Pathologies of Solitude, 18th–21st century

Working closely with Akwaaba, an anti-racist migrant befriending centre in east London, we will support six creative writing workshops. BME artists will lead the workshops and mentor members of Akwaaba’s storytelling group. 

The workshops will offer users at Akwaaba the means to tell their stories in a supportive environment. We have chosen storytelling as a way to engage with questions of race and migration because stories are a safe way of communicating experience and can counter negative narratives about migrants and refugees. 

Members of the group and the BME practitioners will be invited to join the Pathologies of Solitude research network and hold workshops with the researchers on our main project on the ways in which race and migration shape experiences of solitude. Work from the project will be disseminated through zines, workshops with academics at the Queen Mary University’s Centre for Public Engagement and an inclusive exhibition and performance. We will also create a toolkit for other researchers interested in carrying out similar activities.