National Trust Sutton House have launched a series of short films made by CampbellX and Kayza Rose. The videos were shared in 2019 via social media to encourage more people in Hackney to consider coming to work or volunteer at Sutton House, and to raise awareness of the wide range of community events and exhibitions they have on offer.
The ‘Inclusion’ series of films was commissioned by Sutton House thanks to a generous legacy of community work. It is part of their ongoing work with local partners and charities such as Culture&, to appeal to a more diverse range of people when recruiting for staff and volunteers who contribute to our cultural and heritage programmes.
One thing several people talked about when we interviewed them for the films was the importance of understanding black history as an intrinsic part of British history. They also discussed some of the ways that Sutton House can represent an inclusive view of history by sharing a range of people’s stories and histories through its exhibitions, and by involving people from the community in co creating them.
To celebrate the many ways people from East London are part of Sutton House today, they commissioned critically acclaimed filmmakers Kayza Rose and CampbellX to document people’s experiences of being involved.
Kayza and Campbell said “It was a pleasure and privilege to be asked to produce a series of videos for Sutton House.
“While making the video we were reminded that even though we celebrate Black History Month in the UK in October, we are part of all British History. African and Asian descent people have always been a part of the fabric of British life from ‘Beachy Head Lady’ in the 3rd century, to ‘Ivory Bangle Lady’ in the 4th century, through to contemporary Britain.”
“Our challenge is always to build awareness of this history by producing visually entertaining and informative content.”
Watch the full film here.
Image: Film still from ‘Inclusion’ series, Kayza Rose and CampbellX, 2018. Courtesy of National Trust Sutton House.