Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project
Donation protected
Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project 2018-19
Can you help?
If you missed out on supporting this project the first time around, it's not too late to add your support by making a donation. I am fundraising to raise a further £682 to hold a community event.
Community Event at Dover Smart Project
On 15th February 2019 at Dover Smart Project, from 6-8pm, I will launch an exhibition to share an artwork that will celebrate the creative journey that the participants have embarked on through the course of the project. Alongside the exhibition there will be live Roma music and a Syrian buffet feast.
Thanks to the support of a National Lottery Arts Council England grant and crowdfunding support already received Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project is now up and running and I have successfully run 7 participatory art workshops with the charity Migrant Help UK.
The free to attend community event in February 2019 will conclude the project. Local residents, community groups, and NGOs and charities working with refugees and vulnerable migrants will be invited to come along. It will be a celebratory event with live Roma music, an exhibition of the artwork produced as part of the project and a Syrian buffet feast to enjoy.
Would you like to help pay for a Roma musician with a story to tell about migration to play Slovakian Gypsy Blues on the evening? Or would you like to help pay for a Syrian refugee chef to cook a delicious Syrian buffet? The £682 I aim to raise will cover the costs of hiring the gallery and will support these individuals to earn a living from their profession, in the UK.
The event will be open to all and it will be an opportunity to reflect on the powerful, positive impact creative expression can have on health and wellbeing, whilst also raising awareness about the human and social consequences of human trafficking and modern slavery in the UK.
Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project: The story
Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project is a participatory art project for asylum seekers and survivors of modern day slavery and human trafficking in Kent who are supported by the charity Migrant Help UK. Human trafficking and modern day slavery are two of the fastest growing international crimes.
I am a visual artist and I run 'Start With Art' workshops in Southeast Kent. In my practice I am interested in the ways it is possible to reassert one’s sense of selfdom through creative expression during and following times of personal illness, stress or crisis. I have generated this project to provide participants an opportunity to express their individuality and feel a sense of community through engaging in a collective experience. Over the course of seven workshops participants have experimented with paint directly onto artist's linen and canvas and with collaging and sewing found fabrics. The workshops have proven to be lively, productive and enjoyable. Five participants have attended the project: a Lithuanian man, who introduced us all to the duduk and the folk music of the Caucusus, and a single mother and her three young children from West Africa. Together we have created a series of vibrant, expressive visual works. For example, in the images above, you can see a beautiful hand sewn fabric collage made by one of the participants which depicts the sun setting over the sea. We have been working with colourful scraps of fabric that I have found washed up on my local beach. These potent yet anonymous scraps of cloth have made a good starting point for experimentation and exploration working from the imagination.
Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project is funded by a National Lottery Arts Council England grant.
Joy C Martindale (2018)
Links
Migrant Help UK
Migrant Help UK is a UK charity, which helps asylum seekers and refugees navigate the complex asylum process. Migrant Help also provides support and guidance to vulnerable migrants and assists victims of human trafficking and modern slavery on their path to recovery.
https://www.migranthelpuk.org
Follow the story on Instagram: @joycmartindale
Artist's Website https://joycmartindale.com
Migrant Help https://www.migranthelpuk.org
Anti-Slavery Day http://www.antislaveryday.com
Salvation Army https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/latest-campaigns
Can you help?
If you missed out on supporting this project the first time around, it's not too late to add your support by making a donation. I am fundraising to raise a further £682 to hold a community event.
Community Event at Dover Smart Project
On 15th February 2019 at Dover Smart Project, from 6-8pm, I will launch an exhibition to share an artwork that will celebrate the creative journey that the participants have embarked on through the course of the project. Alongside the exhibition there will be live Roma music and a Syrian buffet feast.
Thanks to the support of a National Lottery Arts Council England grant and crowdfunding support already received Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project is now up and running and I have successfully run 7 participatory art workshops with the charity Migrant Help UK.
The free to attend community event in February 2019 will conclude the project. Local residents, community groups, and NGOs and charities working with refugees and vulnerable migrants will be invited to come along. It will be a celebratory event with live Roma music, an exhibition of the artwork produced as part of the project and a Syrian buffet feast to enjoy.
Would you like to help pay for a Roma musician with a story to tell about migration to play Slovakian Gypsy Blues on the evening? Or would you like to help pay for a Syrian refugee chef to cook a delicious Syrian buffet? The £682 I aim to raise will cover the costs of hiring the gallery and will support these individuals to earn a living from their profession, in the UK.
The event will be open to all and it will be an opportunity to reflect on the powerful, positive impact creative expression can have on health and wellbeing, whilst also raising awareness about the human and social consequences of human trafficking and modern slavery in the UK.
Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project: The story
Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project is a participatory art project for asylum seekers and survivors of modern day slavery and human trafficking in Kent who are supported by the charity Migrant Help UK. Human trafficking and modern day slavery are two of the fastest growing international crimes.
I am a visual artist and I run 'Start With Art' workshops in Southeast Kent. In my practice I am interested in the ways it is possible to reassert one’s sense of selfdom through creative expression during and following times of personal illness, stress or crisis. I have generated this project to provide participants an opportunity to express their individuality and feel a sense of community through engaging in a collective experience. Over the course of seven workshops participants have experimented with paint directly onto artist's linen and canvas and with collaging and sewing found fabrics. The workshops have proven to be lively, productive and enjoyable. Five participants have attended the project: a Lithuanian man, who introduced us all to the duduk and the folk music of the Caucusus, and a single mother and her three young children from West Africa. Together we have created a series of vibrant, expressive visual works. For example, in the images above, you can see a beautiful hand sewn fabric collage made by one of the participants which depicts the sun setting over the sea. We have been working with colourful scraps of fabric that I have found washed up on my local beach. These potent yet anonymous scraps of cloth have made a good starting point for experimentation and exploration working from the imagination.
Anti-Slavery Refugee Art Project is funded by a National Lottery Arts Council England grant.
Joy C Martindale (2018)
Links
Migrant Help UK
Migrant Help UK is a UK charity, which helps asylum seekers and refugees navigate the complex asylum process. Migrant Help also provides support and guidance to vulnerable migrants and assists victims of human trafficking and modern slavery on their path to recovery.
https://www.migranthelpuk.org
Follow the story on Instagram: @joycmartindale
Artist's Website https://joycmartindale.com
Migrant Help https://www.migranthelpuk.org
Anti-Slavery Day http://www.antislaveryday.com
Salvation Army https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/latest-campaigns
Organizer
Joy Martindale
Organizer
