My work helps connect people with their culture and surroundings

Jackie Sarafopoulos

I have worked in the cultural sector for more than 30 years. In that time, I’ve had a very stimulating portfolio career working in museums and galleries and as a freelance art consultant with a particular focus on artists’ estates, education, collections, curation and exhibitions. I gained a BSc in Heritage Conservation from Bournemouth University and then an MA in Museum & Gallery Management from City University London (now City St George’s, University of London).

I live in Bournemouth and tend to work nationally across many different projects. I have strong connections with Southampton and have been involved in the city’s cultural life for more than 25 years, working with colleagues at Southampton City Art Gallery, Solent University and Winchester School of Art.

I was particularly delighted to be asked to be a curator for Southampton Forward’s City Reflections: Illuminating Southampton’s Stories, a four-night light projection trail that will bring the city’s history to life in bold and creative ways. Taking place from the 18^th to the 21^st of February 2026, the event will transform six historic buildings in Southampton’s Old Town and city centre.

Many people will remember this year’s City Reflections project, when Southampton’s medieval walls were transformed into a stunning projection display at The Esplanade at Westquay, celebrating some of the Community Legends who make the city shine.

Created by the community and for the community, hundreds of people nominated their Community Legends and the students of Solent University helped capture these stories, with thousands of people coming to see the final film projected during February half term.

Next year’s project will have a different focus, spotlighting Southampton’s community, cultural and heritage assets and celebrating the city’s Art, Maritime and Archaeology collections with large-scale projections, immersive soundscapes and storytelling ahead of the Art Gallery’s reopening in February 2026.

The trail will take visitors to King John’s Palace, Holyrood Church, The Bargate, The Dancing Man Brewery (formerly The Wool House), The Castle Vaults and Southampton City Art Gallery. Visitors can expect to see a wide range of topics explored, including Trade, People and Global Connections, Culture, Ships and Shipping, City Maps and City Walls, and Southampton City Art Gallery Collection.

The project is committed to community co-curation, and I have had the privilege of mentoring six Community Curators, each representing a different Southampton community. We have worked closely with the Southampton City Council collections, curatorial and archives teams to explore the city’s archives, uncover meaningful stories, and select rarely seen objects that resonate with both the building they’re paired with and the communities they represent.

Did you know that there are over 500,000 artefacts in archaeological store from the Hamwic area of Southampton? Findings from the Middle Saxon period (650–850 AD) revealed an early cemetery and a rich collection of finds, including glass beakers, pottery, coins and metalwork, showcasing Hamwic’s extensive trading links and various industries.

Southampton’s archives also include the Central Index Register of Merchant Seamen, 1918-1941, which contains over a million index cards related to the men and women of the Merchant Navy, showing their date and place of birth and their careers as seafarers.

This is an opportunity for everyone to find out more about our shared history. It’s also a chance to genuinely connect with people in your social circles who may appreciate an invitation to a once-in-a-lifetime event. Who could you invite? Perhaps a new colleague, a quiet neighbour, or someone going through a life change. Running from 6pm to 8pm each evening, the trail will appeal to people of all ages who want to explore culture, art, history and storytelling.

I have witnessed the lifechanging effects of participatory art projects in both education and community settings. They bring communities together and inspire participants and audiences to get involved in aspects of their culture and surroundings often hidden in plain sight.

The message of this project is that anyone can access and get involved in delving in the archives of Southampton – whether it’s archaeology, collections, archives or art, there are so many stories to discover about people that lived and worked in the city, both ancient and contemporary. The archives and collections are also a way to tell new stories, so if you have something interesting to share, or an object or document that tells us about the way of life in Southampton, you can find out more about donating it at: https://www.hants.gov.uk/librariesandarchives/archives/about-us/deposit-items