#Here I Am
In the middle of lockdown April 2020 the people of Calderdale were invited to take part in a unique art project to celebrate becoming a Valley of Sanctuary.
‘People of Calderdale, here we are.
Wherever you’re from, whatever communities you’re part of, we are all united in being in the same place at this unique moment in time.
Who are you? What do you imagine? For yourself, this place, and the future?’
A wide range of rich creative pieces were received from all ages and parts of the community - poems, drawings, songs, films, letters, paintings, zoom calls and recipes!
Together they show the wonderful creativity and diversity of the people of Calderdale - their lives, homes, experiences of lockdown, connections to other nations, and a strong sense of community.
She Is Me
She is a fighter and has fought a thousand battles
She has been hurt and broken and sometimes hides her scars
In her journey she meets lonely, loving and hateful people but she cares for them and never gives up on them.
She knows everyone is fighting their own battle.
Her past is ugly but she is beautiful.
She keeps on moving and never looks back
An angel whispered to her ‘Hold on don’t despair, you are not alone, Love is all there is, we are only pieces.’
She is me.
by Jeanette
Our family has been separated during lockdown in March, April, May and June of 2020 due to the corona virus - and wanting to keep ourselves and each other safe from the virus.
Every picture tells a story - and this one is no exception.
As with most families, we have been meeting up online during the lockdown and doing quizzes and generally chatting and sharing news. The youngest member of the family has learned to walk and talk during lockdown, and has been at home all the time with her mum who has been furloughed. The family is grateful or the online opportunity to see her showing off her new skills.
Some of the members of the family have been furloughed all the way through, and some have just now been furloughed and still one other has been furloughed and has been re-employed. Four of the members of the family have been working at their place of employment all the way through the lockdown, and, as key workers, we are very proud of them. The second youngest member of the family has been separated from her Dad all through the furlough, and this photo shows the first time they have seen one another in the flesh in three months. One member of the family started his job during lockdown and is doing his training online - all new ways of working.
I think the experience of being separated from the family makes us all think about what it must be to like to be a refugee who has been separated from their family over the many thousands of miles - and those people have no idea when and if they will ever meet up with their family again. This forced separation makes us realise how very difficult it is to not be with our loved ones, and may increase our empathy for people who have escaped they home countries in order to make themselves safe….and makes us realise that it the most difficult thing in the world to be separated from our family and support systems and that no-one would make the treacherous journey away from our homeland without it being the last resort. It is not a free choice to leave. It is a necessity in most cases, and this should be remembered by everyone during this time and not forgotten when we are lucky enough to be able to be reunited in a safe way.
I thought about Sanctuary. I am isolating with my partner as 'vulnerable'. Strange times.
Lockdown with Liz Live
Created this during and for lockdown. Its a piece called The Red Earth. Blt63
I've shared the view from my window, a place that I feel lucky to call home. I feel lucky to be born in a safe country and near the beautiful countryside in Calderdale. I have added items on my window sill that represent my personality. You can see the window frame because at the moment we are spending a lot of time staying home to try to stay safe.
This is the first watercolour I've done since I was little and really enjoyed it so I'm looking forward to doing more.- Phoebe
Angela
This Kirigami piece is my contribution to the #HereIAm project.
Currently in the final year of my degree through Calderdale College alongside homeschooling a six year old so its been nice to tie this in as a little something just for me. Elizabeth
I have actually really enjoyed being in lockdown, I was seriously suicidal just prior to it but having the break from life’s busy treadmill, always feeling rushed and late, so trapped by expectations.
Being in lockdown has given me time to be creative, the parent I want to be and has returned colour. Along with the rainbows in our community which has come together during this outbreak I can see colour in the world again.
The image represent before and during lockdown I dare not think about after yet.
It’s not perfect- the great thing about lockdown is not feeling like you need to reach perfection.-Nicola
Jenny
The world in existence
Dear Covid 19
How I feel
You came into the world in peace in 2019 but in 2020 the world know about your existence and in 20th March due to your existence my school told my Mum to tell I and my sister to stay at home.
I ask my Mum who you are and she said you are germs. Covid 19 your existence is killing people in the world and you don’t care who you kill big/small, rich/poor. Your existence has put the world into lockdown, I can’t go to school to see Mrs Shearn and all my teachers, my friends, I can’t even go to church, not even animal park, Macdonalds. Your existence makes me stay at home to keep safe.
POSITIVE THINGS I FEEL
Covid 19 your existence has made me learn to love and cherish my family more while staying at home. I and my sister play together, pretend to be Topsy and Kerry. My Mum gives us activities to do to make us feel we are in school. We learn more bible verses. Your existence has made me achieve all this. Your existence makes my teacher call me on the phone and I meet new friends online with the help of Light up Bahc Initiative which gets me busy. Covid 19 your existence is just for a moment but I know someone who has been in existence before you and is still in existence forever and His name is “THE WORD”.- Children of Light Up BAHC
This is Amir, a classical Iranian singer performing a lament over zoom to two friends in Scotland who recorded it and sent it back
Angela
‘Things we like doing - especially over the lockdown months’
Mohsen, Mozhgan and Fatima Saadat, a family from Iran
Nature in People’s Park, photographing it with a phone camera
Making Art, paintings and visiting an exhibition at The Piece Hall
Crafts and cookery, leatherwork, knitting and Iranian baking
Hossein is from Iran.
He has been in the UK for 1 year and had no English before he came but has been working really hard on his language skills since then and really wanted to sing a song in English.This is what he chose.The backing track was provided by members of the Jafa Cakes.
Hossein loves to cook as you can see from the photos of bread, cheese and yoghurt he makes.
Traditional Ethiopian Cooking by Sailh
This is Where I Want to Be by Sonny Bunce
Waking up the tip taping of the little feet on the roof and harmonies of the trees residents chirping their sweet song penetrating the air.
Jumping into the icy water of the plunge pool and climbing up the frost ridden stream shivering in are wet-suits
The blue bells carpeted the lush grass creating spirals of royal blue across the elevated land scape
As I lay there soaking up the sights of the horizon a blurry line of aquamarine danced across the water
The sound of waves crashing eased my muscles and made me relax as I lay listening
Shafts of light shot through the waves projecting shapes on to the shoreline
The salty haze of the crashed waves blew over me sparking nostalgia
Being at one with the sound of ocean dragging stones up the cobbled path that is the waters edge
As the radiating sun beamed down on me I rejoiced at the sight of family and friends
The vanilla like shrubs bobbed up and down their fragrance blew across the carpet of sand spreading its creamy perfume across the desolate beach
We gazed in ore at the pearly sun set making golden waves with its shimmering light,
this is where I want to be.
Mayre, My Cultural Journey
From the Jungle of Amazon-Brazil to Western European countries, Here I am, crossing with cultural differences between societies, trying to survive and adapt.
"Happy Together" by Alina Savko
I am a Partner, Mother, Grandma, Artist and Author. I am originally from Lithuania, I moved to Calderdale in 2002. I love this place, it is my home. I went to college here, finishing my HND in 2013, and opened my own business in Halifax until 2015. Now I am painting and writing activity books for children. Calderdale is a place where you can meet friendly people and visit lovely places like Hardcastle Crags, Ogden Water, Shibden Hall and The Peace Hall.
I shared the view from my window - my place in Calderdale. I put my game controller, football t-shirt and food because they're things that are important to me and my hobbies. Under everyone's skin are bones and everyone's bones are the same so why do people get treated differently? Wilson
Khadija
Jackson
Let us gather up all our Teddies well at least six of them, all small, all able to be transported easily in the tiny mouth of a Pekingese.
First Teddy squeaks, attention Ming he is mine, she's not having him , my mission rescue Teddy and remove him to a safe haven under the armchair.
I am Ming, The Emperor of this Palace. My registered owner is ok.
When I first saw her and her husband I thought yes, these two remind me of two obedient monks I knew in another life.
I can do something with them, maybe not larks tongue and tea for breakfast but I'll wangle a bowl of milk and a daily omelette.
So I play Teddies to keep her amused.- Gill
I often think about my life as a mountain I want to climb. As list of things I want to achieve whilst I am living that make up my mountain. I try and base decisions on things I do, jobs I take, directions I move on whether these things will get me closer to or further away from my mountain. I drew this image to symbolise this. Michael
I have been a volunteer at St. Augustine's Centre and we sometimes host asylum seekers in our home. We try and show them the local area and go for walks. The image I have attached are wild flowers that I picked on a walk yesterday the 2nd June. They are diverse, wild, give delight, they are random and colourful like the communities in Calderdale. I imagine a world without borders and boundaries which is welcoming to all and respects difference.-Catherine
Wainhouse Tower 6 June lit purple in solidarity with George Floyd and the global Black Lives Matter movement. -Ruth
A mazing
F abulous
I ndependent
F antastic
A wesome
H appy
-Afifah
Jo
Our world is such a wondrous place
There’s lots of things to see and do
The Parthenon, The Pyramids and
Edinburgh Zoo!!
With wander lust we pack our case
And head off round the earth
On land and sea and air we go
Far from our land of birth
Yet when we’ve done and had our fill
Of Paris, Spain and Rome
We’re lucky we can travel back
To that special place we call
HOME- Judith
Jane
Klaudia
Sscchh it's genetic- Stone Carving by Archie
Here I am in the middle of the walks we have done with a few things that we have seen, Rainbow walks!!!!!- Sue
Jean
Paper Bag Portraits with Lizzie Lockheart
Inspired by Saul Steinberg’s paper masks, we asked friends and family to draw a self portrait on a paper bag, wear it, take a photo and send to us.
Great for isolating!
We guessed who's who !
Sora
An-Amta
Acrostic Poem by Olandunni
Only god I will serve
Love is beautiful
Amazing mother
Dont give up on your dreams
Unity is Power
Never stop trying
Never forget where you are coming from
In God I trust
Head to Anapurna Indian Dance on facebook to see Journeys of Hope, a project that shows love and respect and say's thank you to the selfless brave work of all Health care front line workers who risk their lives for our safety.
Anapurna Indian Dance continues to remember the positive contribution Black and Asian community to health and safety of Britain
https://www.facebook.com/AnnapurnaIndianDance/videos/550382552305254/?v=550382552305254
I believe everyone should have a place to call home. I am currently living with my son at HD63LZ in Rastrick Brighouse, until I can move into my new place just down the road from him. I was very lucky to have moved in just before the lockdown. My video shows me in lockdown creating a rag rug for my new home from many of my charity shop bought clothes. The activity has linked my present to my past and future and has been great for my mental health.
Coumba
A: a
R: real
S: story
A: about
L: love
A: and
N: never lying
Here is an imagined safe haven for travellers. Helen
No one hears our voice,
No one calls for our right,
No country asks for our files,
Neither quick process for our files,nor equility in treat
Is it fault of being Iraqis?
Is being Iraqi refugees a sin?
Is fleeing of a personal death threat a crime?
4to8yrs of wait in Turkey r hard
Smile of Sunbeam
WHO AM I?
My families travelled on boats
from places far away
both from different backgrounds
but in Halifax they’d stay
Two second generation kids
who met on the CB
was the start of the conception
of me.
My mum was a Punk
my dad was a Ted
both from different backgrounds
that much to be said
One from Pellon
The other from Queen’s Road
Halifax was their humble abode
As one half of family is Jamaican
the other with Irish roots
I was born with both these attributes
But as both heritages
mean a lot to me
I’m Yorkshire born and bred
as far as the eye can see.
Who Am I?
A Poet
A Writer
An Eccentric thinker
A Suedehead
Punk
Alcohol drinker
Lover of Ska
Hip Hop
Punk
Northern Soul
and Dub
seeing my family when I can
and having a drink in the pub
A child with both parental last names
not known to many
but unique select few
As the “bard of Halifax”
Keiron Lee Higgins
that’ll do!
‘Welcome to Brighouse’
Proudly states the sign
I’ve lived here many many years
And that just suits me fine
Although we’ve had our doubters
Which doesn’t seem quite fair
The message from the locals is.......
‘Go there or be square’ by Judith
A poem inspired by Florence
Fabulous because I inspire all the people who know my story
Lovely because I believe in kindness and treating others right
Open minded, always willing to consider new ideas
Resilient, I have overcome many challenges in life
Energetic, always have a desire to help others
Nurture, I believe in helping others develop and success
Courageous, I can face any obstacles along the way
Empowered, in charge of my present and future
Richard
My Friend
Give your energy 100 percent
Chances to be your friend but never give your friend a single chance to be your enemy
Composed and written by Olandunni Odofin-Adzbayo
‘Till death do us apart’
Its bits of myself and how I have got through covid 19, using doodles and social media.
Other parts to it are life stories of friends around me.- Khansa
This was titled love and hope, the ways in which, people are coping and helping others through the lockdown. And how its vital through times of dispair to have love and hope.-Khansa
This was the first oil painting, I did in lock down, I drew comparisons from my own families history in Spanish flu, to how covid 19 has affected us it was slightly on the macabre side, however the slither of hope on this painting turned into a full painting (love and hope one)-Khansa
Nazriet, a single mother of three originally from Eritrea.
Valérie
Helen
Hind and the Jafa Cakes, a group of musicians who all met at St Augustines during the course of the last year. Currently, we are a mix of Iranian, Kurdish, Lebanese and British musicians, professional but some amateur, and before lockdown, we were playing at various venues and events - Borough market , St Augustines, the Minster, Elland Cricket club, Northern Broadsides, and helped to raise a lot of money for charity.
But for Lockdown and the virus, we would have been playing at the Hebden Bridge Trades Club as part of the Hebden Bridge international folk and roots festival. Alas.
Anyway, we have sought to console ourselves by playing with each other over zoom, and in the garden socially distancing.
The musicians are: Amir Beymanesh, professional classical singer from Iran; Hossein Sajedi, Accountant and pop singer from Iran; Saman, a Kurd from Iran, a Tar and Setar player; Nikki Clarke, a British Human Rights advisor and Soul Singer; Hind Merhi from the Lebanon, chef extraordinaire and great singer of Arabic songs, and Andrew Jones, Trustee of St Augustines and virtuosic Flamenco player.
A practise video recorded shortly before lockdown by Hind and the Jafa cakes. It is an Arabic song about the moon and love!
Another song sung by Amir from Iran, this time singing in Turkish to a backing track (in these days of lockdown) arranged by Andrew, a band member of Hind and the Jafa cakes and also a Trustee of St Augustines.
It is originally an Azerbaijan song in a region where they speak Turkish.
A translation follows provided by Toby, not that he is vouching for its accuracy!!
I have watered the streets
Yar gələndə toz olmasın.
So that not to be dust there when my lover comes
Elə gəlsin, elə getsin,
Let her come and go Aramızda söz olmasın. So that not to be trouble between us
Samavara od salmışam,
I have fired up for samovar (former water boiler)
İstəkana qənd salmışam.
I have put sugar into the cup
Yarım gedib, tək qalmışam,
My lover has gone, i have been alone
Nə əzizdir yarın canı.
How glorious my lover is
Nə şirindir yarın canı.
How sweet my lover is
Emma
LETTERS TO COVID
1. Covid Covid Covid!
Why did you even come?
To destroy some?
And kill others when you are done?
I can’t play with my friends.
I can’t go to school.
I can’t go to the library to pick a book.
What! a whole month without a book!
All I find my self in is
Wash your hands, wash your hands!
Sanitize! Sanitize!
And the new normal is wearing a mask.
Ha! Ho! Hi! Hmmmmmmm!
2. But hey!
Can I say this is all good?
I can be home and have all my food!
God said we should give thanks in everything.
Thank you for making mummy and daddy stay home all day.
I can hear all my Bible stories without haste.
I feel no waste.
But do go quick!
So that I can flip with my friends.
As I end this letter,
Don’t forget everything will be better.
BAHC Children’s group
My Letter to Covid
Oh! Covid you took it all away. You took the time I had to play with my friends. You took the time I had to splash in my favourite pool. You’ve left me in dismay.
Oh! Covid you took it all away. You took the time I had to visit my Grandparents and Cousin. You took the smile that would easily come upon my face.
Oh! Covid you took it all away. Why did you come now!!
Hey! Covid you know there’s another side of you and you know it’s true. You have taught us technology. You are not so bad and I owe you an apology. Also you taught us important lessons. Now, I do more house chores. You’ve given us a virtual Sunday School and I look forward to it every Sunday. It is unfortunate you have to go.- Light Up BAHC Children’s group
BAHC Children’s group
Dear Covid 19
19 reasons why you must go. Maybe 19 more why you must wait.
No school, no playground, no cuddles and no more birthday parties.
More time with Mum and Dad and sisters. More time keeping healthy, nice and clean.
19 reasons why you must go maybe 19 more why you may wait.-BAHC Children’s group
