Community Art on display at Roslyn Library!
Solidarity with Refugees is artwork by former refugees, migrants and people of Manawatū as a commitment to stand together with refugees as they face multiple challenges both in New Zealand as well as abroad.
Manawatū Refugee Resettlement Forum and HOW² Te Ako Charitable Trust commissioned Louise Billinghurst to facilitate a collective art project during the Manawatu World Refugee Day celebrations in Palmerston North in June.
Those attending the celebrations created flowers, trees and butterflies in the colours of their country of origin, These were collaged onto the backdrop of a landscape resembling Manawatu. Many adults were quite emotional as they took time to decorate the stencils and then watched as these were added to the collective artwork. Some children were more playful and even requested to use flag colours of their favourite sport teams. In this one can observe how the next generation is daring to dream, while their parents are carry the burden of the international move and all it took to relocate to New Zealand. The collective artwork speaks of the beautiful social landscape that is created by the combination of the different ethnicities that now call this home.
You can find this art on display now at The Roslyn Community Living Room, for a limited time.
