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Abstract

The Beyond Borders project seeks to explore how creativity can encourage debate about journeying

and asylum with local and refugee families throughout the month of October, using drawing, the material of clay and a multidisciplinary cast of creatives as catalyst. Storytellers / Musicians / Illustrators / Poets / Sculptors / Writers will come together with Archaeologists, Geologists and representatives from the refugee council to converse, collaborate and create!

 

The project comprises three distinct stages:

The first takes place along the shoreline adjoining the Pier Pavillion, Penarth with a ‘Big Draw’ activity. Families will be invited to explore the very thing that unites us with every human being across the globe – the earth beneath our feet, the iron in our blood and calcium in our bones. The drawing - created through in conversations between parent and child - will illustrate their investigation of the histories the earth contains from its geology, prehistoric narratives to our more recent experiences upon it! These images will then be exhibited in the Pavillion art Gallery and contribute to an on-going international project entitled parental conversations: http://www.drawingparentalconversations.com

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We are particularly excited to be working with musician Bethan Frieze on this project, as she brings musicians from the local and refugee community together using music to unite and inspire.  As part of this, our day will be accompanied by Welsh, Irish, Kurdish, Syrian and African music, creating an international score. 

 

The second stage, will move these conversations to the Pier Pavilion Gallery and from paper into clay objects. 

Children and families will be encouraged to model those 'things' they would most want to take on a journey across land and sea - from shoes / hats / bags to their cat, batman model to sandwiches! These ‘transitional’ objects and their accompanying stories simply written onto travel lables, will accumulate over the course of 10 days to create an artwork entitled: 'Things that shape us' an exploration of those very things, both universal and particular, that a child and a family hold dear.

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The accumulation of objects will be filmed in time-lapse as the exhibit ‘grows’ and the sounds of conversations recorded. With this as back drop, a public sharing event will take place, bringing representatives from the participatory arts community together to raise questions concerning their use of art to raise awareness of public issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The third stage will move the project to Cardiff MADE and again invite local and refugee families to make ‘transitional objects’ hewn from clay. With this on-going growing landscape and the sounds of the shore-line event as backdrop, story tellers and sensory story tellers will continue to run public workshops exploring themes of migration and travelling.

 

On the final evening a concluding public event will take place inviting artists to speak about the politicized nature of materials in raising awareness of public issues

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