About

Artist, singer and performer Jennifer Reid will lead a 3 hour workshop exploring the relevance of ‘work songs’, dialect and print culture. Through this workshop participants will find tools to reconnect with the past, and will be encouraged to identify and research local archives to find songs from working class traditions. A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or a song linked to a task which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song. During the workshop Jennifer will sing and perform broadside ballads. (a song recited in public places or traditionally printed on broadsheets) Followed by a presentation about her work and group discussion about the correspondence of dialect songs and community banners. The workshop will have a focus on the legacies of industrial culture of the 19th century, encouraging participants to go and research in their local archives for material relevant to their interests. We will explore the human voice as a means of occupying space and empowering individuals, as well as its capacity to reconnect us with the past and shape contemporary identities. 

The workshop will be delivered in two parts: the first half will involve a performance and talk about the legacies of 19th century industrial culture, and in the second half participants will create a community banner. 

About the Artist

Jennifer Reid is an artist, singer and performer of nineteenth century Lancashire dialect and Victorian broadside ballads. After volunteering at Chetham’s Library and the Working Class Movement Library, she completed an Advanced Diploma in Local History at Oxford University. Her research is focused on nineteenth century music, social history and the alternative pedagogies. Jennifer teaches students from all levels (primary school to higher education) and has delivered talks and seminars for history groups and other non-specialised audiences.

Her work has taken her to Venice, Croatia, New York and lately Bangladesh, where she tested the idea that the Industrial Revolution never stopped, it just moved to Dhaka. She spoke at the first ethnomusicography conference on the Indian sub-continent about her research into Bangladeshi and Mancunian weaving songs. Jennifer researches ballads and applies them to contemporary life.

Workshop Itinerary 

2:00 – 3:30: A performance and talk about the legacies of 19th century industrial culture. 

3:30 – 5:00: A group conversation and creation of a community banner. 

Through this workshop participants will revive discourses from the past, and will be encouraged to research local archives documenting songs from working class traditions.

All materials will be provided. 

Access Notes

The event will happen in NN’s temporary space at Vulcan Works. Instructions on how to access our space will be emailed to attendees. Registration is mandatory, no walk-ins possible.

For any inquiries please email paula@nncontemporaryart.org.

The event will be photographed and filmed for archival purposes. By signing up, you agree for the photographs and videos to be used for future promotional purposes.

Image courtesy of the artist.

Website

Booking Link