Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Students revisit the death of Stephen Lawrence through immersive audio experience and workshop
After the launch of the [re]locate exhibition at East Street Arts on Thursday 27 April, Year 9/10 pupils from Wales High School in Rotherham, Co-op Academy Priesthorpe, and Co-op Academy Leeds will visit the exhibition and take part in a workshop session.
The [re]locate installation, an immersive sound installation created by artist and educator Dr Tahera Aziz, details the night of Stephen’s death based on eyewitness accounts from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.
The workshop, designed by Leeds Beckett University’s Professor Vini Lander and Dr Tahera Aziz from London South Bank University, will accompany the exhibition.
The session will involve students experiencing the audio story and taking the time to share their recollections of it through drawing and writing. They will also be able to talk about their questions, thoughts and feelings on the case as part of a group discussion that will be used in future research.
The [re]locate exhibition aims to help preserve the memory of the Stephen Lawrence case, which has had a deep impact in public life and remains relevant in the thirtieth anniversary year of his death.
Professor Vini Lander, from Leeds Beckett University said: “This is an important project which supports young people’s understanding of the damaging and fatal outcomes of racism. The students will learn that racism exists in many guises, it can be in the form of racial microaggressions which are everyday slights, slurs and insults.
“The YMCA report in 2020 noted 95% of Black youngsters have witnessed racist language at school and 49% felt racism was the biggest barrier to their success at school. The workshops will support students to understand how to move from being a bystander to being an upstander in order to counter everyday racism in our schools.”
Dr Tahera Aziz, from London South Bank University said: “Addressing a younger generation who may not have heard of Stephen Lawrence, the [re]locate: soundings exploits audio storytelling and participatory arts-based activities to raise social awareness about racism and stereotyping in contemporary life, provoking questions about the root of social and racial injustice.
“Art has an important role to play in offering unique insights into real life and lived experience: by placing the audience in the position of ‘witness’, the installation challenges them to consider the question of social responsibility. This, In combination with caring about the issue, is a crucial step towards becoming proactive in tackling everyday racism.”
[re]locate will be open to the public at East Street Arts on Thursdays and Saturdays between Thursday 4 May and Thursday 25 May.