Presenters Louisa Adjoa Parker and Femi Oriogun-Williams talk to three people about their experiences of life in sleepy Dorset as a person of African, Asian or mixed heritage. The contributors, as well as Femi, and Louisa, reflect on their non-white British cultural heritage, and the part this has played in their lives.

Credits: Presented and produced by Louisa Adjoa Parker and Femi Oriogun-Williams. 
Music credits: Gary Pickard and Femi Oriogun-Williams. Our thanks to Gary Pickard for recording and sound engineering; to Kech Wo for the 'Where are you really from?' logo and illustration; to the contributors; and to our funders, South West Creative Technology Network, who supported Louisa during her New Talent Immersion Fellowship. This podcast is one of the outcomes of the research.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Presenter Louisa Adjoa Parker talks to three women of mixed heritage about their experiences of life in rural Britain. The interviewees, as well as Louisa, tell stories of their struggle to make sense of their identity; overt racism; as well as more subtle discrimination, or micro-aggressions. 

Credits: Presented by Louisa Adjoa Parker 
Produced by Louisa Adjoa Parker and Gary Pickard
Music credits: Gary Pickard and Femi Oriogun-Williams. 
Thanks go to Gary Pickard for recording and sound engineering; to Kech Wo for the 'Where are you really from?' logo and illustration; to the contributors; and to the funders, South West Creative Technology Network, who supported Louisa during her New Talent Immersion Fellowship. This podcast is one of the outcomes of the research.

Episode 2

Episode 3
Presenter Louisa Adjoa Parker chats to Martha Williams at her home in London about Martha's life growing up in the Cotswolds; the different ways people of mixed heritage create an identity in white spaces; the relationship between people of colour and nature; and negotiating urban spaces when you come from a rural environment.

Credits: Presented by Louisa Adjoa Parker
Produced by Louisa Adjoa Parker and Gary Pickard
Music credits: Gary Pickard and Femi Oriogun-Williams
Thanks go to Femi Oriogun-Williams for recording; Gary Pickard for recording and sound engineering; Kech Wo for the 'Where are you really from?' logo and illustration; Martha Williams; and to the funders of the first two episodes of this podcast, South West Creative Technology Network, who supported Louisa during her New Talent Immersion Fellowship. This podcast is one of the outcomes of the research.

Episode 3

What does it mean to be a black or brown person in the British countryside? Presenter Louisa Adjoa Parker talks to Sean Fletcher and Mya-Rose Craig about their experiences of, and relationship to the UK's natural environment. 

Credits: Presented by Louisa Adjoa Parker. Production, sound engineering, scripting & editing by Femi Oriogun-Williams.

Poetry written and performed for the Where are you really from? project by Saili Katebe.
Music credits: Femi Oriogun-Williams. 

Our thanks to Kech Wo for the 'Where are you really from?' logo and illustration; to the contributors; the project funders, Arts Council England and Literature Works; project funders/supporters Kaleider and Little Toller Books; Louise Boston-Mammah, project administrator; and to everyone who contributed soundbites.

Black to Nature

How do we tell the stories of black and brown people in rural areas where their presence is effaced in museums, galleries and cultural centres? Presenter and Producer Femi Oriogun-Williams reflects on his own experiences of the countryside through conversations with Libita Sibungu, who traces her family tree from the Cornish mines near Penzance to Namibia; Paul Gilroy about the creolisation of culture present in the English Folk tradition; and James Goodwin a poet based between London and Wiltshire about his experiences of growing up in the English Countryside.

Credits: Presented, produced and scored by Femi Oriogun-Williams.

Poetry written and performed for the Where are you really from? project by Saili Katebe.
Featuring:  Travel On - Nadia Cattouse
One Morning in May - Doris Henderson & Jon Renbourn
The Lakes of Pontchartrain - Paul Brady
She Moved through the Fair - Davey Graham

Our thanks to Kech Wo for the 'Where are you really from?' logo and illustration; to the contributors; the project funders, Arts Council England and Literature Works; project funders/supporters Kaleider and Little Toller Books; Louise Boston-Mammah, project administrator; and to everyone who contributed soundbites.

Giving Birth to Stories: Black and Brown creatives in the countryside

This immersive audio poem has been supported using public funding from Arts Council England. The poem 'Dear White West Country People' was written by Louisa Adjoa Parker 2020; performed by Remi Oriogun-Williams; recording by Femi Oriogun-Williams; SFX by Gary Pickard. Audio Poem Editor, Audio Consultant, Sound Recordist, & Original Music by Matthew Walker.

Many thanks to the Where are you really from? project funders, Arts Council England and Literature Works, supporters Little Toller Books and Kaleider, project manager Louise Boston-Mammah, and all project artists.

The text of this poem is available to read here: https://www.littletoller.co.uk/the-clearing/poetry/dear-white-west-country-people-by-louisa-adjoa-parker/

Dear White West Country People

The Where Are You Really From? Podcast explores the experience of people of African, Asian, mixed and other ethnically diverse heritage in the rural UK.  It asks, how does it feel to be one of the few black or brown faces in a white rural landscape? And how does this impact on a person's sense of self and well-being?

Where Are You Really From?

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