Immersive event celebrates migrant stories of home, belonging and community told through art, textile, sound and music
Bedford Creative Arts (BCA) has been using art to find creative ways for local migrant communities and their advocates to share their personal stories of home, belonging and community with the wider people of Bedford. Now, these incredible stories will be shared in a free event at The Place on 7th November for everyone to experience.
Sharing Stories is a unique project that amplifies the voices of a diverse range of people who have come to make Bedford their home, whether permanently or temporarily, and supports these migrants to share their deeply personal, reflective and multi-cultural perspectives through creative mediums such as poetry, music, film, visual art and textile.
On Sat 7th November between 5-8pm at The Place Bedford, local artists and migrant storytellers will take over the entire building through immersive installations that use colour, texture, smell, taste, and sound to invite audiences to explore these stories. Visitors can attend for free and for up to 90 minutes immerse themselves in a world of personal narratives and reflections that come from a range of viewpoints including first generation migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and their advocates.
Over several weeks, a group of artists have been working deeply with different agencies who support people with lived experience of migration including Hopeworks, bpha Café Connect and Beyond Detention. Artists James Easey, Jasmin Lea, Atiya Vohra, Chanique Waithe and Hear Me Out supported participants to find a meaningful way to share stories that express their personal feelings of words like “home”, “belonging” and “community”. Sometimes humorous, often heartfelt and emotional – these stories show the viewer a range of experiences from people who find themselves between two places called home.
The end result is that all these works have been gathered together in a sensory landscape across different spaces within The Place venue. One such experience is similar to a public Bazaar, such an important part of Middle Eastern, African & South Asian cultures, inviting the audience to experience the sights, sounds and even smells of someone’s home away from Bedford.
Artist Atiya Vohra, who has been working with people who attend bpha’s Café Connect in Queen’s Park said, “What I've loved most about this project is watching the Café Connect group turn a memory, a feeling, a smell, a story from home, into a print they made with their own hands. Café Connect is already a space where people gather, share tea, and build friendships, so bringing this kind of creative work into a setting they already trust made such a difference. A real highlight has been seeing how stories came out through the creativity itself, often more than when we just talked. As an artist, being part of something like this reminds me why I do this work at all - art isn't just the final piece, it's the space it creates for people to be heard."
James Easey, a theatre practitioner who is curating the stories into the event on 7th November said, “Sharing Stories has been a phenomenal project. My highlight so far has been meeting people living in Bedford who are from, or have connections to, places around the world and who didn’t realise they were already artists - whether this is singing, print making, poetry or other mediums. I think audiences will be very moved by this project, whether the imagery and creative depiction of a bazaar brings waves of nostalgia, or a perspective into somebody else’s world. I am most excited for the complete take over - we are completely disrupting how the theatre typically operates. This ranges from the ritual of sharing food, to the use of spaces, the kinds of stories we are telling - just everything!”
Although the event will be colourful, evocative and welcoming, it features personal stories and lived experiences from migrant communities. Some stories may include sensitive or emotionally challenging themes. Visitors are advised to read the information boards at the event before engaging with the content or speak to venue staff. Alternatively, if you want to know more in advance, you can contact Bedford Creative Arts.
The project has been part of a series of creative workshops delivered by BCA since the start of the year working with multi-disciplinary artists and migrant communities to find different ways to support them to enjoy creativity and express themselves. The programme has been funded by Garfield Weston Foundation, The Rayne Foundation, The Wixamtree Trust, The Southall Trust and The Gale Family Charity Trust. It is supported by BCA’s funders, The Harpur Trust and Arts Council England.
Hannah Hicks, ESOL Service Manager from Hopeworks said, “Throughout this project, it has been a joy to hear participants share memorable sights, sounds, tastes and feelings from their home countries, their journeys across the world, and their experiences of rebuilding life in the UK while reimagining the future for their families and communities. Some participants have put pencil to paper for the first time in their lives, while others have rediscovered long-held creative passions through cooking, painting and poetry. We are excited to invite the wider community to catch a glimpse of these stories through the creative work produced during the project at the Sharing Stories exhibition at the Place Theatre.”
Lorna Delayahu, In-Detention Coordinator at Beyond Detention joined her by adding, “We’ve loved being involved in the unique Sharing Stories project. We came together to explore the work we do at Beyond Detention, hearing the reflections of those with lived experience of immigration detention, sharing the experiences of our volunteers. We wrote poems, shared ideas and had fun! We can’t wait to see the collaborative art that the artist, Chanique, will turn our ideas into.”
Audiences can book free tickets for the experience at The Place Theatre on 7th November via their website.