Tressell's Children Immersive Experience

About

After a summer exploring the town's history, creating art based on the testimonies of those who lived here between the wars, and uncovering stories that have laid hidden for decades, MSL and the people of Hastings and St Leonards are thrilled to present the Tressell's Children Immersive Experience.

The free sound and art exhibition reinterprets a series of long-shelved oral histories collected in the 1980s. These tapes captured the stories of those who lived in the town in the 20th century. Tressell's Children draws links between the stories of life in the interwar period and the earlier work of Robert Tressell.

Vistors will be invited to put on a headset and to be transported by the memories. They'll be able to see the research that's uncovered fascinating new facts about our town, and enjoy art inspired by these real lives

The exhibition includes The Song of Shadows, a film by local filmmaker, Rebecca Marshall inspired by one of the oral history accounts. It also draws on the brilliant new adaptation of the book as a graphic novel by Scarlett and Sophie Rickard and includes original works by Mary Hooper, Aram Zarikian and Susie Warren.

Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project is inspired by Robert Tressell's groundbreaking 1914 book, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, which drew upon Tressell's life as a painter and decorator in Hastings.

This project builds on the momentum of MSL's previous work before and during the pandemic, using archives as a springboard for new creative work, and harnessing the skills of local researchers and creative practitioners.

MSL is committed to revealing the intangible heritage of place. Our starting points are the hidden, lost or threatened narratives that help to make up the identity of each area.

Private View – Friday 1st September 2023
Sessions will run in free half hour slots starting from 3pm and will finish at 6pm.
Saturday 2nd Sept, Sunday 3rd Sept, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September – sessions will run in half-hour slots starting at 11am and ending at 4pm.

Book a slot here

Event Link: tinyurl.com/tressellschildren

For more details/pictures please contact sophie@mslprojects.co.uk

Photographs courtesy of Hastings Museum & Art Gallery.