by Subika Anwar-Khan
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Over the Spring and Summer of 2021, local artist and writer Subika Anwar-Khan interviewed and worked creatively with a variety of Northampton residents to draw out their stories of what home means to them. Participants ranged from global migrants who have sought refuge in Northampton to those whose roots in the area date back generations.
Subika drew on these stories and worked with artists to write and curate the final piece: a poetic response integrating verbatim quotes from the collected stories with creative contributions. The audio poem explores themes of migration, why people decide to settle and why we call Northampton home.
The audio poem has been recorded using professional actors and some of the original participants. In recognition of the fact that Northampton has a long history of migration to the town (something that increased during the New Town expansion) the piece has also been translated and recorded in Romanian.
A special thank you to David Bowden for his writing contribution.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on our This is Home audio pieces. You can send these to Subika at subika@60milesbyroadorrail.co.uk
Want more? Check out our co-created audio piece about Corby.