The simple invitations of our ‘Signs of Welcome’ workshops have brought vivid, compelling and complex results. More to come, please join in!
It’s TTT’s tenth anniversary, and we’re facilitating ten free, fun, thoughtful and creative ‘Signs of Welcome’ workshops locally, along with our partner CARAS. We’re in diverse venues that are themselves welcoming and interesting spaces to visit: cafes, shops, local enterprises.
We’re half way through – five workshops completed since March and five more in the next few weeks. All welcome!
See the TTT events calendar for all the dates and details.
See the TTT events calendar for all the dates and details.
The NEXT ‘Signs’ workshop is in the wonderful surroundings of the Wandsworth Oasis shop at Amen Corner on Friday 1st June from 4:00-5:30.
That’s at 234-250 Mitcham Rd, Tooting SW17 9NT.
Have you ever done a creative workshop in a shop? Was it as amazing a place as the Amen Corner Oasis shop? You’ll have time to browse….and it’s half term, so all the family can join.
We have lots of ‘Signs’ in many languages – all responding to this open question: “What would you like to say to welcome people who are new to the community?”
They’ve been fascinating sessions which everyone seems to appreciate. Expressing ourselves, meeting others, making it visual and being creative by ‘thinking with our hands’ is a very powerful mix.
A brilliant and valuable extra is that young people from the CARAS youth club have been joining in to gain volunteering experience co-facilitating a creative community session. There’s been inspiring communication across the cakes and mint tea on the cafe tables. Young people who are refugees and asylum-seekers have enjoyed friendly venues they may not have considered visiting, and met many local people they would not otherwise have encountered.
Throughout there’s been interwoven threads of self-expression plus a two-way invitation to ask questions and share experiences.
We have a vivid record of the sessions in the shape of the Signs themselves. They’ll be included in a local exhibition during Refugee Week, June 18th-24th: details to come. The materials for the Signs are re-purposed from publicity boards from the wonderful Work and Play Scrapstore. We had one of our workshops there, and met this Japanese architect who joined in (with a translation on the back):
These workshops are part of our partnership with CARAS throughout 2018 – the partnership purpose throughout the year will be to facilitate events which draw refugees and asylum-seekers and the local community closer together. For more about the year’s projects, please click here, and there are lots of pictures on our TTT Facebook pages.
Many thanks to the partnership funder ThriveLDN, an initiative by the Mayor Of London .
