Work on Softly/Tenderly began in 2021 through a Distinctly Birmingham commission from Fierce Festival.

The piece is a participatory art-work exploring the complicated history of gun-making within Birmingham, but, as the name suggests, does so with care.

Hosted in small groups of 5, those that experience the work get to play a part in the creation and manufacturing of a small precious metal object that they then get to keep. A gift or totem to take away, acting (perhaps) as a gentle reminder of some of the better things industrious hands can get up to – many people making together being a nod towards some of Birmingham’s more celebrated workshop industries, such as jewellery and toys.

For those able to engage with the heavier aspects of history, a booklet accompanies the work illuminating Birmingham’s role in its lesser talked about trade.

Attentive, pleasurable, gentle and bespoke, Softly/Tenderly is – with intention – the very opposite of everything weapons stand for and do.

Credits

The making of Softly/Tenderly was supported by Arts Council England and commissioned by Fierce and performance, possession + automation, a three-year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

A team of people supported the making of the work in 2024:
Marty Langthorne - Lighting Designer & Production Management, Cecilia Vilela - Booklet Editor, John Hunter / RULER - Booklet Designer, Pippa Frith - Director (Producing) at Fierce, Nassy Konan - Producer, Gregory Dunn - Senior Technician at STEAMhouse (Metal-work advice)

Research towards the art-work included:

• Various walks around Birmingham’s Gun and Jewellery Quarters including visits to local jewellery and metal suppliers, 2021-2024.

• A visit to Birmingham’s Proof House, July 2023.

• Visits with jewellery maker Vanessa Miller in her workshop, August and October 2024.

• An online research conversation with Professor Priya Satia, Stanford University, September 2024.

• An in-person research conversation with Dr Kate Nichols, University of Birmingham, September 2024.

• Spending time at STEAMhouse learning about metal from Gregory Dunn, September-October 2024.

• ...and countless other conversations with family, peers, pacifists, gun-owners, and residents of Birmingham.