Banners By The Folk
A few weeks ago, artist and storyteller Sally Barton led an interactive workshop exploring and reimagining identity, heritage, and folklore.
Throughout the day, Sally shared insights into her artistic approach, drawing from her own body of work and discussing the themes that shape her practice. The session welcomed young creatives aged 16-24, encouraging them to reflect on their identities, beliefs, and memories through a hands-on creative process.
The workshop began with writing exercises, where participants explored personal and family histories, memories of Brighton and East Sussex, as well as hopes, dreams, love, and identity. Inspired by these reflections, they created collages, which served as the foundation for bold, expressive banners. Using fabric, needles, glue, paint, buttons, lace, and ribbons—all provided—each participant transformed their designs into striking visual statements.
Sally provided historical context on the power of banners, discussing their role in political movements such as LGBTQ+ rights, Black Power, disability rights, climate activism, women's liberation, trade unions, miners' strikes, and anti-war protests. She explained how banners, often featuring slogans and bold imagery, have been a means of resistance, storytelling, and collective identity throughout history.
Discussions throughout the day touched on the political landscape in the UK, trade unionism, and industrial histories, subjects close to Sally’s heart through her family connections. Participants also explored themes of folk history, East Sussex traditions, land and sea, English heritage, and personal narratives.
Jeremy Deller’s work served as one of Sally’s inspirations. Deller’s work is known for celebrating collective memory and activism in creative ways.
The group took a well-earned break, enjoying snacks and a lunch of pizza from Fatto a Mano before taking their banners into the streets of Brighton. Photographing their creations in public spaces gave their work new life, embedding their stories within the city’s landscape.
Throughout the session, Sally fostered an atmosphere of support and collaboration. Participants felt held and guided as they explored self-expression in a meaningful and personal way. The workshop provided a space not only to create but to connect—with heritage, with art, and with one another.
This event was Programmed by the brilliant minds of Lighthouse's Future Creative Leaders (FCL).
About Sally Barton
Sally Barton is a socially engaged artist. Originally from Sheffield, she is now based in East London and works out of OOF Gallery studios.
Her practice explores social, industrial and folk history, using both public and personal archives to explore the relationship between land, labour and gender. She grew up with trade unionist grandparents and learnt about the strike through bedtime stories. She reimagines these industrial histories as fairy tales, making miners into fairies. She works in photography, textiles, collage and sculpture.
Sally has recently completed a photography commission with English Heritage and Photoworks, exploring and capturing the Nine Ladies Stone Circle in Derbyshire. The commission will be exhibited with English Heritage from February 2025.
Future Creative Leaders (FCL) is a 12-month paid programme offering young creatives from underrepresented backgrounds the opportunity to work closely with Lighthouse's leadership team to explore various aspects of creative leadership. Funded and supported by Art Fund’s ‘Reimagine Grants’ and Chalk Cliff Trust, over the year, participants will co-curate programmes, select participants for mini-residencies, and recruit their successors, all while exploring alternative governance structures, accountability, and power-sharing.
