We're All From Somewhere... with Soraya Smithson and Kate Genever

Souvenirs and surnames overlap. Both things we keep, and both relate to specific times and places. Souvenirs come from close and faraway places. Names do too.  

Soraya and Kate invite you to join us over a collection of souvenirs as we start to think about what journeys our families and their names have been on to meet us here in Peterborough in 2025.  

Do you, like Kate, have a Dutch surname that's arrival in the area is long lost? Or perhaps yours is Italian and relates to the city's brick history? Maybe you are Ukrainian or Somalian or Scottish and your name speaks of a more recent arrival? Maybe you don't know but are intrigued to find out more. 

As part of the session Kate and Soraya will invite you into a creative activity that generates future souvenirs. New objects that record our presence here in this time and space. 

This event is part of Metal’s Dream Space, which will breathe new life into an empty shop unit in the corner of Queensgate, transforming it into a vibrant  hub for reading, reflection, dreaming for the future and creative exchange in the heart of Peterborough.  At the centre of Dream Space is our Pop-Up Reading Room - a place where ideas are cooked up, books are shared, and conversations spark. Alongside this, we're offering a packed programme of events and workshops and the opportunity to co-design a new pop-up reading room structure to live on beyond the project. Find out more about Dream Space