The Story of 6 million+
In 2005, Kirklees Council initiated a project to collect over 6 million buttons to illustrate the industrial scale of the Holocaust and other genocides. The public collection began in West Yorkshire, but word soon spread and many of the buttons were collected regionally, nationally and even internationally. Leeds based artist Antonia Stowe was commissioned to design the in
stallation for Huddersfield Art Gallery. 6 million+ had a huge impact on visitors and toured nationally for the next five years to places including Ripon Cathedral and Brent Cross Shopping Centre in London. The project involved thousands of young people, community groups and individuals in the process of collecting buttons and thinking about genocide and discrimination. The installation included a film featuring conversations between Holocaust survivors and asylum seekers and poetry written in response to their experiences. A group of individuals involved with this work, with new people on board too, have continued the creative arts and educational work as an independent charitable trust (launched in May 2014) and have developed international exchanges and local projects in Kirklees and beyond. We run arts projects with professional artists, local people and refugees face to face throughout the year. We have achieved some fame for our 'Weeping Sisters' procession of giant figures who commemorate the Holocaust and other genocides; we made them with local people and refugees and completed our '7 sisters' during the 'Friendship through Puppets' SpaceHive Kirklees Growing Great Places project in autumn 2021, with the addition of Zenobia our Syrian Sister, culminating in parades in Dewsbury and Batley for Platforma 6 Festival. Under lockdown, in summer 2020, we completed 'Small Contentments' with 70 participants from 14 countries; the film resulting from this project that commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre has been seen by over 15,000 people. January 2021 saw two creative lockdown projects; a virtual Holocaust Memorial Day collaboration, supported by Bradford, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield councils, and 'Collect your belongings', an online shadow puppetry, writing and drama project with our family of participants that continued until April 21. In summer 21, we completed two projects, a face to face and virtual Remembering Srebrenica event with 21 community groups in Bradford and Kirklees, and 'One Fine Day' in partnership with Creative Scene. In January 22, we completed a major live and online event for Holocaust Memorial Day in Huddersfield, in collaboration with Kirklees Council and Holocaust Centre North. In May 22, we appeared at the Big Ideas by the Sea Festival with our 'Weeping Sisters' in Scarborough and in July 22 we directed and delivered a very successful Remembering Srebrenica event in collaboration with Kirklees inside and outside Dewsbury Town Hall. From August 22 to February 23, we were involved in a collaboration with Balbir Singh Dance Company, the award winning 'Unmasking Pain' project, in Huddersfield with exhibitions in Huddersfield, Leeds and Durham. In collaboration with Kirklees, we delivered a highly successful live Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration at Dewsbury Town Hall at the end of January 23 after community workshops in December 22 and January 23 at Creative Scene and Outlookers; this was our first event to involve a substantial contribution from Ukrainian refugees. July 23 saw our Remembering Srebrenica commemoration at Dewsbury Town Hall, with more participants than ever. In autumn 23, we did three exploratory words and design workshops looking forward to events in 2024. In summer 24, we celebrated our 10th anniversary with a big party and 'Dear Sunflowers', a Ukrainian themed procession and performance that took place in June in Holmfirth and Dewsbury following a second successful Growing Great Places funding campaign. In autumn 2024, we recorded all the original songs for this project, which will be released on our YouTube channel in 2025. In December 24 & January 25, we worked with Chebo, the Argentinian graphic artist in residence at Holocaust Centre North and Iryna, a Ukrainian refugee artist who makes paper flowers, on a presentation for HMD 25. In February 25, our group became the first representation of refugees at the Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival in its 40 year history, for which we made the floating moon. This year we completed a project about sharing our individual identities with more than 30 participants aged 2 to 74 from 11 countries - this was 'Wear and Share', in collaboration with Shared Goods from April to June 25 that culminated in a joyful sharing at the Lawrence Batley Theatre on Saturday June 28th as part of WOVEN festival. We directed a Srebrenica Commemoration event in Dewsbury on Saturday July 12th outside and inside Longcauseway Church, Dewsbury, supported by Kirklees Council (Migration Team). We have just celebrated 7 amazing years of 'Carry my Story' at Huddersfield Town Hall, and now have most of the story boxes to use in our work. We are currently working with the Lawrence Batley Theatre on 'Freedom Desert', using drama, poetry and song to look at freedom in East Africa. 1941-42, and now, with a sharing at the theatre on October 19th. Our next project, beginning in late November '25 and continuing to early April '26, is titled 'Walking for Change', when we will walk in Dewsbury and the Colne Valley, looking closely at nature and at climate change in our lives; there will be banner making. We have no annual or revenue funding and rely on our own fundraising and a group of dedicated volunteers (as well as paid artists and co-ordinators) to carry out our work.
