A kajal holder from India, shared by Kelly. 
A mesob from Eritrea, shared by Selam. 
Benachin from The Gambia, shared by Simon.
What one object or thing represents something meaningful or important to you about your heritage?
The objects and things that surround us are often connected to stories, experiences, memories and moments of change within our lives. Even though we sometimes take them for granted, the objects we keep express our identities and heritage.
In October, we invited members of the African and Caribbean communities living and working in Sutton, to share photographs of meaningful objects that they feel connect to their heritage. You can read about how Selam’s mesob connects to her Eritrean heritage, and how the Gambian jollof rice dish, Benachin, brings back Simon’s childhood memories in our previous blog posts.
The Locals: object_ive now invites individuals from all diverse backgrounds to help us develop our Museum and Archives collections to be inclusive, relevant and representative of all our voices.
Your stories will help us to acknowledge and celebrate our diverse communities in Sutton, and to understand and share aspects of heritage that define each of us. All you need to do is take a picture of something that you feel connects you to your heritage. This doesn’t have to be a ‘precious’ object; it could be the simplest of things: an everyday object, or maybe a photograph, a recipe, a postcard, or even a plant in your garden. Then, write a few words to explain its significance to you. We encourage participants to also submit a photograph of themselves. Ideas about what to write, alongside guidance to take a good photograph of your object of choice can be found here.
All contributions will be added to Sutton Archives collections for posterity, as an authentic reflection of Sutton’s contemporary communities.
To participate, follow this link or email us at heritage.submissions@sutton.gov.uk
Whitehall Historic House 