Wish You Were Here - A Year of New Beginnings in The Peak District National Park (2022)
Wish You Were Here was a year-long project for and with people from the refugee community in Sheffield. It took place in The Peak District National Park with 8 different organisations during 2022, following an initial pilot phase in 2021.
A total of 328 people participated - 249 adults and 79 children. We commissioned 9 artists and had support from 70 members of staff and volunteers from the different host organisations.
During the year, the participants were introduced to the work of the nature-based organisations:- The Peak District National Park Authority, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Longshaw Estate National Park, Chatsworth, Eastern Moors Partnership and Peak District Mosaic.
9 different artists were commissioned to design and deliver complementary arts activities within each event such as mask making and storytelling inspired by the animals at Longshaw Estate, a wandering with words along the River Derwent with a creative writer and percussion based cycling event through the Monsal Trail Tunnels.
The project resulted in a book that is not only a trace of our year-long journey, but also allows others to trace in our footsteps with information about the organisations we collaborated with, ‘how to’ activities for families and descriptions of easy and intermediate walks.
Design by Paul Boardman. Photography by Erkan Ciplak, Winnie Lutakome and Mir Jansen. Proofreading by Susan Downer
Copies may be ordered for £5 plus P&P - contact mirjansen1965@gmail.com or text 07985919872
At Your Service (2018)
'At Your Service', was exhibited at Yorkshire Artspace between 27th September and 4th November 2018 and formed part of their Ways of Making exhibition programme. I interviewed 11 European employees of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals over the course of 1 year. Each individual talked to me about the place they came from, why they moved to the UK and each person was asked the same 6 questions:
What was your reaction to Brexit? What do you miss about the country you moved from? What do you like about Sheffield? What do you like about the NHS? What are your concerns for the future of the NHS? What contribution do you think you make to life in the UK/Sheffield?
Alongside this work there are two further works that pay tribute to the NHS, now in its 70th year. Texts written by Heather Ditch with contribution by John Rawlinson accompany the exhibition. (blog atyourservice #7) A further text by Corridor 8 was commissioned for Making Ways.
In the Making (2015)
In 2015 I was commissioned by Museums Sheffield to create an artwork for the 'In The Making' exhibition and collaborated with wood craftsman/furniture maker Henk Littlewood. 'What you do, Where you're from, Who you know' was a collaborative artwork made from an entire oak tree, obtained from Ruskinland near Bewdley – a 100 acre oak woodland managed and owned by The Guild of St George. The tree was made into a sculptural meditative space, decorated inside with images and words inspired by the work and legacy of John Ruskin, the famous Victorian philantropist, art critic, nature lover and prolific writer of many books.
An accompanying text by Jacqueline Yallop, former curator of the Ruskin Gallery in Sheffield provides a more detailed background to this work.
The piece was displayed at Museums Sheffield between January and June 2016. In August the artwork featured in 'Ruskin's Use and Beauty Parlour' exhibition on The Moor in Sheffield, where it was used to engage directly with people who frequent this area of the city. The project was awarded support from Arts Council England and The Guild of St. George.