Between The Borders is a collective concerned with issues surrounding asylum and migration. A group of people with and without citizenship in the UK who have come together with the intention to contribute to an informed debate on asylum and migration. Since 2012 BTB have been working together to imagine ways to work towards improving the experiences of asylum seekers and new migrants to Liverpool, to encourage cross-culture engagement and challenge preconceptions and misinformation.
With BTB I ran a number of open print workshops where we used a variety of print techniques to promote inclusivity and positivity through craft and expression, whilst creating engaging content for the BTB publications.
I also worked on a number of live interactive installations at our events including –
Immigration: Then and Now – Supported by Open Culture and originally commissioned for Light Night 2015. I led a small group of artists as we visited the Liverpool Maritime Museum to search their archives for images and stories of immigration from the 1700s and 1800s. We then used these artefacts alongside contemporary pieces to create an interactive installation. We copied all the content onto acetate and, with the use of an overhead projector invited our audience to choose and arrange pieces into a collage. These were projected onto large walls allowing the audience to create their own ‘large scale light works’. Due to the participatory nature of the piece, it encouraged the audience to explore our collection of material in a meaningful way, prompting interesting conversations.
The Map – A large scale map of the world projected onto the wall of an all day event where people were encouraged to add their stories of home but also of journeys and destinations to the map to celebrate our transitory nature. The Map doubled as interactive installation as well as evolving visuals for the event.