Wow! Phenomenal! Moving, humbling and inspiring! Congratulations to everyone involved in this superb project!
Just the sort of thing the university should be doing - brilliant!
A huge congratulations to all those involved with Storying Sheffield.
You managed to build a very strong network between participants, which
garnered such personal explorations of life in the city. I hope this
will be a blueprint for future collaborations between the University
and surrounding communities.
Please pass on my congratulations to all involved in Storying
Sheffield. I found the display and testimonies inspiring: a well needed
reminder that education is about empowering those who join the
community.
A note to congratulate you and your team for an amazingly moving teaching innovation: win win all ways round: for us, the students, the staff, the Sheffield people participating.....how fantastic...and such a simple concept! Life changing I am sure.
I really enjoyed the exhibition and realise what a lot of good work has
gone into it. A wonderful concept for the project, something which has
kept the participants working throughout. I also like the idea of those
with mental health problems working alongside students […] You should
be very proud. I was impressed with the food by Kathryn and by Kathryn
herself (I have her e-mail so will keep in touch). I spoke to Ian
about his work and also Tyrone and of course Maggie whom I became very
fond of. I could see the affect on their well-being of the project.
What an achievement!
I attended the exhibition and showcase event on Friday 11th June and
thought it was excellent […] I think it’s an absolutely brilliant
project because it is so inclusive and you have obviously tapped some
real hidden talent there too.
I was so happy that the clients from SPACES North and I were able to
join the project. I was as excited about it as them. I enjoyed helping
them stay on board and it was an amazing and unique achievement that
not one soul dropped out. [...] Thanks for inventing Storying.
what an extraordinary path you've all taken - well done again to you and the whole crew
I left the exhibition on Friday to go to London and to see the RA
Summer Exhibition. The afternoon and the quality of the work all merged
into one! I was so impressed and very moved by Storying Sheffield,
both what has happened between people and what has been produced. You
should be very proud of the work you have done and the imagination you
have inspired.
Congratulations
on Storying Sheffield. What an inspiring project!! This is what
University life is all about – giving students experiences that will
change their lives!
I expect you are being inundated with messages of this sort - and
rightly so; I just wanted to say how deeply impressed, not to mention
moved, I was by the Storying Sheffield exhibition last Friday. I was
staggered by both the quantity and quality of the material you had
collectively put together, and all in the space of one semester. I'm
finding it hard to put into words what I found so brilliant about the
project - there are so many different aspects, but one, which I'll
mention as it seems rather apt, was that it made me as a very
word-based English student think about forms of expression that really
do go beyond words. When I say I was moved, I mean to the core (in fact
you might have seen me - I was the person wandering around with tears
running down my face most of the afternoon). Clearly some of the themes
of the project touched on some very personal issues for me, and I
haven't experienced that kind of emotional catharsis in a long while,
so I also wanted to thank you for that. Congratulations on what was
evidently such an unqualified success; it was amazing to see something
that clearly had such a positive effect on so many people - I add
myself to that number. I hope it can continue and grow in the years to
come - my one complaint was that the exhibition was only on for one day
- I attempted to recommend it to several people who unfortunately
couldn't make it in time; I'm sure I also could have got even more from
it if I could have come back another day, with my emotions under better
control! But I'm sure on the back of its overwhelming popularity, plans
to extend it will soon be afoot.
First of all, I just have to say that I really, really enjoyed the
exhibition. It was fantastic. If only it could have been on for longer
- I really don't feel I did anything like justice to the huge amount of
fascinating material and would have loved to go back.
A quick note to say how much I enjoyed the exhibition on Friday. I
thought it was a wonderful event and I really enjoyed talking with the
people involved - amazing stories to tell. I found myself reflecting
on it a lot over the weekend and telling family and friends about it -
inspiring stuff!
One thing I heard over and over was how fantastic you've been
throughout the project.- the people I spoke to held you in such high
esteem.
It’s clear that it was a genuinely transforming experience for everyone
– for which you deserve credit!
It was terrific. Not just the turn out and quality of the work done,
but for the presentations and ethos. Roy (I think?) the poet was
fantastic - the poems and the performances! The testimonies from
participants too.
I know how much work goes into organising one event - you deserve a medal!
Just wanted to add my congratulations for Friday’s event to what I’m
sure is a very long list. And of course you’re going to get 100s of
students signing up next year..................
Just wanted to say congratulations to you and the students for
Friday's event. I was really impressed by the way it had all come
together for the exhibition and great that so many people came and
enjoyed it. I think the thing that really struck me was how much
students can achieve when they are really motivated but not constrained
by the more usual very structured modules. It was also really nice to
hear the short course students talking about their work and the pride
they felt for it.
I just want to say how much I enjoyed the exhibition on Friday. You
should all be really proud of what's been produced (and just as
important - achieved) with the project. Please pass on my thanks to
everyone involved.
It's a shame the exhibition was only open for one day, it really does
deserve a wider audience and should be exhibited in one of the city
galleries (Graves or Weston Park?) as I think it has such potential,
especially for us 'locals'! [...]
I really hope the project goes from strength to strength in future - I'm sure it will
It was inspirational to learn of your project. Thank you for letting me
know it was on. With very best wishes for next year's activities.
Just a quick note to say that I went to the exhibition on Friday and
found it really interesting. What a great project it is and how
wonderful that you have involved such participants in the programme. I
enjoyed talking to the contributors about their stories and the
experiences they have had on the project. Congratulations on what I
think must have been a very worthwhile venture for all involved - I
hope you are able to do something similar again next year
It was a delight to meet you on Friday. I was most impressed by your
work and creativity with food, also were my friends from Rampton.. You
have given them some good ideas for work with the patients.
I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's event - it was very inspiring to hear
the impact the course has had on peoples' lives, and I just loved the
poet!!
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the showcase & exhibition
yesterday... it was so rich, in all sorts of ways... the woven cloth
wasn't at all flimsy, but like a really deep carpet... which had a
lasting effect on the visitors, as well as the participants. I left
and returned several times - as each time I came in the room, something
else caught my attention. It could certainly have run for more than a
day, there was so much to experience.
Just the sort of thing the university should be doing - brilliant!
Hope you'll have a well-earned rest this weekend.... these projects
don't just happen, I know there's been loads of real hard work going on
behind the scenes...
It was remarkable; truly remarkable. Did you, could you, feel the waves
of enthusiasm from the audience? And Roy makes Roger McGough sound like
an amateur poet; and the Mayor was captivated and the whole thing was
kinda extraordinary.
Congratulations on a wonderful celebration of the project. I am sorry I
had to leave to get back to York but I am really glad I could come.The
joint involvement of students and participants was moving and real. I
loved the poetry! Thanks for inviting me. It wouidl good if we could
talk sometime about what you have done and learned.
What a story! Just wanted to say what a great afternoon I had today.
There was a terrific buzz and I really enjoyed it - well done!
That was some feat pulling off that exhibition! Some really interesting
stuff and much to admire and engage with. I found it a very positive
experience -
Anyway, just to say that a colleague I emailed in relation to your
recent exhibition at the university attended the event and thoroughly
enjoyed and valued it....and was inspired by it....I wanted to let you
know how enthusiastic she was....and my own apologies that I couldn't
attend myself.
brilliant. Well done you. [...] Yesterday quoted it to City Council as
an eg of good practice and possible case for inclusion in the City of
Culture bid. Keep up the good work.
Please pass on my congratulations to all involved in Storying
Sheffield. I found the display and testimonies inspiring: a well needed
reminder that education is about empowering those who join the
community. Thank you.
I'm just emailing to say congratulations once again for the exhibition
on Friday, it really was one of the most inspirational things I've seen
in a long time, as well as being just what Universities should be doing
in order to make them more connected and relevant to the populations in
which they are situated.
the work was outstanding [...] Well done for such a really inspiring course!
Lots of congratulations again on the Storying Sheffield event; I heard
glowing reports from lots of people, and was delighted to see it for
myself too,
I just have to say that I really, really enjoyed the exhibition. It was
fantastic. If only it could have been on for longer - I really don't
feel I did anything like justice to the huge amount of fascinating
material and would have loved to go back.
what a fab event last Friday - you must feel very pleased with how well
the students and participants put together such a powerful and moving
exhibition - I really enjoyed coming along
great day! congrats to all involved. pity it was only one day.
Showcase was fantastic - so inspiring & powerful. Well done to all involved!
Firstly apologies for having to dash off on Friday- I had a meeting
back at the Union at 3pm but I really didn't want to leave! All I can
say is, what a brilliant project and thank you so much for inviting
me. I'm hopefully going to be starting my PhD soon (at Leeds I'm
afraid!) and I'd love to be an academic […] who links with the local
community. You could see that the participants saw the university as
their university and that's how everyone in Sheffield should see us
[…] If I end up being an academic I'd love to get in touch with you
again about initiatives to engage with the local community
Just to say I thought the exhibition was wonderful, and so extensive I
didn't have time to see it all. Lovely to hear people talking about
their experiences too, so movingly, and to see that exhibition room so
packed.
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the showcase & exhibition
yesterday... it was so rich, in all sorts of ways... the woven cloth
wasn't at all flimsy, but like a really deep carpet... which had a
lasting effect on the visitors, as well as the participants. I left
and returned several times - as each time I came in the room, something
else caught my attention. It could certainly have run for more than a
day, there was so much to experience.
Hope you'll have a well-earned rest this weekend.... these projects
don't just happen, I know there's been loads of real hard work going on
behind the scenes...
what a fab event last Friday - you must feel very pleased with how well
the students and participants put together such a powerful and moving
exhibition - I really enjoyed coming along and I know that Pam and I
have both talked about it to many
Read an undergraduate's reflections on Storying Sheffield [pdf] [link]
