Introduction to Patchwork of Hope collection
Sita Brahmachari
Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants
Patchwork of Hope contains poetry, letters, reflections on reality, a love story and art from clients at Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants. In the print version of the other side of hope (autumn 2022) we were proud to publish the communal poem of the same title. In this online collection clients extend this work to offer their individual voices.
Patchwork of Hope is book ended by communal poems from The Art and Writing Hearth that contain the essence of welcome and the opportunity keys the Islington Centre has offered clients for twenty-five years. I have been working in the Art and Writing Class at the Centre for many years alongside Jane Ray and Ros Asquith. As writers and artists, we seek opportunities for those who participate in classes to progress and pursue their individual interests. the other side of hope has offered just such an opportunity for eight clients to explore their individual voices.
The variety of work in this collection is testimony to the freedom the other side of hope bespoke workshops have offered clients. In Finding My Voice Angele asks, ‘Why can’t I find my voice?’ In Hope Rising Koffi calls on hope’s colours in a rainbow. Fuad’s poignant, nostalgic love story is set in a Damascus that looks vastly different today. Sandra’s shared experience on the birth of her baby Hope and her experience of isolation during Lockdown should touch the hardest of hearts. In Our Heart’s Desire E.E finds her songwriting and performance poet wings in sustaining refrains and chords. As Betty approaches the end of her degree as a Biomedical scientist, she pays homage to her mother in an endearing letter - I love you, Maman. Ntela speaks of how art was a saving grace for her during Lockdown and how her creativity blossomed in The Garden of My Mind.
Narratives surrounding refugee survivor people so often deplete agency and erase the lived realities of the nuanced global teachers, scientist, parents, artists, priests, and students who have authored this collection. Patchwork of Hope, like all the most beautiful quilts, recognises the work of individuals as part of a collective. N’s reflection on what her art brings her in her poem Art Diary is a deeply philosophical meditation on the art and craft of what it means to her and to all who seek to sew together a quilt of common humanity. As Writer in Residence, it has been a long-held dream to see members at the Centre have their work published. the other side of hope has turned that dream into a reality.
Patchwork of Hope is book ended by communal poems from The Art and Writing Hearth that contain the essence of welcome and the opportunity keys the Islington Centre has offered clients for twenty-five years. I have been working in the Art and Writing Class at the Centre for many years alongside Jane Ray and Ros Asquith. As writers and artists, we seek opportunities for those who participate in classes to progress and pursue their individual interests. the other side of hope has offered just such an opportunity for eight clients to explore their individual voices.
The variety of work in this collection is testimony to the freedom the other side of hope bespoke workshops have offered clients. In Finding My Voice Angele asks, ‘Why can’t I find my voice?’ In Hope Rising Koffi calls on hope’s colours in a rainbow. Fuad’s poignant, nostalgic love story is set in a Damascus that looks vastly different today. Sandra’s shared experience on the birth of her baby Hope and her experience of isolation during Lockdown should touch the hardest of hearts. In Our Heart’s Desire E.E finds her songwriting and performance poet wings in sustaining refrains and chords. As Betty approaches the end of her degree as a Biomedical scientist, she pays homage to her mother in an endearing letter - I love you, Maman. Ntela speaks of how art was a saving grace for her during Lockdown and how her creativity blossomed in The Garden of My Mind.
Narratives surrounding refugee survivor people so often deplete agency and erase the lived realities of the nuanced global teachers, scientist, parents, artists, priests, and students who have authored this collection. Patchwork of Hope, like all the most beautiful quilts, recognises the work of individuals as part of a collective. N’s reflection on what her art brings her in her poem Art Diary is a deeply philosophical meditation on the art and craft of what it means to her and to all who seek to sew together a quilt of common humanity. As Writer in Residence, it has been a long-held dream to see members at the Centre have their work published. the other side of hope has turned that dream into a reality.
Sita Brahmachari is Writer in Residence at The Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants where she works in the Art and Writing Hearth alongside Artists in Residence Jane Ray and Ros Asquith. Sita is an internationally award-winning author of intergenerational plays, poems, animation, and novels for young adults. Sita has an MA in Arts Education and has written widely on the experience of integration of refugee survivor people into new homelands. Her work has been endorsed by Amnesty International. In her extensive career working in schools and communities Sita has collaborated with many organisations within the refugee sector including Freedom from Torture, Counterpoint Arts, Book Aid International, Free Word, Write for Rights and Young Roots. In 2021 Swallow’s Kiss, dedicated to the Islington Centre community, written by Sita and illustrated by Jane Ray, became the welcome story for Good Chance Theatre’s ‘Little Amal’ at London’s South Bank. It included storytelling and choir performance by many of the clients featured in ‘Patchwork of Hope.’
https://islingtoncentre.co.uk/
https://islingtoncentre.co.uk/art-and-writing-class-2022/
https://islingtoncentre.co.uk/
https://islingtoncentre.co.uk/art-and-writing-class-2022/
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