Unearthing Stories is a Little Green Pig creative heritage project exploring the history of Saddlescombe Farm in the South Downs, Brighton. The project is created by twenty young writers, aged 7 to 11, from Moulsecoomb, Coldean, Whitehawk and central Brighton who have imagined the voices and stories of those not captured in traditional histories due to class, gender, status, age or ethnicity.
Children worked with a team of adult creatives across six workshops and visits to respond to the farm with audio stories that you can listen to below, alongside analog photograph portraits and a zine.
The creative adults team are Eva Jonas (visual artist), Georgina Aboud (writer), Sarah Sayeed (sound artist), Natalie England (writer/heritage learning), plus Laura Halliwell (project producer), Nicky Crabb, Nikki Shaill and Story Mentors. Featuring documentary photographs taken by Tunde Alabi-Hundeyin.
This Little Green Pig project is supported by Saddlescombe Farm and the National Trust and the Changing Chalk Community Grants Scheme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.
ABOUT THE PROJECT & DIGITAL ARCHIVE from workshop leader Georgina Aboud and Eva Jonas
The young writers chose human and non-human characters from Victorian times and through visits and creative workshops used photography and writing to imagine and bring their characters to life.
The stories of maids, girls, chicken farmers, cats, ducks, ants, sheepdogs, grandfather clocks and books now all gain a spot in history with the children recording their characters lives through telling stories, reading diary entries and interviewing each other, as well as making a zine!
This digital archive provides an audio account of the farm trip and some examples of the fantastic and imaginative work produced. Explore the link buttons and have a listen all the amazing audio produced. Peek at the zine, where you can read more excerpts and see how the children embodied their characters through photography and annotation.
Listen to stories and diary entries written and recorded by the young writers. Hear tales of maids, girls, chicken farmers, cats, ducks, ants, sheepdogs, grandfather clocks and books.
Each recording is 1 to 2 minutes long, edited with sound and music by Sarah Sayeed.
EXPLORE MORE Listen, look and learn by clicking on the links below
Colour photos byTunde Alabi-Hundeyin for Little Green Pig (c) 2024
“She’s poor, she has to work. So her story hasn’t been recorded in history.”
