Hand in Hand - part 3

The Final Piece: Hand in Hand Session 3

One of our family days was run in collaboration with Sahar Saki, an artist originally from Iran and now based in Cardiff, who blends her Persian heritage with influences from Wales in order to create immersive environments where the boundaries between art, identity and cultural experience are blurred. Sahar ran a calligraphy workshop for the families on the Hand in Hand project before leading a beautiful and joyful dance session in the main gallery.

The canvas we had been using on the tables in order to catch the spillages, doodles and thoughts of participants began to look like an art piece in itself during this session: black ink is a powerful, expressive and eye-catching medium to use, especially on top of the riot of colours we had collected. We began to think this could form part of the final exhibition piece so we spread it out once more for our final day in collaboration with Severn Rivers Trust.

Several activities had been planned but it was exciting to see children decide what to do with the materials on hand, taking the initiative in creating paper boats and fish to take down to the river; identifying and photographing plants and insects; bringing their paper creations back again to dip into a marbling solution and add to the canvas.

The canvas has come to represent many different moments throughout the project. It has absorbed the colours of the natural dyes we made and the children’s experiments with ink, paint and Sharpie. It has been daubed with glitter and sequins and had Doritos rubbed into it by toddlers. It holds messages, scribbles and tags in many different languages; coffee cup stains from conversations around the table. It has been the backdrop for heated games of Uno led by Karema Ahmed, the Placement Artist we have been so lucky to have involved in the project. Many of the gallery staff and volunteers have played a crucial role in supporting the days and they too are contained within the spirit of the canvas.

Our plan is to get the canvas printed as a permanent tablecloth that can become the centrepiece for future shared community meals at the gallery. The original will tour the four host organisations of the ARMA project as a wall hanging, onto which the children and young people’s photos and films will be projected.

For me, the canvas represents an experience where I have learned how hope can most often be found in connection, understanding, and the honest self-expression of our young people and children.