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  4. Prof Shawn Sobers - Freedom in the City: Festival of Learning

Prof Shawn Sobers - Freedom in the City: Festival of Learning

Principal Investigator: Professor Shawn Sobers (University of the West of England)
Project Partners: Fairfield House, Bath Ethnic Minority Senior Citizens Association (BEMSCA), Digital Cultures Research Centre, Bath Abbey, Imperial Voice Radio, Black Families Education Support Group, Critical Race and Culture Research Network
Research Team: Jennifer Sharratt, Nick Triggs, Sarah Barnes, Dawn Limbu, Theo Edkins, and Kyesha Nelson
Project Website

Freedom in the City: Festival of Learning was a series of events from April - November 2021. The festival explored the legacy of the Ethiopian Royal Family living in the city of Bath and was a wider celebration of Ethiopian and Rastafari cultures, and connections with the UK. This ambitious interdisciplinary project used a wide range of approaches to explore its themes from multiple perspectives, drawing upon expertise from all walks of life. The festival comprised of the following:

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Service at Bath Abbey
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Service at Bath Abbey
Image credit: Naomi Williams

28 events
70 speakers
9 lectures
7 symposia
4 school’s events
3 film screenings
7 podcasts
1 Ethiopian Orthodox at Bath Abbey service
13 billboards
1 fixed pianola
1 opera performance
3 commissioned music productions
2 commissioned poems
2 commissioned film productions
1 BBC Radio 4 doc

Project Film

Watch the film about this project below, made by biggerhouse films. There are two versions: an audio-described version and a BSL (British Sign Language) version.

BSL Version

Audio Described Version

Download the transcription file.

Please see full credit in the expandable section below.

Freedom in the City Festival of Learning – Production Team:
Dr Shawn Sobers – Festival Director / Principle Investigator (UWE)
Jennifer Sharratt – Festival Producer / Research Associate (Independent)
Nick Triggs – Research & Operations Manager (UWE / DCRC)
Sarah Barnes – Contracts & Finance (UWE / DCRC)
Andrew ‘Mr Bunny’ Hambleton – Online Technical Support (Imperial Voice Radio)
Dawn Limbu – Media Intern (UWE)
Theo Edkins – Design Intern (UWE)
Kyesha Nelson - Social Media Intern (UWE)
Naomi Williams - Photography

Festival Steering Group:
Core
William Heath – Fairfield House CIC – co-Chair
Pauline Swaby-Wallace – BEMSCA, Fairfield House CIC
Rob Mitchell – Bath Black Families Education Support Group
Aleema Gray – Warwick University, PhD candidate, London Docklands Museum
Polly Andrews – Bath Abbey
Expanded
Princess Esther Sellassie Antohin - Fairfield House CIC – co-Chair
Fisseha Gizaw Combley - Fairfield House CIC
Ras Benji - Fairfield House CIC
Celia Mead - Fairfield House CIC
Blaine Dowdle - Fairfield House CIC

Commissions:
Rediat Abayneh – Graphic design
Derek Edwards – Billboard posters
Chloe Rose Laing and Mohamed Errebbaa – Song writing and performance
Vanessa Melody – Poetry and performance
Yuko Edwards – The Emperor’s Music, film production

Partners:
Fairfield House CIC Bath
Bath Ethnic Minority Senior Citizens Association
Digital Cultures Research Centre
Imperial Voice Radio
Bath Abbey
Bath Black Families Education Support Group
Critical Race and Culture Research Network