In May, Storylines was invited to be part of Creative Kernow’s Arts Lab 26 project in collaboration with Cornwall Resettlement Service, Arts Well and Headstart Kernow.
The focus was on celebrating and connecting refugees and their peers in a variety of schools and community groups throughout Cornish towns using artists and their chosen artistic mediums.
Connecting Refugees
Launceston library already had a well-established art group and it was Art’s Lab’s intention to introduce local refugee families to this group. The hope was to build relationships and foster a sense of belonging in the community alongside skills sharing. A case worker from Cornwall Resettlement Service came along too to provide continuity and help with translations for the visiting guests. Originally from Afghanistan, these guests had lived in Launceston for 2 years. They included one family of a mother and 2 young daughters in their early 20’s and some neighbours. Translations were an opportunity for all of us to work together and learn about one another’s languages. We were thankful for Google Translate and younger members of our Afghan guests whose English was amazing.
Who we really are
The focus of our workshops was to find out about WHO we really are and how we would like to represent ourselves. We decided to construct stitched figures out of socks. These were complete with features, clothing and imagery representing our personalities either in the present moment or from the past. It was a slow stitch endeavour which gave us lots of time to make conversation, ask questions of one another and build confidence within the group. Participants were given the opportunity to come up with questions they would like to ask the larger group as a way of building cohesion and belonging. One prompt that came up was ‘What are your favourite shoes?’ This elicited some fascinating answers and one participant actually brought in her favourite pair of shoes! These rather sensational pair of geometric shaped stilettos brought forth gasps of wonder!
Over the weeks the group became very diverse which was pure joy. With parents with young home schoolers, elders who had belonged to the group for sometime, mums and babies and a young man with additional needs and his carer. In turn, the figures they were working on became very diverse and reflected many of their personalities.
Stand out moments
There were many stand out moments in the few weeks but one in particular involved a young mum who had come with her baby and who had an Iranian ethnicity. Suddenly she launched into a full blown conversation in Persian with one of the older Afghan guests and it brought so much excitement and emotion to the group and added to a real sense of belonging. Another moment which held us spell bound was when the 2 young Afghan women recounted how their friends still left behind in Afghanistan were faring under the Taliban and their plans to help them in the future. A very heartfelt moment which left us all silent and pondering.
These weekly mornings in the upstairs room at Launceston library proved to be some of the most rewarding and meaningful encounters we have had. A very special series of workshops which most definitely built local relationships, confidence and belonging and will hopefully carry on without Storylines into the future.
