The project gave mainly Muslim asylum seekers in Birmingham a safe, happy and loving space where, by creating with clay, they together built a new community and a new story of home.
Project Partner: The Travellers Tree Project Lead: sophia moffa – Artist Location: Birmingham
Overview
The project enabled people living in hostels to come together, make connections and gain access to the arts which can be a powerful tool to help overcome the trauma that displacement causes. Led by Travellers Tree artist, sophia moffa, the group looked at the meaning of home for those in a temporary state of limbo, sourced clay from the Birmingham soil, shaped it to express their own concept of home and fired their miniature clay homes in a pit.
The group’s artworks were then collected into a collaborative art installation which can be found on the second floor of the New Art Gallery in Walsall, accompanied by a film about their journey made by one of the participants.
Video credit: Enlighten Video and Amir Hossein Shahabi
“When I think about home, what comes to me is where we belong, where you feel in peace, where you feel safe, where you don't think about tomorrow.”
Participant - From Soil, To Clay, To Home
The Impact
The project enabled participants to feel at home together and to start to build a new concept of home and belonging in the UK. The collaborative art installation they co-created is on display in a prestigious gallery, is recognised for its quality and allows audiences to see and feel their stories.
