Working with young refugees, asylum seekers and migrants living in London, we will create an urban garden in an enclosed area of Finsbury Park. Our aim is to grow flowers, plants and edible produce from the homelands of the participants. This will include chillies from The Democratic Republic of the Congo, mango from Sri Lanka and spices from Jamaica.
To make this happen, we are raising funds to buy gardening tools and equipment, to build a greenhouse and to support group meetings.
Our names are Helen Walker & Harun Morrison. We work under the name They Are Here(www.theyarehere.net) as artists with a social practice. Alongside Florina Tudose, we are organising a project called SEEDS FROM ELSEWHERE over the next two years. Young refugees and migrants are invited to grow edible produce, plants and flowers from their homelands to create an urban garden in Finsbury Park. Over time the garden will become a portrait of our group and the journeys that individuals have made to get to London. The project also functions as a refuge from day-to-day concerns and offers an alternative space to share stories and ups and downs amongst a diverse group of people.
They Are Here will work closely with various groups, including Furtherfield Gallery (based in Finsbury Park) and Migrants Organise (http://www.migrantsorganise.org/), a community organization in West London and a platform where refugees and migrants organise for power, dignity and justice, to facilitate a series of fortnightly gatherings. Art collective They Are Here draw on 10 years of experience of socially engaged projects, working with various groups across the public realm. Florina has been working with young refugees and asylum seekers for the past 2 years, and she is a passionate gardener.
Our campaign aims to raise funds to establish the gardening project and to maintain it. To do this, we need to buy tools, equipment and seeds, plus materials for building a polyethene greenhouse to support more fragile plants. We would like to provide food and drink to those who come to our meetings, encouraging people to return and spread the word about the project. We would also like to construct a pizza clay oven in the garden to create a more social gathering point. Ultimately, we want to create a space to invite the wider Finsbury Park community in to see what we have been doing.
In a time of turmoil regarding the status of the UK in the European Union, in which negative narratives around migration and refugees are present, we want to do something positive that creates a space for dialogue and a support network for those who may be struggling to find a place in London.
