Hear, Here London
Hear, Here London developed from a partnership between Western University and the Culture Office at the City of London in 2018. The goal was to recreate a similar project to Hear, Here La Crosse which launched in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 2015. Mark Tovey, a postdoctoral fellow at Western, designed Hear, Here projects for The Village and the Great Talbot communities. Following his lead, Public History graduate students began to gather stories from the South of Horton (SoHo) neighbourhood.
Once launched the project evolves into a community venture. Those who listen using their mobile phones can stay on the line and record their own stories. If the stories fit the project objectives, they are re-recorded and added.
The goal of Hear, Here is to share the diverse stories and voices of London. We seek stories from historically underrepresented peoples to help us understand London’s complicated and nuanced past. We also hear voices of people who experienced London long ago by including past oral histories projects in London.
Our Mission
Citizens of London hear about the big history of the city. We know about our founder, John Graves Simcoe and notable families like the Labatts. We hear about the 82% white population. We do not hear about the 18% made up of Black, Indigenous and other ethnic groups. Groups like women, the working class and religious minorities have been overlooked in our history.
How can these stories be documented and told in our community? How do the stories from historically-underrepresented peoples reflect on the community at large? How might the community change and evolve knowing that London, like all cities in our complicated and nuanced world, has its prejudices, struggles, and injustices?
Hear, Here sees itself as a vehicle for all stories in the community — both those that praise and challenge traditional views. It is an opportunity for people to have public conversations about how we might create a more ideal and just city.
We at Hear, Here hope that citizens of London will see the stories as an opportunity for education, growth and change.
Ariel Beaujot is a history professor at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. History was her inspiration. Hear, Here was her vision. With the support of undergraduate students and community members, Ariel was able to transform a dream of shared voices into a reality.
Michelle Hamilton is Associate Professor and Co-Director of the MA Public History program at Western University. Together with Ariel Beaujot, she brought Hear, Here to the SoHo district of London, Ontario.
Mark Tovey is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of History, Western University, where he was a MITACS Accelerate Postdoctoral Fellow. As part of his postdoctoral research, he piloted a Hear, Here project in the St. George-Grosvenor-Piccadilly area of London, Ontario.
During 2018-2019, Western students curated Hear, Here SoHo. Katie Anderson, Katrina Bjornstad, Sean Campbell, Elizabeth Carbonneau, Rachel Delle Palme, Skylee-Storm Hogan, Louisa Orford, Henrietta Roi, Leanna Tran, and Heather Wilson.
Experience Hear, Here with Driftscape
For an enhanced Hear, Here experience, use the Driftscape app to access exclusive tours about the history of the underground railway, the Old Victoria Hospital and more!
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