Together We Move & Everything I Have Is Yours goes online!

Posted on 30 June 2020

Together We Move is a programme of events and exhibitions running since 2019, inspired by Everything I Have Is Yours, an ambitious film commission by Eileen Simpson and Ben White (Open Music Archive).

Everything I Have Is Yours looks back to the first decade of the UK pop charts (1952-62). Working with a group of older musicians – many of whom are the ‘original teenagers’ of the Greater Manchester music scene, now in their 70s and 80s – the film focuses on this diverse group as they re-engage with public-domain samples from the formative era of the ‘birth of pop’, and incorporate these timeless sounds into new musical creations.

Through the film commissioning process, the University of Salford Art Collection acquired an edition of Everything I Have Is Yours

From 1 July 2020 the collection is making the full length film available to view online, for you to enjoy any time you like. See here to experience this unique opportunity!

On the film page you will find more, including video content such as A ‘making of’ interview with the artists Ben White and Eileen Simpson, links to vimeo where you can download, rewatch or remix the film yourself, a full list of out-of-copyright sound sources used in the project, and the Everything I Have is Yours publication with key texts from writer Ellen Mara de Wachter and music journalist Paul Morley, also available on Castlefield Gallery’s website here.

Over 8000 people visited the Everything I Have Is Yours and Together We Move exhibitions at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. 206 participants, over 60s Greater Manchester creative residents, young people, and families, have actively engaged with Together We Move, many co-producing community led exhibitions and events that have formed a further 20,520 audience members attending these exhibitions and events! To mark the online release of Everything I Have Is Yours, Castlefield Gallery and our commissioning partners invite you to look back on Together We Move highlights and engage with new programme materials.

Enjoy a downloadable copy of a special zine, created by the over 60s film commission musical protagonists, that captures their thoughts and experiences of collaborating on the making of Everything I Have Is Yours and taking part in the many Together We Move presentations, events and performances. You can find the zine here.

Perhaps you might like to get creative yourself? If so, you can now access three Together We Move activity sheets for free download here.

As well as developing new programming we’ve also been reflecting upon the early days of Together We Move:

Listen to the brilliant Wolfgang Radio’s podcast Art in the Community, part of their Selfridges Hot Air presents State of the Arts series. You can listen to the programme here.

Enjoy freshly released sound work created by artist Ben McDonnell, Greater Manchester over 60s residents and young participants taking part in the 2019 Together We Move programme here. The sound piece has been made by translating music tracks into visual scores, then from these scores developing new sounds. Ben’s work with Greater Manchester communities focused on responding to visual scores of music inspired by the first ten years of the UK hit charts and formed part of the Together We Move installation at Salford Museum and Art Gallery in 2019.

As Together We Move draws to a close, we’re reflecting back on the event Open Mic – Open Archive at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. An afternoon of live performances and interactive poetry, Open Mic – Open Archive was delivered by performers of all ages, including Saxophonist Mike Farmer, Ella Otomewo of Young Identity, spoken word artist Louise Fazackerley and poet Charles McDermot, programmed by Ruby Ramelize. You can read some of the pieces performed on the day by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page. You can also listen to Louise Fazackerley reading her poem “O-pen Music Archive” on our soundcloud here.

It is also great news that Salford Museum and Art Gallery are now reopen, find out more here. If you are visiting, please remember to pop into the shop where you can purchase beautiful, community made Together We Move products and memorabilia. All proceeds will be invested back into the community, supporting the future creative activities of the community of older makers who developed the Together We Move range of products you’ll find available at the museum.

We have also been busy giving back, and have enjoyed sharing Everything I Have Is Yours thank you packs with all film protagonists, our wonderful ‘original teenagers’ of Greater Manchester. We are now pleased to also have been able to send them and the many Together We Move older creative participants, GMCA Creative Care Kits which Castlefield Gallery has been busy contributing to.

We want to say a big thank you to the small army of Together We Move volunteers that have supported and engaged with the programme along the way, many whom we hope to be able to meet with again soon. We also wish to thank the Together We Move artist producers Liz Wewiora, Sally Gilford and Ben McDonnell.

Everything I Have Is Yours is commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella, Contemporary Art Society, University of Salford Art Collection and Castlefield Gallery. Presented by Contemporary Art Society, Mbili Foundation and the University of Salford, the film premiered at Salford Museum & Art Gallery in July 2019, going on to tour to Whitechapel Gallery.