In February 2025, we visited the University of Bristol Theatre Collection to view the Welfare State International archive. As part of a level 4 project on the Graphic Design course at the University of the West of England, we were tasked with using selected material from this collection to design a publication & exhibition.
What really came through to us from the material in the archive was WSI’s community spirit; the way they travelled around the country and spent time working with groups of people, from schoolchildren to grandmas, and brought everybody together to produce a brilliant show at the end. The variety of letters, posters and diaries held in the collection provide an excellent insight into the minds of WSI’s founders, John Fox and Sue Gill.
The archivists working on this collection – Jill, Billy and Anne, were endlessly helpful, going out of their way to try and find information we asked for, and sharing their knowledge of Welfare State International’s work with us.
Photos of the UWE Graphic Design projects exhibited at Arnofini, Apr 2025
I had never worked with archive material in this way before, but the experience of going to see the original pieces of work is completely invaluable as a graphic designer. Seeing the letters written on typewriter, the handmade stamps and Letraset sheets, and the biro annotations made by John Fox on his own song lyrics was really influential to the publication we ended up making.
After we visited the archive and during the creation of our work, John Fox, the co-founder of Welfare State International passed away. His aim was always to bring together communities and make theatre accessible for the masses. There is no better testament to this than festivals he started over 40 years ago still being observed, and students like us still looking at and admiring his work.
Ellis Cooke, UWE Graphic Design
To see more of the Graphic Design students’ projects follow their instagram @typenowhere