TV historian Sir Tony Robinson this week bestowed a unique honour on a Leeds resident for playing her part in keeping the UK’s heritage alive all year round, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the form of a night-time installation, Stonehenge was lit up with the faces of eight individuals who, with the help of National Lottery funding, are supporting heritage projects across the UK. This includes Susan Pitter for her work at the Jamaica Society, Leeds.
The historic takeover of Stonehenge is the first time the 5,000-year-old sarsen stones of the world-renowned site have been dedicated to individual members of the public.
A video projection of Sir Tony acted to first illuminate the historic stones and introduce the momentous display.
Susan is the Arts and Heritage Development Consultant for Jamaica Society Leeds, a registered charity set up to promote Jamaican culture, to represent Jamaican and other communities in Leeds and to play a role in advocacy.
Providing a voice and value to unheard and sometimes challenging stories of the Jamaican community in Leeds, Susan has been supporting the society in their heritage and cultural output, mainly through the Eulogy Project – which was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2019.
The Eulogy Project commemorates the lives of the city’s first-generation Jamaicans, celebrating the lives, heritage and contributions of those who made the journey from the Caribbean island and who have since passed away.
This year on August 1, 2020, Emancipation Day in Jamaica and Yorkshire Day, she curated ‘Back to Life’ – a gallery of 40 images of residents who arrived during the 1940s to 1960s, transformed from black and white into colour.
“The pandemic has been a really challenging time, as it has been for everybody, not least because many of the members who belong to the society are in the most vulnerable categories of people who are susceptible to COVID and that is because they are older and they ARE African Caribbean,” explained Susan.
“Closing down Jamaica House, the place where they’d naturally come together for meetings, for socialising, for coming together, for planning, to tackle isolation and loneliness for such a long period for the first time in their 40-odd year history was really challenging.
“They had to adapt from not having that space available to going into a world of communicating digitally.
“The Back to Life gallery, which has been supported by the Arts Council, was created online and digitally. However, we had to ensure that we don’t leave behind people who are less digitally engaged.”
With lockdowns and travel restrictions becoming the new normal, green spaces and historic sites have played an increasingly pivotal role in people’s lives.
The homage comes as the results of a new National Lottery research announced today highlights that 72% of people credit visiting outdoor spaces with having a positive effect on their mental wellbeing this year and a further 62% saying the pandemic has made them value heritage sites more than ever
Susan added: “National Lottery funding has enabled the Society to reach new audiences and keep connected with them - through digital platforms as well as more traditional communications channels too.
“It has also allowed the Society to look at Covid compliance, so that we can reopen Jamaica House in a safe way.”
Heritage sites across the UK are being supported by the National Lottery through the COVID-19 pandemic with some of the £30m raised each week for good causes by National Lottery players.
Sir Tony Robinson said: “I love the fact that Stonehenge is being lit up as a tribute to some of the country’s key project workers and volunteers, letting the public know about the hard work they’ve been doing to keep our heritage accessible to everyone using National Lottery funding.
“Without the graft and tireless effort of these wonderful people, our much-loved heritage would be more at risk than ever this year.”
Ros Kerslake CBE, chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “The National Lottery is playing a crucial role in supporting heritage sites and projects during the crisis, but it’s the important role of that the thousands of amazing individuals, some of which we are celebrating and honouring today, that keep these places going and make our visits memorable.”
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