“Beautiful and heart-warming. It really makes you think about what is really important in life.”
Art Project: All Together- We Are Stronger
All Together – We are Stronger
8 November 2023 – 24 February 2024
Culture Leicestershire worked in partnership with local charity Baca to co-curate an exhibition by local young asylum seekers living in Loughborough. All Together – We are Stronger is a colourful exhibition exploring the importance of sharing food and celebrating their identity, culture, and traditions.
About Baca
Baca believes each young person has a dignity worth uncovering, talents worth discovering, and a life worth living to their fullest potential, no matter their past or present circumstances. This charity enables young people 16+ in age who are seeking asylum, some of whom have been victims of trafficking, to achieve this positive future through providing specialist-supported accommodation and holistic development training. Further information about the important work of Baca can be found here: www.bacacharity.org.uk/
Artwork
This creative project has involved an art therapist working alongside a group of young unaccompanied asylum seekers to share their stories. The project concept was inspired by food as this was a theme they could all connect with. A traditional pancake-like food of Ethiopia is Injera. Injera can be individual or a very large round Injera might cover a table and then the food is shared directly from it. For the exhibition’s centre piece, each group member decorated a segment of the cloth with designs and symbols that incorporated their culture using traditional printing and batik techniques. These individual segments were then sewn together to make a large tablecloth symbolising the shared experience of eating together and the importance of community and culture.
Tell us what you think
If you have been inspired by this exhibition then we’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections too! To add your feedback please contact us by emailing jemma.atkinbarrett@leics.gov.uk
Gallery
