Interactive Poetry Exhibition
At the 2024 ETMU Conference on ‘Knowledge, Art, and Action in Migration Research’ gave a keynote on poetry as a site of knowledge, self-reflection, action and sanctuary. I argued for the integration of creativity and creative methods in every facet of research to improve research quality, accessibility and its potential for change. As part of the talk, attendees were invited to craft their own four-line Ruba’i poem around reflexivity, resistance or a positive vision for the future and add it to a collective art installation.
Iranian Diaspora Unity Exhibition
I acted as Community Engagement Consultant for an art project and exhibition, ‘Iranian diaspora: stories of sanctuary and solidarity’. The project delves into the intricate themes of migration, uprooting, displacement, and solidarity. The exhibition at gallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf, draws attention to the plight of Iranian refugees in particular and refugees in general, including the broader aspects of what that term embodies on a deeply human level.
Photovoice Projects
I led on a WHO supported project asking how participants in the Italian arm of the Self-Help Plus (SH+) trial experienced the intervention. We conducted a photovoice project around the evaluation with SH+ participants. People were trained in photography techniques and took photos around the research question. These photos then formed the basis for two focus group discussions with other people who received SH+ (see an the photo from Kevin Felix opposite). I’m currently working with mums from Maternity Voices Matter and Mummy’s Day Out on a photovoice project on inequalities in maternal health outcomes.
Creative Anthologies
I am worked with Doctors of the World and Room to Heal, to co-develop a creative anthology with people seeking sanctuary affected by the racist riots in the UK in August 2024. This mirrors a previous anthology co-created in 2022. The 2022 poems were based on interview responses on the affects of the asylum process on mental health. The anthology has been used in university, school and public workshops to try and influence institutional policies. Read the full anthology here.
Poem from Morteza, an Iranian refused asylum
I’ve seen this place before, I was passing through,
I didn’t come out of my room and I withdrew,
My entire body was bloodied and eaten,
I thought that here they value what is true.
