Both events are based on Reid’s extensive work in researching and bringing back to life the oral tradition of using music as a social provocation.
The 19th century ballads she sings were printed on one side of a flimsy sheet of paper, and covered all sorts of social, political, and community topics.
They were sung by hawkers in Victorian times who would vie for singing space and an audience.
“You need to have some pretty good skill to deliver a street song,” Reid said.
Which she does. A skill she was invited to perform at the 2015 Venice Biennale as part of UK artist Jeremy Deller’s work that compared the harsh conditions of 19th century labourers with modern working practices such as zero-hours contracts and workplace surveillance.
“I had a little blue bob and wore a Jerry Webber-like 1980s power suit with the big shoulder pads so that everyone knew who I was. I’d be walking around Venice and people would be, like, leaning out of cafes, going, ‘Jennifer’. It was so crazy.”
Her work and vivacious punk/folk/uniquely Jennifer Reid aesthetic have taken her around the world to New York, Germany, Zagreb in Croatia, Bangladesh, and now New Zealand.
After hearing stories from people with relatives here, and New Zealanders with relations in England she thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to connect people with perhaps hitherto unknown aspects of their Anglo cultural roots.
“I think it could be interesting to bring an element of culture, maybe a couple of generations removed, back into people’s laps and see what they make of it,” she said.
“For me, it’s all about identity, like serving your authentic self. I am unapologetically myself. I don’t look like a folk singer, but I love the music.
“So the point is to honour your ancestors and carry on in the spirit of things. These songs are a perfect way to do that.”
Reid grew up in Middleton, Manchester, and initially worked in a supermarket.
After a stint squatting in Barcelona and seeking direction in life she returned to Manchester, volunteering at Chetham’s Library and the Working Class Movement Library.
Reid went on to complete an Advanced Diploma in Local History at Oxford University and has continued to research 19th century music, bringing her knowledge and performing skills to students at all levels, developing seminars and craft workshops for history and community groups and contributing academically to the field with funded research and artistic projects.
She applies her research on ballads to modern life. During several visits to Bangladesh she met garment workers in Savar and asked a woman what she would like her to communicate as a Westerner to fellow Westerners.
“She said that the factories are the second prisons of Bangladesh. Well, Joseph Burgess wrote in 1874, why a factory is like a prison. He’s essentially describing the exact same set-up.”
Public talk: Jennifer Reid on Lancashire dialect and broadside ballads
Date: Sunday, April 6
Time: 2-3pm
Venue: Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery
Free, all welcome.
Performance: Jennifer Reid performs Broadside Ballads
Date: Sunday, April 6
Time: Doors open 5.30pm, performance begins 6pm
Venue: Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery
Tickets: Friends of the Sarjeant $18, all others $20 and be purchased from our online shop at Sarjeant.org.nz, by visiting the gallery, or call 06 349 0506.
