[matilda] Two new potential projects

[Benjamin Major]

So what happened to the meeting then? Anyway here are some energizing new 
potential projects for Matilda in the new year


1)  Exhibition on Labour Struggles in Sheffield

Following the success of the Art 05 urban decay exhibition, would Matilda 
not be an ideal space for a (less conceptual, more historical and factual) 
semi-permanent exhibition on social activism and labour struggles in 
Sheffield in the 20th century up until the present day? This wil be an 
excellent oppertunity for us to explore Sheffield's long and illustrious 
radical side.

We, Matilda, are located in an old Sheffield cutlery works are we not? We 
could tie Matilda's history as a building, and as a workplace, and it's 
eventual rebirth as an artistic and cultural centre (I imagine the last part 
of the exhibition would be a document of the Matilda collectives work in 
converting the building into a social centre) into this more overall 
picture.

The exhibition would take the form of text-based and photographic material; 
oral histories provided by people involved in prominant social struggles in 
Sheffield, and ex-workers of the Sheffield steel and cutlery trade 
(ex-worker of Matilda?); projected film footage on loop... I harboured some 
interest in getting into exhibition curating when I left uni so I have a 
little bit of experience but it would be very much a collaborative project 
drawing on the worldy-wise experience of Sheffield's large activist 
community.

Some of the issues which the exhibition will explore might not necessarily 
be as 'trendy' as some of the issues that young activists fight for today 
but the everyday struggles surrounding 'bread and butter' issues of labour, 
employment, welfare; many of them have not gone away, and will in the future 
be just as prominant as they always were. Besides, a touch of slick design 
can make these themes as exciting as they deserve to be.


2) Matilda Reading Group

A lot of these cropping up these days, but the Matilda reading group could 
specifically focus on important novels that have had a lasting and 
resonating impact in political circles or less well known novels that have a 
slightly subversive edge. The idea is to get everyone to read the same book 
and then meet up weekly to discuss it over a nice cuppa or a glass of 
organic wine.


complexitybenjamin.