COMMUNITY IS SHARING A STORY

Celebrating Sanctuary,

Bristol Refugee Festival,

Refugee Week,

June 22, 2025

The day began with torrential rain, ended with blazing sunshine, and inbetween we met around 200 people across the generations who came to type, read, photograph, film and talk around the theme of CommUnity as a Superpower.

We oriented 4 typewriters north, south, east and west, facing inwards, linking opposite pairs with 4 metre long scrolls of paper, with the simple idea that the more people typed, the closer they got. After 4 hours the tables were huddled together with all of the writing bunched up between them. All kinds of subjects were written about: family relationships, friendships, football, community, the typewriters.

Children were by far the biggest contributors, one of whom wrote the following: ‘… The world does not turn without community. Community is people coming together and caring for each other. Community is sharing a smile, a drink, a story, a world….’

We were delighted to make new contacts, and bump into some colleagues & friends of ours too, including @miss_magpie_spy_vr @traumafoundationsouthwest @achintegrates @bhnbristol @clevedonlitfest with people remembering last year’s collaboration with @caravan.arts

Words by Amy Wilson, Sarah Robinson & Mitoshka Alkova @mitoshkaa