Presentation of ‘A cape for Dolcie Obhiozele’ at ‘Windrush Years’ exhibition, Fusion Arts, 2024 

Barbaresi is  working with the research group ‘A Place for We’, which brings together academics at Oxford Brookes with community researchers, creatives and collaborators centred on the lack of  cultural space for Oxford’s African Caribbean community, and to support the community archiving project of Dolcie Obhiozele, Osman Charles and the Oxfordshire Community Education Group. This team of volunteers are committed to expanding the Oxfordshire African Caribbean Community Archive through recording oral histories and gathering photographs from the local community. The outcomes of this work can be seen in ‘Windrush Years: Portrait of a generation that rebuilt Britain’. The community-led approach to documenting narratives ensures there is a legacy for future generations. The group work with processes that are embedded in relationships and creativity to constitute a ‘living archive’(Hall, 2001)  through continued engagement.

The unseen aspects of the project have been the starting point for Barbaresi’s latest in a series of ‘wearable archives’ which are designed for the sharing of archival material in public spaces. In ‘A cape for Dolcie Obhiozele and the Oxfordshire African Caribbean Community Archive’ Barbaresi reflects on the OCEG’s process of archiving as a richly social and collaborative endeavour. A sense of care permeates this work alongside an awareness of historic loss of records which adds an urgency to the work. Stitching into the artwork with a group of elders has brought collective care into the work itself. The cape was shared at the closing event of the ‘Windrush years’ exhibition on 30th November 2024.