A Multimedia Exploration of the Story of Vulcan, Blending Film, Poetry, Sound, Music, Art and Science
Welcome to Cradle of Fire, a multimedia collaborative exploration, inspired by Vulcan. Our mythical muse’s story is the catalyst for diverse themes in our initiative. Cradle of Fire was born on 27 May 2024 thanks to an Arts Council England grant.
At the heart of our project, which is in the development phase, and seeking more partners and contributors, is a short film, which was launched at Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield on 7 November 2024. A second screening took place at Land of Iron Museum, Skinningrove, on 14 November and a third in Cambridge.
The film weaves poetry, sound and multi-media art to tell the story of the Roman god Vulcan, craftsman/blacksmith and the deity of fire, forges and volcanoes. Geology, engineering and earth-sciences are also embedded in this re-imagining of the steel and mining industries.
Read more about the project, our team and partners, revisit as we evolve and follow our social media updates. Contact Us with your ideas.
Back in May 2024, when the Cradle of Fire project first started, most of the team headed up to Sheffield, to do some recording with musicologist and composer Kim Cunio.
28 December 2024
The Cradle of Fire film screening in Cambridge was kindly sponsored by Homerton Changemakers – a groundbreaking future forward initiative that we are proud to have connected with.
22 December 2024
‘Gathering’, one of Diana’s keywords, has been such an important part of Cradle of Fire. External contributions have been most welcome, enriching the project with fresh perspectives.
19 December 2024
We’re playing catch up with Cradle of Fire project news following a short bout of post events burn out, aka winter bugs. Thanks for bearing with us!
9 December 2024
Our mythical hero, Vulcan, found fire at the heart of Mount Etna, deep inside the volcano, and there he set up a furnace, making use of the embers to spark...
27 November 2024
Join us at Homerton College, Cambridge, for an exciting evening hosted by local artist and engineer Diana Scarborough, with poet and Sheffield Hallam lecturer Carolyn Waudby.
20 November 2024
We were delighted to receive a message via the website contact form from Amelie Parent, a journalism student at the University of Sheffield, who was looking for stories coming out...
15 November 2024
Diana and Emma were thrilled to be invited onto the wonderful and rather mischievous Paulette Edwards’ show on BBC Radio Sheffield this morning.
7 November 2024
This engaging project draws on Sheila Thomas and her family’s memories of life in Sheffield, when steelmaking was a thriving industry in the city. Her narratives are illustrated by photographs...
5 November 2024
We are immensely grateful for the support offered by our partners.
We’d love to hear from you as we develop the Cradle of Fire project. Please use the contact page to get in touch.
Cradle of Fire is a research and development project, supported by public funds from Arts Council England. We are also grateful for support from our partners and creative collaborators. Read more on the dedicated About pages.
Check our progress to date and future plans via the timeline