An interview with Yomi Ayeni

Yomi Ayeni is the creator of Clockwork Watch, an immersive storytelling world set in a non-colonial 19th-century Britain. His work appeared in a 2023 exhibition at the British Library, which has also hosted a Clockwork Watch event.

I was involved with a group of people who set up a steampunk party, and I had concerns about the colonial aspect of the narrative. When we hosted it, I was one of only a few people of colour in attendance. I thought, maybe there's a way to create a story that everybody feels they can interact with and, at the same time, explore social history and learn from it. I've been interested in graphic novels since I was very young. It hit me that I could do something that was part graphic novel, part role play, part immersive theatre. That's how Clockwork Watch came about.  

It’s an elaborate universe that is co-created with members of the public

Clockwork Watch is set in a retrofuturist steampunk Victorian England. Within that world, I created characters that are intelligent automatons. In human form, you'd let them look after your baby; cook the food; tidy the house. They deal with all the domestic work and a lot of industrial work too. I asked, what if some freak accident happened, and this entity turned around and said, the next evolutionary leap for me is to be accepted as equal; as a human being. I drew inspiration from the history of the civil rights movement, the abolition of the slave trade and the suffragette movement.

It’s an elaborate universe that is co-created with members of the public. Alongside published books, there are also live, immersive events that give the audience an opportunity to step into the world. 

Over the past 11 years, we've worked with the Royal Observatory, the Queen's House in Greenwich, the National Maritime Museum, the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal, Latitude Festival, Scottsdale Public Library in Arizona, Weekend at the Asylum, and the British Library. No two immersive shows have ever been the same. They help move the story on: elements in the live event will feature in the upcoming book, and you may even find yourself in the illustrations.

The Library offered to host a live event

As a self-published author, I’d received letters from the British Library’s Legal Deposit department for many years. Then, by chance, I met the Library’s Head of Contemporary Publications at a big indie comic convention. The Library was keen to host a Clockwork Watch live event in October 2023. This event was about sky pirates: they attack cities in the sky, which are vulnerable because they’re run as tax-free havens, far from the confines of law enforcement. 

At the event, we had a real estate agency, selling property above ground, and sky pirates trying to break in so they could find out where the islands were floating and get the plans. We had Her Majesty's Patent Office, who were trying to solve the sanitation issues of the floating islands and stop them dumping waste into the sea. We had inventors trying to create a solution for this problem in order to win a golden ticket to a property, escape the squalor of down below and live above the clouds. 

People were drawing plans in the patent office and taking them to the real estate agency to ask if their ideas would help with floating island sanitation. At the same time, law enforcement were chasing the sky pirates, who were trying to infiltrate the patent office to get information. An automaton had gone missing, and the police believed it had escaped to a floating island. It was chaos: that’s the sort of world I like to create. We had about 11 actors, and 500 attendees. 

The Library shared a Clockwork Watch newspaper

As people bought tickets, the Library shared a Clockwork Watch newspaper with them so they could read articles and reader’s letters which highlighted elements of the story. As they were walking into the event, the latest edition of the newspaper gave an updated view of what was happening inside the building. That night, someone won a golden ticket to one of the properties that floats above the channel, and that person insisted on being given the title deeds on the spot. 

The characters, played by actors, have outline narratives, but are told that when that guidance ends, they can springboard into options presented by their interactions with members of the public. They feed some of those details back to me, which we then incorporate into the books.

Steampunk isn’t the biggest genre, but it does have quite a few loyal fans. People love the fact that Clockwork Watch doesn’t confine them to one strict narrative. I'm grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to do this. If anyone had said that this harebrained idea I had as a result of hosting a party would lead to me having a three-and-a-half hour show at the British Library, I would've laughed my face off. 

It’s great that the Library collects graphic novels

At the moment, there isn’t an equivalent of the British Library in the Clockwork Watch universe. But the Library did take ownership of the Governors of Patents’ Office. Patents feature quite heavily in the Clockwork Watch story. And there is a very strong chance that a library collection could materialise within book 12. 

It’s great that the Library collects graphic novels and comics. Most comics are published in hard copy form, whereas a lot of books are now going straight to digital. You never know whether self-published comics are going to be popular, and when they are, you sometimes realise that there are only four or five copies of something in existence. It’s important to collect them, because more often than not, they are a critique of society at a given point in time.

As told to Lucy Peters

 

Since its launch in April 2024 our groundbreaking exhibition, celebrating 500 years of Black British music, has appeared in library spaces across the UK, drawing in new and diverse audiences and promoting libraries as cultural hubs. We’re pleased to share key findings from our Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music programme evaluation to highlight the impact of the exhibition for public libraries and their users.

Established in partnership with libraries in the UK the Living Knowledge Network is a network of national and public libraries that aims to democratise access to culture and heritage through working together. When Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music exhibition launched at the Library in St Pancras, it simultaneously opened as a panel display across partner libraries, creating a powerful cultural moment connecting national and public libraries.

Between April and August 2024 the exhibition toured to 31 library services across the UK, reaching 73 locations and engaging nearly 800,000 people.

Public libraries as cultural spaces

As part of the exhibition programme, each library service planned their own tour across branch libraries, sometimes taking the panels to community settings like carnivals. Many created additional content too, including a Windrush exhibition at Huntingdon library, a Spotify playlist curated by Coventry library, a concert ticket stubs collection and digitisation project by Leeds, and many library partners made use of the interactive Museum in a Box, creating their own audio files for visitors to engage with.

Alongside the exhibition there was a full and varied programme of events, with library services curating their own unique programme from the Living Knowledge Network’s menu of streamed events, as well as libraries planning their own events such as music workshops and school performances in the library. We also supplied a quiz, which many libraries participated in.

The events programme alone engaged 7,719 people across 59 events. The exhibition was particularly successful in reaching people who are typically less engaged with arts and culture, making up 40% of the audience. It’s also significant that 47% of visitors strongly agreed that they would like to see more exhibitions or events at or hosted by libraries, showing the impact on individuals engaging with culture, leaving with an appetite for more.

Reaching new and diverse audiences

The exhibition was also successful in attracting more diverse audiences, with 42% of the audience from a global majority.

86% of library staff respondents agreed that being part of the Living Knowledge Network attracts new audiences to their library. And library partners are committed to continuing to engage these new audiences, with 78% of library staff saying that they are bringing new voices into the planning or delivery of their programmes or services (39%) or are intending to (39%). As one staff member from a partner library noted:

“The underrepresented parts of our communities are an [engagement] aim and a huge priority for everybody. It's just given us all a different way of looking at that and making it like more co-production with the community....”

Looking forward

With extended rights to the exhibition content secured for two years after the main exhibition run in St Pancras, Living Knowledge Network partner libraries are continuing to use the panels and recorded events. Many libraries have already incorporated the materials into their Black History Month For example, Black History Month 2024 saw Bristol host Lunchtime Lecture: The Bristol Sound, multiculturalism and anti-racism, Cambridgeshire Libraries hosted a Reggae Day with the archive stream of The Pioneers and Reggae Revolutionaries, Edinburgh hosted a drumming workshop and blues singing workshop, and Warwickshire hosted a series of archive streams across the month.

Already the Library is aware of partner library services who are able to build on the partnerships developed through Beyond the Bassline, including Suffolk Libraries, who have supported Aspire Black Suffolk with a successful Arts Council England project grant bid to continue exploring Black British music through interactive exhibitions, live performances and more.

With 47% of attendees strongly agreeing they would like to see more exhibitions or events at libraries, the appetite for cultural activities is clear. The exhibition has demonstrated the power of libraries as cultural spaces that can reach new audiences, challenge perceptions and celebrate diverse histories. Its success marks just the beginning of more inclusive programming in libraries. As the panels continue to tour and inspire new programming, the exhibition's legacy will continue to grow across the UK.

For a copy of the full report email [email protected].

The lasting legacy of the Story Garden

In 2019, the British Library invited the educational charity Global Generation to grow a garden on a patch of rubble in the shadow of its spires. The spot was hot and windy, surrounded by a barren urban landscape. But the charity had a vision, and with the help of residents from Somers Town, woodchip was laid down and planters were assembled. Even in this harsh environment, nature began to find a way through. 

The idea for the Story Garden was prompted by a new development of the British Library site, in partnership with Stanhope plc and Mitsui Fudosan (SMBL Developments Ltd). During the planning process, we found that our neighbours wanted more green space on their doorsteps, and decided to create a temporary garden while the extension was being built. Six years later, the Story Garden has blossomed into an oasis beloved by local people, 4,500 of whom visited it last year. 

Fifteen part-time staff run activities on the site, designed to welcome participants of all ages, from preschoolers to retirees. There’s an afterschool programme, cooking and gardening clubs and an annual camping trip. The charity has a special focus on local young people, who often grow up feeling excluded from an urban landscape that isn’t designed with them in mind. By helping to create the garden, they gain new skills and perspectives, including a sharper understanding of the challenges presented by climate change.

‘We call our spaces “gardens of a thousand hands”,’ explains Nicole Van den Eijnde, one of the two directors of Global Generation. ‘The local community creates them together.’ 

In 2024 volunteers from Somers Town harvested 300 kg of fresh produce from the Story Garden, to be donated to food banks in the area. 

‘It’s called the Story Garden because the Library is the home of the nation’s stories,’ says Community Engagement Coordinator Lilan Lemouchi. ‘It truly has transformed local people's experience of the area. They have an intense sense of ownership of the garden.’

Change is coming to the garden in the autumn. In September, the Global Generation project will move to a permanent location at the Triangle Site on York Way. Work on our new development will begin in 2026 and we hope to open our new spaces in 2032. 

We’ll continue to collaborate with the charity to create green community spaces here at the Library. Recently Global Generation created planters for the Piazza inspired by our Reading Rooms, and showed staff how to care for the plants. Since spring Somers Town residents have also been growing a meadow garden onsite to celebrate our latest exhibition, Unearthed: The Power of Gardening. Some of the items on display in Unearthed were created by local people at workshops hosted by Global Generation.

In fact the plans for our new development were heavily influenced by the Story Garden project. When the architects heard how much local people loved the space, they made sure to include a new community garden in the scheme, which will be co-designed and co-managed with local residents. The garden will be shaped by the needs of local residents, with lots of opportunities to gain new skills. It will open when the extension is complete. 

‘We’re drawing inspiration from Global Generation’s work to understand how we can be a better neighbour,’ says Lilan. ‘It's been an incredible learning experience to see the community spirit grown from their soil.’

by Lucy Peters