HARLEQUIN masks, psychedelic artworks, colour everywhere – these are the contents of the Museum of Things.
That’s the name given to a unique group art project led by refugee artists in Scotland who are working to empower others who are setting up new lives here.
Headed by artists Paria Goodarzi and Mousa Al Nana, it ran online through lockdown to beat isolation and help refugees and asylum seekers “discover talents, share their skills and celebrate self-expression”.
Now the results of months of work are on show to the public at the group’s first every exhibition.
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It opened in Glasgow’s Maryhill district on Friday, where the organisation behind it is based. Maryhill Integration Network (MIN) has been going for 20 years and was established to” bring asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and the settled inhabitants of Glasgow together”.
By investing in communities, it says, it’s helping to create “positive social change” and “opportunities for collaboration and connection where difference is not only welcomed, but also celebrated”.
While around 20 people participated in the weekly group sessions, 16 made it through to this weekend’s exhibition in Freewheel North at The White House, a venue on the banks of the Forth and Clyde canal.
The pieces included are inspired by a range of experiences and issues encountered by the group.
“Many people who are seeking asylum can feel isolated and disconnected,” Goodarzi said. “This exhibition emphasises the value of our community and the importance of human interaction in the middle of a pandemic.”
Earlier this year, Al Nana told the Sunday National of the key role art was playing during the coronavirus crisis to Museum of Things members and others.
“Art is playing a massive part in the pandemic in a way that no one is actually paying attention to,” he said. “The video games people are playing are art, the movies they are watching are art, the colouring books they are using are art, they are making art with crafting tools.
“People don’t realise it. When they talk about art, they talk about sophisticated galleries and collections. That’s not art, that’s the business of art. Art is in every bit of us, it documents every aspect of our lives.”
Now, he says, he is “very excited to see the work coming to life”.
The programme was delivered in partnership with Glasgow Connected Arts Network and funded as part of Inspiring Scotland’s Creative Communities Programme.
“We are very excited,” said a spokesperson for Maryhill Integration Network about the exhibition, describing the artwork as “amazing”: “It has been a great project bringing people together to talk and create art. The past year has been very difficult for everyone, including the asylum and refugee communities who experienced hotel accommodation, food poverty, isolation and the stress while being in the asylum process.”
The exhibition will be open from noon until 5pm today (Sunday August 22).
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