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
Current and Ongoing Research Aims to:
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Enrol cultural and historical contexts to build collaborations and partnerships that bring ideas into the public realm, connecting with wide audiences, including the public, peers, and students.
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Explore the legacies of conflict, memory, voice, mediation, and historical narrative.
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Contribute to the public realm—both physical and metaphorical—as a site of national memory.
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Investigate how we construct and share collective narratives of history, reflecting on language, journeys, displacement, and belonging.
Artistic Biography – Selected Projects
Surrender (2016)
A light installation that served both as a memorial to local soldiers and a stark reminder of how the human body was industrialised during the World Wars.
The Ark (2013)
A floating sculpture and cinema that travelled along the Leeds–Liverpool Canal from Blackburn to Brierfield. It showcased five new films celebrating the diversity and heritage of the Pennine Lancashire landscape through a layered, community-driven artwork.
The Rootless Forest (2012)
A mobile sound and landscape installation created for Birmingham and New Gallery Walsall, reaching an audience of 1.9 million. Real trees and soil were planted on a canal boat to create a moving forest, engaging the public in an immersive experience of sound, nature, and narrative.
Seven Seas (2011)
A seven-screen video installation featuring waters from the UK to the Pacific, premiered as part of Project Ocean at Selfridges.
Anthem (2009)
A trilogy of live musical films exploring nationalism through landscape and choral voice. First presented as a hanging installation at the Eden Project with a live performance by Stile Antico.
Together (2007)
A 3D laser projection presented at the Gulf Art Fair, alongside solo exhibitions at the Montréal Biennale and Tatar Gallery, Toronto. Objects with Secrets, a kinetic light sculpture, was commissioned by Hermès and Selfridges for the Wonder Room.
Message (2006)
Commissioned by the National Maritime Museum and London Underground’s Platform for Art. This city-wide project on war and remembrance included a live semaphore performance along the Thames, broadcast on the BBC for Remembrance Day. A book documenting the work was published by Thames & Hudson.
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.