Creative Common Ground Project

Over the past six weeks I have been leading a project called Creative Common Ground, a participatory arts project linking connection, mindfulness and expression with people seeking asylum.

I’m so proud to have supported the group in their creative journeys and I’m even more proud to share the Creative Common Ground zine that came of it, a little book that I hope captures glimpses of our time together. Each page holds stories of marbling, printing, collaging, writing, drawing, and exploring the city, all while finding moments of peace, clarity and connection through art.

The emphasis throughout the project was on process and experimentation with a range of different materials, with calm guided warm-ups and mindfulness exercises at the beginning of each session to help participants settle, connect, and create.

Imagination and creativity help us discover commonalities, emotions and reach beyond ourselves to find what we share with others. It is increasingly important to be able to find our creative common ground in a world which feels often feels divided and where hate is prevalent. It is always worthwhile remembering that expression is the opposite of repression.

As Francois Matarasso puts it: “Imagination and creativity are vital human capacities. They allow us to discover feelings and ideas in ourselves of which we were unaware. They allow us to reach beyond ourselves, to think and feel how things are for others. They allow us to escape our assumptions about how things are to discover how things could be. And they allow us to do that individually or together, to find our unique sensibility and to find what we share with others.”

Yes to that.

A massive thank you to Refugee Sanctuary Scotland for making this project possible, especially to CEO Ronnie Tagwireyi, the incredible staff, funders, and donors who champion wellbeing for those seeking asylum and refuge.