Encountering Survival

Dear Listener,

Collecting, preserving, caring for and sharing the stories from the northern community of Holocaust survivors and their families is Holocaust Centre North’s primary objective. Yet, every day we are aware of so much that cannot be preserved for posterity, either because it was lost, destroyed, stolen, left behind; or because of it being immaterial, and as such, defies archival practices.

Our Encountering Survival audio guide gives space to what is loudest in its material absence: the scent of a grandparent’s home, tobacco, sweets and an old jacket; the long journey of a single, remaining family heirloom; those phrases which encapsulate a lifetime of mourning. Artists Linda O Keeffe and Louise K Wilson have worked alongside each other for this commission, focusing on ‘voices’ and ‘objects’ respectively. Across 10 tracks, their work mediates the histories of treasured objects, and the textures of loss, trauma and childhood memories. They have created an intimate record that bears witness to the act of remembering.

Encountering Survival honours a community of Holocaust survivors and refugees who built new lives in the North of England. It offers insight into their memories of lives lived, and testimony on experiences and objects forever lost. This audio guide is a tribute to the Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association, the organisation the survivors helped build with a community of care at its heart.

So, take a moment, and when you are ready, let us take you along. We invite you to listen with us as they remember. The whys, the how, and the nevertheless of their survival.

The tracks have been curated to allow themes or notes to carry through between both artists’ work. But please do not feel limited to this and move freely through the audio experience.