L-R: Jake Bowers, Roberta Piazza and Chris Derbyshire
The University welcomed Priscilla, the Queen of the South, a sculpture of a Gypsy horse by Romany artist, journalist and activist Jake Bowers, on Friday 23 February.
The sculpture, located outside the Jubilee Building for the coming year, is part of the National Trust project, ‘Changing Chalk Cultural Heritage’. It reflects the University’s continuing pledge to promote awareness and celebrate our campus, local, and regional Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) communities and will feature as a point of reference for campus visits delivered by the University’s Widening Participation Team.
Jake Bowers said: "This sculpture of a life-sized Gypsy cob, a breed developed to pull Romany wagons across the British landscape, is an attempt to make Gypsy culture visible in a landscape it has almost entirely been eradicated from by legislation and economic change. By using the original Romany craft of blacksmithing, recycled metal and the weaving practices of basket makers we have made a sculpture that blends the best of Romany culture. I say 'we' because whilst in production the horse and a mobile forge travelled across the UK, from Sussex to the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria to enable community members to forge parts of the horse's mane, feathers and tail. The fact that she will be temporarily grazing at Sussex symbolises the freedom that comes from education."
Priscilla was unveiled during the Deemed Dirty symposium, which explored representations of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities focusing on the British Academy-supported work of Professor Roberta Piazza, Professor of English Language and Linguisticsin the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, and Jake Bowers.
Professor Piazza said: “I have been working with Roma and Traveller communities for several years and am fascinated by their diversity. Observing and understanding people who experience space in modalities that are far from our settled way can teach us a lot, from appreciation of the privilege we have to access that space, to what we miss by not adapting to a continuously changing landscape. Learning to know and respect these old communities that have a long and beautiful history and are integral part of the fabric of this country is very important for any educational institution.”
Chris Derbyshire, Widening Participation Partnership Manager, said: “The cob symbolises the University’s continuing commitment to learners, staff, and families of Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman, and Boater heritage. Embracing the rich history, contribution and cultures brought to our local geography, it also serves to reflect our recently secured equality charter mark: the GTRSB Pledge. The sculpture will factor as an important narrative for visiting schools as part of the University’s Widening Participation programmes.”
BBC News shared a story about Prissy's arrival on the day, detailing how the sculpture has been installed to inspire students from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds to go into further education. ITV Meridian also included the sculpture installation in their news coverage.