6 Million+ Charity Trust organise the annual Holocaust Memorial Day in Kirklees. Every year refugees and asylum seekers who are making Kirklees their home come together with residents to make a new large-scale puppet to portray a persecuted demographic.
The Weeping Sisters consist of Kitty representing the Jewish community, Piroz the Kurdish community, Hava the Bosnian community, Kaneza the Burundi community, Greta for disabled people and Zenobia for the Syrian community.
I have taken part as a volunteer and paid facilitator devising and delivering creative workshops and only as a volunteer performer and puppet master at the live events, for more information please visit https://www.6millionplus.org/
below I have selected to show the collaboration of our group in the design and making of Greta, a German citizen, and a mother who grieves the loss of her disabled daughter. They symbolise the persecution of people with disabilities by the Nazi party.
The pattern for Greta’s outfit was inspired by Makaton sign language motifs. Tears, pain, mother, and dead child motifs were made into printing blocks and printed onto a variety of different materials and constructed into a length of fabric for the garment to be constructed. The puppet sessions are led by Artists Naomi Parker and Adam Strickson.
