‘From Where I’m Standing’, Audio Stories & Portraits from 2020
'From Where I’m Standing' is a newly installed exhibition and audio tour that will see inspiring stories from around the UK take over a street in South London from this week.
The photography and audio installation, telling diverse stories from people around the UK as a record of life in 2020 is presented by Empathy Museum in collaboration with the NHS and The Health Foundation. The installation takes over Dallberg Road in Brixton for a month, with each image displayed as a ‘for sale’ sign outside houses along the street. QR codes go alongside each portrait, giving the audience access to audio descriptions of the person’s experience. It will also be available to view online at empathymuseum.com from Thursday 10th December. There are then plans for it to tour the UK.
From Where I’m Standing is made up of 34 portraits, each accompanied by an audio story and a photograph of an object that reflects the time period for the individual. Spanning the length of the country from Truro to Harrogate, the stories include nurses and doctors, an Imam working in the Nightingale, an undertaker, a Rapper, the Director of Longterm Planning for the NHS, checkout staff and a care home entertainer who secured the job to see her dad. Intended to create a museum archive of the period – recording in real time what will become a key historical period of the 21st century, it looks at what the pandemic has to teach us about empathy as well as exploring resilience, wellbeing, interdependence and what sustains us during challenging times.
The project has four strands shot by four award-winning photographers: ten stories from frontline health, social care and public health professionals, collected in collaboration with NHS England and the Health Foundation shot by Myah Jeffers; ten from nursing and midwifery shot by Lottie Davies; seven exploring diversity of experience in lockdown such as new parents and students by Tim Mitchell; seven celebrating local heroes nominated by their community including stories from a great neighbour, a laundrette owner and the leader of the house gospel choir by Amit Lennon.
Empathy Museum create immersive projects that help audiences to look at the world through other people’s eyes. Their work is built around the model of an alternative High Street, where each project takes the form of a shop where visitors are invited for a human interaction rather than a consumer experience. So far they have created a shoe shop – the award-winning A Mile in My Shoes (AMIMS) which had 50,000 visitors - and a crowd-sourced library – 1001 Books. From Where I’m Standing continues the journey along the High Street taking up residence in Brixton, where Empathy Museum is based, as an Estate Agent from 10th December. The photographs along with QR codes for audio will be installed on ‘for sale’ signs along Dalberg Road. There are then plans for further street installations around the UK.
The project is supported by Arts Council England, NHS England and the Health Foundation.
About the Empathy Museum
Empathy Museum was founded in 2015 as a collaboration between artist Clare Patey and philosopher Roman Krznaric. Empathy Museum is built around the model of an alternative High Street. Each project takes the form of a shop, a free public space where visitors are invited for a human interaction rather than a consumer experience. So far we have created a shoe shop – AMIMS and a crowd-sourced library – 1001 Books. We are currently developing Sound Salon, an interactive hairdressers exploring hair and identity and will open a physical space later this year (social distance permitting).
They create immersive projects that help audiences to look at the world through other people’s eyes. The work explores how empathy can transform relationships, tackle prejudice, and build social cohesion. Since its launch Empathy Museum has delivered projects that combine high quality participatory artistic experiences with an ambition for social change. Their award-winning project, A Mile in My Shoes (AMIMS), has attracted over 50,000 visitors who have taken a walk in someone else’s shoes and our collection has over 400 stories from diverse voices around the world.
They have made work across the UK, Europe, Australia and the USA and continue to tour internationally. They have have collaborated on themed versions of AMIMS with NHS England the Health Foundation, Help Refugees, the Migration Museum and the National Theatre of Scotland. The podcast launched in 2018 has had over 100,000 listens and was nominated for Best New British Podcast 2019.
Empathy Museum’s exhibits are conceived by Clare Patey, an award-winning artist and curator who devises participatory installations, performances and exhibitions. She also created the Museum Of, The Ministry of Trying to Do Something About It and Feast on the Bridge for the Thames Festival.
The 'From Where I'm Standing installation takes place from 10th December 2020 - 10th January 2021 on Dalberg Road, Brixton, London. https://www.empathymuseum.com/
