A celebration of shared collective memories and common experiences amongst refugees, asylum-seekers and a variety of other community groups, the exhibition takes the form of an embroidery installation combined with a photography exhibition.
Community project
Throughout 2014 Pod Collective has worked with refugees, asylum seekers and non-refugees in grass-root organisations across Greater Manchester. The exhibition focuses on the collective stories of the participants, in particular the relationship they have with their belongings and the memories they evoke. Pod Collective (Anna White and Emily Hayes) have drawn on people’s diverse talents, whilst also setting out to explore people’s commonalities.
Exhibition
The exhibition is in two parts: photography explores people’s memories and experiences, as participants made a visual record of their treasured belongings along with an explanation of their significance. Secondly, memories and stories have been encapsulated through embroidery as each person has made a panel of work upon which they have stitched poignant images or writing. The separate panels have been joined together to form a fabric installation that the public are encouraged to enter in order to look at and admire what’s inside.
Family Event Day
On 21 June there is a fun-filled family event celebrating the positive contribution refugees have made to UK society and history. This event showcases the talent and skills of refugee artists and local communities through music, dance, film and poetry. There are children’s activities, interactive workshops, and a chance to create and take home your own unique piece of artwork.
About
Photographer Anna White and embroiderer Emily Hayes formed Pod Collective in 2012. They work with refugees or people seeking asylum, giving them a voice and empowering participants to share a positive message about refugees. Pod Collective has been funded by Arts Council England to produce this exhibition.
Dr Jonathan Darling, Lecturer in Human Geography University of Manchester, writes:
Belonging. Belongings. What do these words mean to you? For many people they refer to a place, a community or a family, a set of connections and relationships we nurture and value. They can also mean the things we have an attachment to, the objects and possessions we surround ourselves with, that are filled with our memories, feelings, hopes and fears. Belongings are also plural, we can belong to many different communities, groups, places and social circles at once. Navigating these different attachments and the feelings, memories and experiences they bring is one of the challenges of modern life. Yet for those seeking asylum, the challenge of belonging and of belongings is far greater. Asylum seekers arrive in the UK through a wide variety of routes having fled persecution, torture and violence in their countries of origin. Once in the UK they face long waits for decisions on their asylum claims. During this time, asylum seekers have no right to work, receive only £36.62 a week in support and are accommodated across the country without any choice over their location. With little English language support or educational provision, this is a population left on the margins and with little chance of developing any sense of belonging in the UK. Belongings here become all the more important, yet these too are restricted and rare. Asylum seekers are often forced to flee with few possessions, a treasured photograph or favoured ornament perhaps. As a result, those objects that travel are invested with great significance. Belongings here bring memories and sustain relationships with past lives, past journeys and future hopes. One Thing asks us all to consider what objects we hold precious, what stories they can tell and asks how we might tell them. One Thing is about these experiences, these journeys, and these belongings. One Thing, those things that may unite us despite our differences.