Exhibition Information

Listen to this Story! An exhibition about children's books and Black Britain

From the archive and research of Professor Karen Sands-O’Connor,

Sheffield exhibitions organised with Dr Aneesh Barai

School of Education, University of Sheffield

This travelling exhibition is originally created by Professor Sands-O’Connor with support from Newcastle University and Seven Stories, and has been homed in Sheffield for 2025. It will be in the Sheffield Central Library Foyer until November 19th.

The exhibition's official and original website is here: https://listentothisstory.co.uk/  

The exhibition includes Karen’s most recent book, co-authored with Dr Darren Chetty: Beyond the Secret Garden. This book draws on and expands their long-running journalism and columns. 

At Sheffield, Karen is working with Aneesh. Together, they have been co-teaching, co-authoring, developing collaborations with local Black-owned businesses, and working to share the archival material with researchers, educators and librarians. If you would be interested in connecting with them about this work, please do get in touch, at a.barai@sheffield.ac.uk.

The exhibition was hosted at Jessop West, University of Sheffield, from February to April 2025, and in Sheffield Children's Library from May to October 2025.  

With thanks to the team at Sheffield Central Library for generously hosting and supporting this exhibition.