Art Project | Paper Lanterns for Performance at British Museum

This spring I was involved with ice&fire, the theatre company who works relentlessly to give a platform for unheard human rights stories, through new writing and performance.

The British Museum event was a result of ice&fire’s 18 months’ collaboration with Room to Heal, working with a group of London-based asylum seekers. Four of the participants told their own stories onstage at the Refugee Week event this June, sharing the many challenges they are facing day-to-day, their incredible resourcefulness, and humour in the face of adversity.

I delivered a 3-hour paper-folding workshop with the group in the run-up to the show, at Room to Heal, the healing community in Hackney for refugees and asylum seekers who have survived torture.

For the performance at British Museum I designed and made paper lanterns, which were laid out in the entrance lobby – to attract potential audience members and define a stage area for a short dance performance.

The lanterns contained poignant quotes from the play, in order to give a flavour of what was to come, such as: ‘Afraid to ask for help, but saying it with my eyes’. After the dance piece introduction, the participants gave the lanterns to audience members and guided them inside for the show to begin.

‘A trace of me’ played to a packed room, and the stories being shared clearly resonated with the audience, who gave a standing ovation at the end. Click here to find out more about the work of ice&fire.

Originally posted on August 25, 2016