"IBT invites us into other people’s worlds – and in doing so switches on new lights within our own." THE GUARDIAN
Enter a powerful constellation of fireflies, whispers, murmurs and sighs; a magnificent roar for a fairer, safer and more equal world.
We Are Warriors is a sound and light installation exhibited from March until September 2024 in Bristol’s historic Redcliffe Caves, a Medieval network of caverns and catacombs sprawling beneath the city. Thousands of flickering lights nestled into the sloping, red sandstone walls, while a soundscape of breaths, words, chants and song reverberated in the space. A beacon calling you in, We Are Warriors is made up of the voices of 130 Bristolian women and girls, aged 8–80, holding space for the experiences of women and people everywhere.
“A reclamation of a city’s darkest spaces, for all those whose voice has ever been silenced.”
What our audiences say:
“I loved adding myself into the exhibition with my own light.”
“I liked the way that I could move through the space, as if the sound moved with me.”
“Alive and quiet. Primal and still. Tender and wild. Raw and expansive.”
“It was powerful and moving. I felt like I was part of a magnificent group of women, from the past and the future.”
Produced and created by In Between Time, We Are Warriors was originally commissioned by Bristol Women’s Voice for their Deeds Not Words programme, marking 100 years since the first women were given the right to vote in the UK. The soundscape was developed through a series of workshops with diverse women from our city brought together with Breathing Fire, Black Women’s Playback Theatre Company.
Bristol-based organisations and groups that took part in the workshops include: Bristol and Avon Chinese Women’s Group, Bristol Drugs Project, Montpelier High School, Eastwood Park Women’s Prison, Gloucester Road Women’s Institute, Integrate UK (youth-led charity based in Easton), Redmaid’s Junior School and the Wellbeing Group at Wellspring Healthy Living.
Thank you to everyone that contributed their voice to We Are Warriors
Alicia Cole, Alicia Miller, Aliza Qureshi, Amaarah Mian-Cudmore, Amelia Walsh, Ann Brooks, Anne, Becky Bushnell, Bella Mason, Bethan Millsted, Blue, Brod Way, Carla Finch-Daniels, Catherine Wooldridge, Charlotte Louise Poulet, Chi Lin Yip Lau, Chloe Parry, Christina Austin, Ciara, Claire, Claire Charlton, Corinna Chandler, Corrine, Cynthia, Darlene Wheeler, Dee Lawrence, Dom, Eleanor Moore, Emily Griffin, Emma Matthews, Esme Stratton, Fiona Reid, Florence Hiatt, G. Keeley, Gail Mcdonald, Georgia, Gill, Gypsy Girl Chamainey, Hazel Durn, Heather Griffin, Helena Twigger, Hilz, Honor Lien, Iqra Wasim, Isabel Nyaruwa, Isabelle Davies, Isla Reoch, Ivy, J. Barrow, Jan Bartlett, Jane, Jane Keith, Jenny Allen, Jenny Sanderson, Jess, Jess Black, Jessica Bowen, Jessica Slack, Jewles, Jian Su, Julia, Julia Rayment, Judith Davis, Kellie, Kyley Hazell, Laura Read, Lauren Jay Gregory-Connolly, Lindsey Dando, Liz Tyler, Mandy Emery, Maria, Martine Lewis, Mary, Mary Sanderson, Maryam Aslam, Melanie Taylor, Meshelle Bone, Miranda Box, Miranda L, Molly Fenwick-Moore, Molly Nicolson, Mrs Doris Yeap, Nancy Trotter Landry, Natasha Kharbanda, Nicola, Nicola Thomas, Rachel, Rachel Lewis, Rachel Mylrea, Rebecca K Gibbs, Rebecca Wallace, Rosie Allen, Ruiyan Chen, Ruth Pitter, S. Haylett, Saffron Crosby, Sakiya Ghalib, Sally Lui, Sandra, Sarah, Sidra Wasim, SJ, Sophia Bailey, Sophie C Colfer, Talia, Tallulah Miller, Richards Tango, Tansin Brown, Tina, Tish Bell, Tonilee, Vanessa Boyawa, Valerie Mower, Valentine, Vashti Waite, Willow-Simone, Y.K. Tang, Yin Gui Zhang, Zara Huband, Zoe, Zora Alexander as well as those that wished to remain anonymous.
Credits
Produced by In Between Time / Warrior Workshops: Breathing Fire Black Women’s Playback Theatre Company / Sound and Voices: 130 incredible women and girls from Bristol / Sound Composition and Production: Alex Bradley / Technical Production: Lottie Poulet / Producer: Beau Palmer / Photography, main image: Manuel Vason
This installation has been kindly supported by the Arts & Events Team at Bristol City Council.
