Showcasing Cardiff Communities

Cardiff prides itself on being a multi-cultural city with people from across the world coming to live, work and study in the capital.

As part of The Cardiff Story, the museum will reflect the city's multi-cultural image and the relationship the city has with the world.

Cheryl Knight, 29, has recently joined the Cardiff Story team, as Community Curator. Cheryl's role is to make sure all of Cardiff's communities are represented in the project.

Cheryl explains, "At the moment we're concentrating on a section looking at Cardiff and the world.  This area of the new museum is going to discuss how Cardiff is a city that is made up of lots of different communities, whether that's faith or ethnic communities. Cardiff is noted as being one of the first multi-cultural societies in Britain and the underlying reason for that is that as Cardiff docks were exporting millions of tonnes of coal from the Welsh valleys, all around the world, ships returned to the port bearing people to live and work in the city. It was literally coal out, people in!"

"The late 19^th and early to mid  20^th century saw people from China, Yemen, Somalia, Ireland, Norway and many other nations arrive in Cardiff to work in the docks and other industries. Some stayed, others didn't, but their arrival helped to shape the city and made what we now know as the bay area famous across the world.  I am very keen to hear from anyone that has a Cardiff migration story to tell."

Together with elders and representatives of community groups across Cardiff, Cheryl is working hard to make sure this important aspect of the city's history is featured in the museum.  But the team is coming up against some difficulties in their quest!

"What we're finding is that, although there might be official information about a community, or lots of memories and stories, it's hard to find actual ‘things' to use in our display cases to represent those stories and communities.  Because this section is looking at those historic communities who moved here in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, a lot of the things those first migrants brought with them have been lost, damaged beyond repair or replaced."

"We'd love to hear from anyone who has something in their attic or garage that has been handed down through their family from first migrants.  The trunk that your great great grandmother brought over with her from Ireland, or the cooking pot your ancestors took with them to help them start their new lives in Cardiff."

Often, the objects that represent stories of moving to and settling in the city are very ‘everyday' things, and the team are concerned that people may have these objects, but don't realise how they could be used to tell these crucial histories in the museum.  Recently the museum has been contacted by the Cape Verde Society who have offered a ‘pilau pau' for display.

The ‘pilau pau' is a form of pestle and mortar, used in Cape Verde to prepare beans and maize for use in cooking - its name is derived from Creole, the spoken language of Cape Verde. It was given to owner Nicky Delgado's grandfather by a Cape Verdean sailor visiting Cardiff around 1905, for use in making ‘cachupa' - a stew formed of pigs tails and trotters with beans. Cachupa is a traditional Cape Verdean food that dates back to the days of slavery.

Nicky's grandfather was one of many Cape Verdeans to settle in Wales - he married a Cape Verdean woman in Barry, then moved to Riverside but narrowly escaped disaster when the 1919 port riots erupted. Nicky says:

‘My grandfather was caught up in the riots - he only just escaped the violence by climbing through a skylight in the house and getting away! He eventually made his way to Butetown where he set up a boarding house in the docks. His boarding house became a central point for Cape Verdeans in Cardiff; people would gather there to play music, sing songs and tell stories of Cape Verde.'

Nicky notes that the lively mix of people in the bay had striking parallels with Cape Verde;

‘In a way it was almost like recreating the multiculturalism of Cape Verde - the islands are believed to be one of the first shipping points for African slaves when they were discovered and colonised by the Portuguese, and their position west of the Atlantic shipping line attracted sailors from around the world. They are unique, and in Butetown it was almost like coming full circle.'

Cheryl adds "Cape Verdeans have played an important role in the city and are believed to be one of the first immigrant communities to move to Cardiff.  During the late 1800s Cape Verdean seamen were frequent visitors to the Cardiff docks and many settled in Cardiff with their families."

"Although a simple object in Cape Verde,  the ‘pilau pau' will be  vital in making sure the Cape Verde community is represented in the Cardiff Story. It is priceless in helping us show how Cardiff's migrant communities settled in and helped shaped the city, and it has a wonderful background story to bring this history to life.

Along with the Cardiff and the World section, Cheryl is also working on the museum's Community Showcase area. A dedicated area for local community groups to display their own exhibitions, the space can be used to promote the activities of the group.  For example, a craft group could display work they have created during their meetings or a local history society can display their locality's heritage to a wider audience.

Cheryl explains, "The Community Showcase is a great way for visitors to the museum to find out about the work that goes on across the city by a variety of groups, and hopefully it will encourage them to join in and get involved too."

Cardiff Council's Executive Member for Sport, Culture and Leisure, Cllr Nigel Howells, said: "Cardiff has always been a very proud multicultural society and those moving to the city have played a key role in the story of Cardiff. It's important that all community groups living in the city are represented in the museum and I would encourage people to get in touch with Cheryl to find out how they can get involved in the project."

If you have any objects, items, photographs or stories that you feel would be suitable for Cheryl or if you wish to take part in the community showcase  contact Cheryl on  02920 788334  or email: cardiffstory@cardiff.gov.uk

ID: 532   Revised: 22/4/2010