly helpful for autistic people and people with anxiety, or anyone who likes to know what to expect when visiting a new place.

Both the sensory maps and the visual story are available to download in advance from our Access page.

Easy Read guide

The Easy Read guide at Wakefield Museum

We now have an Easy Read guide for the main gallery at Wakefield Museum. 

Easy read information is presented in a certain way to help people understand information more easily. Photos and illustrations help to explain the information provided.

It is especially useful for learning disabled people and people with low reading ages. It is also helpful for people for whom English is a second language. It can be used by anyone who wants bite-sized information about the museum's main themes.

Hidden Disabilities awareness

We are aware that not all disabilities or access needs are easily identifiable. We also know some of our visitors may prefer to be discreet about their needs and requirements.

We are proud to support the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme. The scheme helps us to increase our understanding and awareness of hidden disabilities.

Our staff wearing a Sunflower scheme badge can be approached to offer support if needed.  

Home Education programme

Two young visitors looking at a crocodile skull in the Wakefield Museum Learning Zone

We know mainstream schooling isn't for everyone, for lots of different reasons. At Wakefield Museum and Pontefract Castle we have an exciting and varied Home Education programme that runs during term-time. 

These popular sessions provide home educating families and groups with hands-on experiences exploring the many things our collections can teach us. 

Our Home Education sessions have been developed in consultation with regular users. We have learned not to make assumptions about what they need. We develop extra activities for those who need it, when they need it.

Our main programme is aimed at ages 6 to 11. As our regular home educated children are getting older, we are working with them and their families to develop sessions for ages 12+ as well.

Our Home Education sessions are bookable on our Ticketsource page. We also have a dedicated Home Education e-newsletter. 

Some Egyptian-inspired amulets made at a Home Education session

Relaxed and SEND activity sessions

Our Casual Learning Enabler Tracey demonstrating crafts to visitors at our SEND Christmas event

Throughout the year we have a range of relaxed and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) activity sessions for our family and adult visitors. 

Every year we have a dedicated SEND Christmas event, with reduced numbers, a relaxed atmosphere and a wide range of festive multisensory crafts and activities. Our Father Christmas is Makaton aware and great at communicating with visitors with a range of communication styles.

Our SEND sessions of our school holiday activities are designed to offer the same or similar experiences to the main programme, in a relaxed atmosphere. They are bookable to help us keep the number of attendees low and give everybody more space. 

We also have relaxed sessions for under 5s this summer at Wakefield Museum, for toddlers and adults alike who prefer a more chilled time together! 

We have also been celebrating Learning Disability Week each year across our sites, with a range of relaxed object handling and crafts sessions for learning disabled adults and their family and friends.

Polish translation for temporary exhibition

The Polish translation booklet for the Seeing Double exhibition

We have a Polish translation of the information panels in our new Seeing Double: The story of Double Two shirts exhibition.

Polish is the second most widely spoken language in the Wakefield district. We're delighted to make our new exhibition more accessible for our local Polish community.

Access information for Wakefield Museum

We believe strongly that making our visitor experience more accessible for one group of people makes it more accessible for everybody. We are constantly working to improve and enhance the accessibility of all of our sites, and working with local groups and experts by experience to do this.

We always welcome feedback on how we can make our sites more accessible!

You can find full access information for Wakefield Museum on our webpage. 

Stitching Friendships

Stitching Friendships is a new display in Wakefield Museum. It was created with the Refugee Council.

It showcases the work of the Refugee Council’s sewing and embroidery group in Wakefield.

The Stitching Friendships display in Wakefield Museum

The group was set up in 2023. It aimed to create a safe environment for women to discover and develop their talents. 

Many of the women came from different countries and spoke different languages. Despite this, they were able to share practical skills with each other. 

The women in the group are from Sudan, Afghanistan, and Eritrea. They were forced to leave their homes because of violence, conflict, and persecution. They moved to a new and unknown country under difficult circumstances. The sewing group allowed them to make friends and practice their English.  

As well as their work, the women shared their stories of leaving their home countries and moving to Wakefield. They shared these stories via a translator.

Read on to discover their stories in English, Arabic and Dari. 

Content warning: Contains stories referring to racism, war and conflict.

Abeer

Abeer’s work: Abeer created an embroidery inspired by the nature of Sudan. It features birds, flowers and trees. The embroidery brings back memories for Abeer of her home country and family trips to the river. They would have a picnic, drink Arabic coffee, sing and dance. 

Abeer’s story: Abeer was born in Sudan. Civil war in Sudan has resulted in serious attacks and abuses on civilians, and led to mass displacement. Abeer was forced to leave her home and move to Egypt, where she stayed for five years. She experienced racism, bullying and health issues in Egypt, so she moved to the UK in 2021.
 

عبير

ولدت عبير في السودان. لقد أُجبرت على ترك منزلها والانتقال إلى مصر حيث بقيت لمدة خمس سنوات. عانت من العنصرية ومشاكل صحية في مصر، لذا انتقلت إلى المملكة المتحدة في عام ٢٠٢١.

قطعة عبير مستوحاة من طبيعة السودان وتعيد ذكريات الرحلات العائلية إلى النهر، حيث كانوا يقومون بنزهة ويشربون القهوة العربية ويغنون ويرقصون.

عبیر

عبیردر سودان به دنیا آمد. او مجبور شد خانه خود را ترک کند و به مصر نقل مکان کند و پنج سال در آنجا بماند. او در مصر از مسائل تبعیض نژادی و نبود خدمات صحی رنج می برد، بنابراین در سال ۲۰۲۱ به بریتانیا نقل مکان کرد.

کارساخته عبیراز طبیعت سودان الهام گرفته شده است که خاطرات رفت و آمدهای خانوادگی به کنار دریا را یادآورمی شود، جایی که آنها برای میله فامیلی میرفتند,  قهوه عربی می نوشیدند، , آواز می خواندند و می رقصیدند

 

Gulchehra

Gulchehra’s work: Gulchehra chose to make a patchwork cover. She wanted to rescue the pieces of fabric that no one else wanted and turn them into something new.

Gulchehra’s story: Gulchehra was born in Afghanistan. The country has experienced more than 40 years of conflict, natural disasters, and poverty. In 2021, the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul increased the violence and suffering. Gulchehra was forced to flee her home. She hid in a secret location in Kabul before coming to the UK. She still has family in Afghanistan. Gulchehra has found it difficult to make friends in Wakefield because there are few Afghan families. Sometimes she feels lost here.

Gulchehra joined the sewing group to meet new people. She has made two good friends.

جولتشيهرا

ولدت جولتشيهرا في أفغانستان. أُجبرت على الفرار من منزلها، واختبأت في مكان سري في مدينة كابول قبل القدوم إلى المملكة المتحدة. لقد كافحت لتكوين صداقات في مدينة ويكفيلد بسبب قلة عدد العائلات الأفغانية.

انضمت جولتشيهرا إلى مجموعة الخياطة للقاء أشخاص جدد. لقد اختارت إنقاذ قطع القماش التي لم يرغب بها أحد وتحويلها إلى قطعة مرقعة.

گلچهره

گلچهره در افغانستان بدنیا آمد. او که مجبور به فراراز خانه اش شد، قبل از آمدن به بریتانیا در یک مکان مخفی در کابل پنهان بود. او برای یافتن یک دوست در منطقه ویکفیلد تلاش کرد اما موفق نشد زیرا تعداد کمی از خانواده های افغان در آنجا وجود زندگی میکنند.

گلچهره به گروپ خیاطی پیوست به این امید که با خانم های جدید آشنا شود. او تصمیم گرفت توته های تکه های را که هیچ کس دیگری کارنداشت و استفاده نمیکرد دوباره استفاده کند و ازآنها یک تکه وصله کاری یا به اصطلاح یک پارچه پینه دوزی درست کند.

Halima

Halima’s work: Halima loves sewing. She made a pair of velvet trousers because she likes to wear trousers under her clothes to keep warm and covered. She told us the fabric is perfect because it’s not too hot and not too cold.

Halima’s story: Halima was born in Eritrea. Many people consider the country to have one of the world’s most repressive governments. It has harsh military conscription, political imprisonment, and widespread torture and abuse. Halima was forced to leave Eritrea and move to Egypt, where she lived for six years. She was then brought to the UK by the United Nations because her son needed medical treatment. She arrived here in March 2023.

Halima joined the group to learn new skills and socialise. It offered her an opportunity to gather together with other women. She told us that all of the women in the group have become her friends.

حليمة

ولدت حليمة في إريتريا. غادرت إريتريا وانتقلت إلى مصر، قبل أن تحضرها الأمم المتحدة إلى المملكة المتحدة لأن ابنها كان بحاجة إلى علاج طبي.

حليمة تحب الخياطة كثيرا. انضمت إلى المجموعة لتعلم مهارات جديدة والتواصل الاجتماعي. لقد صنعت بنطلون مخملي لأنها تحب ارتداء البنطلون تحت ملابسها للتدفئة والتغطية.

حلیمه

حلیمه در اریتریا بدنیا آمد. او کشورش اریتریا را ترک کرد و به مصر نقل مکان کرد، قبل از اینکه توسط سازمان ملل متحد به بریتانیا آورده شود زیرا پسرش به تداوی نیاز داشت.

حلیمه عاشق خیاطی است. او برای یادگیری مهارت های جدید و اجتماعی شدن به این گروپ پیوست.  وی برای خود یک پطلون بخملی دوخت تا زیر لباسهایش بپوشد و گرم باشد.   

Nazia

Nazia’s work: Nazia chose to make a dress because she has lots of experience making dresses. Nazia is a skilled sewer and she wanted to help others learn to sew.

Nazia’s story: Nazia was born in Afghanistan. The country has experienced more than 40 years of conflict, natural disasters, and poverty. In 2021, the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul increased the violence and suffering. Nazia moved to the UK because her husband is a British citizen. Although it was difficult to leave her home, she is happy that her children are now safe.

Nazia joined the sewing group because she wanted to get out of the house and meet new people. All of the women in the group have become her friends.

نازيا

ولدت نازيا في أفغانستان وبعد سقوط الحكومة انتقلت إلى المملكة المتحدة لأن زوجها مواطن بريطاني. وعلى الرغم من أن كان من الصعوبة مغادرة منزلها، إلا أنها سعيدة لأن أطفالها أصبحوا الآن آمنين.

نازيا خياطة ماهرة وأرادت مساعدة الآخرين على تعلم الخياطة. أرادت أيضًا الخروج من المنزل والتعرف على أشخاص جدد. أصبحت جميع النساء في المجموعة صديقاتها.

نازیه

نازیه در افغانستان متولد شد. پس از سقوط دولت، او به بریتانیا نقل مکان کرد زیرا شوهرش شهروند بریتانیا است. اگرچه خروج از خانه و وطن برایش دشوار بود، اما او خوشحال است که فرزندانش اکنون اینجا درامنیت هستند.

نازیه یک خیاط ماهر است و به دیگران هم کمک کرد تا خیاطی را یاد بگیرند. او همچنین می خواست از خانه بیرون بیاید و با افراد جدیدی آشنا شود. همه زنان گروپ دوست او شده اند.

Zinab

Zinab’s work: Zinab chose to make a patchwork pillow, using lots of different fabrics and colours. She loves the colour green so she wanted to include some green fabric.

Zinab’s story: Zinab was born in Sudan. Civil war in Sudan has resulted in serious attacks and abuses on civilians and led to mass displacement. Zinab was forced to leave her home in 2014 and she lived in Egypt for nine years, before moving to the UK. She likes living in Wakefield because her children are happy and safe.

Zinab worked as a seamstress in Egypt for three years, so she wanted to share her skills. She also wanted to socialise and find a way to let some of her negative feelings out. She would feel excited all week before the sewing workshops on a Thursday.

زينب

ولدت زينب في السودان وأجبرت على مغادرة منزلها عام ٢٠١٤ وعاشت في مصر لمدة تسع سنوات قبل أن تنتقل إلى المملكة المتحدة. تحب العيش في مدينة ويكفيلد لأن أطفالها سعداء وآمنون.

عملت زينب كخياطة في مصر لمدة ثلاث سنوات فأرادت مشاركة مهاراتها مع المجموعة. شعرت زينب بالحماسة طوال الأسبوع قبل جلسات يوم الخميس.

زینب

زینب در سودان به دنیا آمد. او در سال ۲۰۱۴  مجبور شد کشوروخانه اشرا را ترک کند و به مدت ۹ سال در مصر زندگی کرد و سپس به بریتانیا آمد. او زندگی در ویکفیلد را دوست دارد زیرا فرزندانش شاد و امن هستند .

زینب به مدت سه سال در مصر به عنوان خیاط کار کرد، بنابراین می خواست مهارت های خود را به اشتراک بگذارد. او تمام هفته چشم براه روز پنج شنبه میباشد که به گروپ بیاید. 

You can see the Stitching Friendships display in Wakefield Museum until April 2025. The display has interpretation in English, Arabic and Dari.