About
Welcome to Polis!
Polis is a digital exhibition which endeavors to highlight the hidden stories of protesters. You may have come across this exhibition through a QR code in an area of Leeds, in which case you were walking through history!
Protests are often demonized and hidden in the media, so Polis gets to the route of why people were protesting and encourages you to empathize with the need to shout for fair treatment, as oppose to write a polite letter.
Each pin in the map of the exhibition represents an area where a protest happened in Leeds. The video accompanied with the pin is intended to give you a little snap shot of the issue using protest art. The question at the end of each video is designed to help you connect with the people who protested.
Not all images are from the actual protest listed, but are from protests of the same issue throughout history and all over the world.
Please use the exhibition videos as a start point for further research, and send in your answers to the questions in the Feedback tab!
Enjoy Polis!
Sources
Reclaim the Night
Images
‘Women Reclaim the Night’ poster, provided by the People’s History Museum. Can be found here: https://phm.org.uk/collections-display/?irn=45389
‘Sick of walking home like this?’ illustration, provided by @dozytattoo on Instagram. Can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMU9n2zqIcy/
‘At night I want to be safe not brave’ image, provided by @feminist_collages_london on Instagram. Can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMWh_nsgtos/
‘She’s someone’ image, provided by @_shushbox on Instagram. Can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CK_Qc2UDGo_/
‘97%’ image, provided by @johnbehets on Instagram. Can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnWeSsn_CM/
Sacramento ‘Women Take Back the Night’ poster, By Lynne Okun. Provided by the Centre for the Study of Political Graphics. Can be found here: http://collection-politicalgraphics.org/detail.php?term=women+take+back+the+night&module=objects&type=keyword&x=0&y=0&kv=9094&record=1&module=objects
‘Don’t’ image provided by @_shushbox on Instagram. Can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3O9eYjG3P/
‘When Love is a Contact Sport’ poster by Liz Harvey; Women's Action Coalition. Provided by The Centre for the Study of Political Graphics. Can be found here: http://collection-politicalgraphics.org/detail.php?term=when+love+is+a+contact+sport&module=objects&type=keyword&x=0&y=0&kv=2958&record=0&module=objects
‘We are the Granddaughters of the Witches you Couldn’t Burn’ image provided by @millylovesmay on Instagram. Can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4FDAANgU6T/
‘End Violence Against Women’ image, provided by @_shushbox on Instagram. Can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMaEl_SDW5e/
Story
http://www.reclaimthenight.co.uk/why.html
Chapeltown Uprising
Images
‘Stop Racial Profiling. End Stop and Frisk’ poster. By National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Provided by the Centre for the Study of Political Graphics. Can be found here: http://collection-politicalgraphics.org/detail.php?term=stop+racial+profiling&module=objects&type=keyword&x=0&y=0&kv=43498&record=0&module=objects
‘What’s the Difference Between English Only and Whites Only?’ poster. Artist unknown. Provided by the Centre for the Study of Political Graphics. Can be found here: http://collection-politicalgraphics.org/detail.php?term=what%27s+the+difference+between+english+only&module=objects&type=keyword&x=0&y=0&kv=1815&record=0&module=objects
‘Black or White?’ poster by Margaret Pauffley; Leeds Postcards. Provided by the Centre for the Study of Political Graphics. Can be found here: http://collection-politicalgraphics.org/detail.php?term=black+or+white%3F&module=objects&type=keyword&x=0&y=0&kv=46691&record=0&module=objects
Story
https://secretlibraryleeds.net/2019/10/11/the-1981-uprising/
Morley Miners
Images
Group photograph of Morley Miners. Image provided by Leeds Libraries, David Atkinson Archive. Can be found here: https://www.leodis.net/viewimage/111533
‘Support Coal Miners and their Families on Strike’ poster by the New American Movement (NAM). Provided by the Centre for the Study of Political Graphics. Can be found here: http://collection-politicalgraphics.org/detail.php?term=support+coal+miner&module=objects&type=keyword&x=0&y=0&kv=45396&record=0&module=objects
‘Class Consciousness is Knowing which Side of the Fence you’re on.’ Poster by Press Gang Publishers. Provided by the Centre for the Study of Political Graphics. Can be found here: http://collection-politicalgraphics.org/detail.php?term=class+consciousness&module=objects&type=keyword&x=0&y=0&kv=11295&record=0&module=objects
‘They Plan for Profits’ poster by the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. Provided by the Centre for the Study of Political Graphics. Can be found here: http://collection-politicalgraphics.org/detail.php?term=they+plan+for+profits&module=objects&type=keyword&x=0&y=0&kv=11213&record=0&module=objects
Image of two newspaper sellers. Provided by Leeds Libraries, C.E. Shaw. Can be found here: https://www.leodis.net/viewimage/120946
‘Women Against Pit Closures’ poster. Provided by Bishopsgate Archive. Can be found here: https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/
Story