Uncovering Stories: A Day in the Archives with Our Community Curators

Our Community Curators have had another super busy week!

As part of City Reflections: Illuminating Southampton’s Stories, taking place in February 2026, our brilliant team of six Community Curators have been delving into Southampton’s archives to uncover the stories that shape our city. From rarely seen maritime artefacts to cultural treasures hiding in plain sight, they’ve been working closely with their communities to select items from the city’s Art, Maritime and Archaeology Collections that connect with both the heritage building and themes they’ve been paired with, and the stories that resonate most deeply with their communities.

Together with the Southampton City Council Collections team, each curator is co-creating one part of a six-stop projection trail. Over four spectacular evenings, the trail will illuminate Southampton’s Old Town and city centre, transforming heritage buildings into living canvases of light, animation and sound. The projections will spotlight Southampton’s extraordinary Collections while celebrating the city’s stories, culture and communities.

A key step in shaping the creative vision was a series of co-creation workshops, bringing together the Community Curators, the Collections team, and the creative leads from Light Up Trails and Double Take Projections. During this week’s session, the curators distilled their research and ideas into one-line statements – short, vivid summaries that capture the heart of their themes and the story they want to tell.

City Reflections: Illuminating Southampton’s Stories will be a short-run, must-see cultural event, designed to spark curiosity, ignite pride in the city’s heritage, and encourage audiences to discover Southampton in a whole new light – building excitement for the upcoming re-opening of Southampton City Art Gallery later in 2026.

Here’s a glimpse into the ideas guiding their work:

• Rajan (King John’s Palace): “Southampton – Trade window to the world.”
• Abs (Holyrood Church): “Representation of Black connections and history to Southampton and the impacts.”
• Thelma (The Bargate): “Culture is everything and not just for the elite. It is a way of life, led by communities.”
• Stephen (The Dancing Man Brewery): “Gateway to the world. Creating a sense of hope by setting out on a journey”
• Beth (The Castle Vaults): “Making the invisible, visible.”
• Ri (City Art Gallery):

These themes are already influencing the items and stories they’ve chosen, but the process is far from over. The curators will now continue working with local communities to decide the final stories that will come to life on our city’s buildings.

We’re so proud of everything they’ve done so far – and excited for what’s still to come.

With thanks to Dr Maria Newbery, Curator of Maritime & Local Collections, for all of her help and guidance so far.