Stamford Arts Centre exhibition will look at home heating

An upcoming exhibition at Stamford Arts Centre shares oral histories from the town, writes Stamford Climate Action columnist Amanda Wheeler.

Memories of keeping warm and feeling the cold highlight personal connections around home heating, including feelings of love, care, family, safety, security, and control. ‘Keeping Warm’ centres on artworks made by Becky Shaw in response to the stories that have been remembered and told by volunteers involved in JustHeat.

JustHeat is an international research project recognising the importance of personal and community heating histories to inform domestic energy policy. How we heat our homes is an important topic for decision makers and national plans for Net-Zero.

A year of research in Stamford

Over the last year, Aimee Ambrose (JustHeat project lead) and Kathy Davies (historian and researcher) have collected oral histories across Stamford and the surrounding villages. Volunteers have shared their experiences of heating and how this has changed throughout their life so far. The impact of change is significant, and change is coming again. JustHeat has been listening, recording, and learning from the lived experiences of local people in Stamford and Rotherham, South Yorkshire, to help make sure the new transition is as considerate and fair as possible.

You are invited!

Keeping Warm runs from Tuesday, January 14, to Saturday, January 25, 2025

You are invited to come along to Stamford Arts Centre and reflect on how our need for warmth shapes the day to day. There are three events taking place over the exhibition and everyone is encouraged to attend and tell their story.

Exhibition opening is on Tuesday, January 14, from 6pm to 8pm - Enjoy looking back through memory and art to think about the significance of home heating, past, present, and future.

An artist workshop will be on Saturday, January 18, from 2pm - Come and chat, collage, and tell your stories at this informal drop-in event with artist, Becky Shaw, and JustHeat project lead, Aimee Ambrose.

Conversations with decisionmakers on Tuesday, January 21 from 6pm until 7.30pm - Meet with local decisionmakers to share memories and experiences and contribute to the local and national conversation around low-carbon heating transition.

Thank you, Stamford Community.

The JustHeat team would like to thank every volunteer personally for their contribution to this project. We would also like to thank Stamford Library, Stamford History Society, Stamford Rotary Club, Stamford Town Council, and the Blonde Beet Café for their support. We hope to see your friendly faces at the upcoming exhibition and events.