WORDS FOR THE LIVING, 2021
Live Performance | Beth Derbyshire | WERK
Words for the Living is a live performance in which an individual speaker, communicates a series of words and phrases through a megaphone in public space. The words are commemorative excerpts by loved ones for so many of the key workers who have tragically passed away from Covid 19. The poignant and celebratory recital of words is a living memorial, describing the qualities of these incredible people who lost their lives whilst saving others and is intended to pay homage to loss, whilst inspiring the living through their bravery. The performance will be filmed and presented in the digital space of Into the Parade.
Into the Parade is an online web encounter and live project that explores how arts organisation and practitioners across the Midlands are engaging civically. The digital ‘Civic Centre’ is both tangible and metaphorical concept to explore the role of cultural practice in a civic context. Into the Parade is a cultural intervention that undertakes projects that have online and real-world anchors points and has been initiated by Beth Derbyshire and developed with students from the MA Arts and Project Management course at Birmingham City University.
BETH DERBYSHIRE
I am an artist and educator based on the Welsh borders, teaching at the Birmingham School of Art. My practice is rooted in the public realm, exploring human presence and expression through civic, social, and historical experience. Many of my projects emerge through collaboration and dialogue, responding to current events and shared cultural narratives.
I’m drawn to the points where the personal and political meet — where silence, memory, and identity reveal the deeper textures of society. My work has explored the dualities of conflict and remembrance, nationality and belonging, and the silences that shape society. Working across film, performance, drawing, installation, and site-specific intervention, my multidisciplinary practice spans both urban and rural landscapes. Projects often evolve in collaboration with intergenerational and diverse communities — including deaf and silent communities, military planners, refugees, and veterans. Each becomes a layered act of exchange, capturing and amplifying “voice” in its many forms through oral histories, archives, legal texts, national anthems, myths, and media narratives.
Much of my work unfolds in unexpected public spaces — canals, shopping malls, parks, and train stations — where civic and cultural issues can be both confronted and reimagined. These settings invite participation, dialogue, and creative encounter, engaging audiences beyond traditional art contexts.
Recent projects have focused on our cultural and emotional relationship with the environment, tracing how memory and place shape our collective sense of being. My work has been featured in national and international exhibitions, media, and broadcast platforms, extending the life and reach of these projects
Please see to my artistic timeline titled Art and Social Witness that traces the development of Derbyshire's practice in relation to the social and political contexts that have shaped, and been reflected within her work. Link bekow.
https://www.bethderbyshire.co.uk/artassocialwitness
Press & Media Coverage
My work has received national and international coverage, including features in The Independent, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Times, The Evening Standard, Art Monthly, W Magazine, British Vogue, and The Art Newspaper. Broadcast appearances include the BBC, ITN, and Sky. I have been a guest on the BBC Review Show (hosted by Martha Kearney), discussing the intersection of art, society, and climate change. I also created a film and served as a panellist at the Edinburgh Television Festival for a session on creativity in television.