A year-long, citywide project culminating in an exhibition at Derby Museum and Art Gallery
The Signing Mother, our original VV made with Zoë McWhinney
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ABOUT
Nightlight Lullabies connects audiences through the universal experience of soothing a baby to sleep across the passage of time. A sound, light and performance installation inspired by research and creative workshops with local parents.
The work has been presented in cities including London, Brighton, Stockton, Crawley, Bexhill, Peterborough, and Leonardslee, all following a co-creation process with local communities.
This iteration in Derby, engages diverse communities and families, exploring the heritage of lullabies and night-time rituals. This includes the involvement of deaf communities through collaborations with the Royal School for the Deaf, D-Youth Hub, and Action Deafness.
CO-CREATING WITH THE COMMUNITY
Our aim is to encourage hearing/deaf parents at risk of isolation, deprivation or diminishing mental health to recognise, record and celebrate their heritage, while reconnecting with parent peer-support networks, local communities and heritage organisations they can engage with after this project ends.
Our local engagement work will include a series of workshops and training:
- Film Histories – training deaf volunteers to film video interviews with deaf parents, culminating in a series of vlogs.
- Oral Histories – training hearing volunteers to collect oral history interviews with parents, culminating in a series of podcasts
- Creative Writing – workshops with parents to create a bespoke lullaby, which will be featured as part of the exhibition
- Visual Vernacular – workshops with deaf parents and students at The Royal School For The Deaf, to create a bespoke VV film drawing on video interviews and Derby heritage
- Mentoring – deaf volunteers will work with our filmmaker, video mapper and production team on all elements of the work in the lead up to the exhibition at Derby Museum and Art Gallery.
Image of film history training with D-Youth Hub, Martin Glover and Sam Ash
EXHIBITION AT DERBY MUSEUMS
See the work at
Derby Museum & Art Gallery
24 September-31 October, 2025
The installation will be exhibited at Derby Museum & Art Gallery, showing works co-created with local communities, including:
- Bedside Lamp viewing post – featuring the Visual Vernacular (VV) film
- Crescent Moon – featuring A Lullaby For Derby
- Giant Mobile – featuring soundscape of Derby parents’ bedtime routines and lullabies
- Building Projection – video mapping on the museum walls.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY
Lullaby heritage is an important oral tradition and a crucial aspect of family culture and wellbeing. Sharing songs is a soothing activity that promotes cohesion and connection, providing a positive impact on wellbeing.
Following our work with deaf communities in 2021, we’ve broadened this story-collecting to encompass non-verbal parenting/bed-time rituals, incorporating them into VV film through creative poetry writing workshops that reflect BSL as a first language.
This project is also important to deaf parents, featuring their culture prominently alongside hearing people, building connections between these communities for both participants and audiences.
Nightlight Lullabies Derby is created and produced by Murmuration Arts. Made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England. In partnership with Derby Museums and The Royal School For The Deaf Derby. Supported by D-Youth Hub, Action Deafness and Family Hub Derby.
