Artist Gil Mualem-Doron, and Dr Giota Alevizou, from The Open University – the lead author of this unit – run The DIY Diversity Flag.
The aim of the workshop was for primary school pupils to map out diversity that exists in their daily life, culture and community. This mapping was explored and represented through creating a flag with textile designs from the places to which they were connected.
The workshop fused various disciplines, such as geography, history, design and art.
Giota Alevizou asked students to reflect on questions of cultural heritage, identity and belonging as well as intangible ‘assets’ which reflect their living communities, such as solidarity, kindness and respect.
All together they then looked at the ways in which these questions and ‘assets’ could be expressed through the art of ‘making’ and story-telling. At the end of the workshop, students took the flags they have individually and collectively created.
Inspired by the popularity of emojies in children’s and young peoples everyday digital cultures, Giota and Dijana Rakovic of Counterpoints Arts also invited the children to retell their stories and experiences of identity by drawing their own diverse emojis together in a poster.
Children from one school were also invited to reflect upon the ways in which the DIY Diversity Flag workshop and entire Who Are We? project affected their understanding of who they are. They wrote brief essays and returned them to Giota within a few days of their visit. Some of the reflections are exceptionally enlightening and moving. You can see them by downloading the Children's Responses pdf.
You can also watch a video produced by our partner, CounterPoints Arts featuring Gil Doron talking about his work and socially engaged participatory arts:
The Conversations
Shopping for citizenship: A conversation at the Citizenshop
Nele Vos’s interactive installation, The Citizenshop, is also part of the ‘Who Are We?’ project at Tate Exchange. Agnes asked Nele what kinds of issues The Citizenshop was meant to highlight.
Listen now ❯Shopping for citizenship: A conversation at the Citizenshop
The New Union Flag project: from an object of agitation to a space for communication
Moving away from the red, white and blue to a new flag, representing a new nation.
Read now ❯The New Union Flag project: from an object of agitation to a space for communication
Beyond the Babble: A conversation about the art of listening
‘Beyond The Babble’ is an interactive and participatory audio focused installation. It explored questions of identity, belonging and the fragile nuance of power-shifts around the impact of voices may have -- beyond the noise which perhaps social media create.
Listen now ❯Beyond the Babble: A conversation about the art of listening
Participant voices & interactions Beyond The Babble
Listening to the voices Beyond The Babble
Listen now ❯Participant voices & interactions Beyond The Babble
From A Distance
From a Distance: A conversation on the ethics of representing the refugee crisis between Umut Erel and Behjat Omer Abdulla
Read now ❯From A Distance
The influence of From A Distance on audiences and participants
How the Tate visitors got close to From A Distance.
Listen now ❯The influence of From A Distance on audiences and participants
On a Wing and a Prayer: A case study
Abdul Rahman Haroun walked from France to the United Kingdom. On A Wing And A Prayer is a response to that journey.
Read now ❯On a Wing and a Prayer: A case study
Reactions and reflections to On a Wing and a Prayer
Audiences, academics and the artist reflect on the video installation.
Watch now ❯Reactions and reflections to On a Wing and a Prayer
Dialogues Across Borders
Abdul Rahman Haroun walked from France to the United Kingdom. On A Wing And A Prayer is a response to that journey.
Watch now ❯Dialogues Across Borders
Homo Economicus, the East India Company and industrial espionage
A conversation between artist Laura Malacart and Open University researcher Sara de Jong on the intersections of identity and citizenship with economic history and language.
Read now ❯Homo Economicus, the East India Company and industrial espionage
Thinking Outside the Box
Lisa Pilgram and Alena Pfoser in conversation with visual artist Laura Sorvala discuss how story-telling techniques can be used to tease out questions of belonging and community and how outputs can challenge simple ideas of ‘us’ and ‘them'.
Read now ❯Thinking Outside the Box-
Using art and creative methods to interrogate identity, citizenship and migration
A programme at the Tate Modern, titled Who Are We?, brought together academics, artists and activists to explore migration, citizenship, identity and belonging. The programme was collaboratively curated by a consortium comprising The Open University, Loughborough University, University of Warwick and Counterpoints Arts, an arts organization whose mission is to support and produce art by and about migrants and refugees. The programme generated a great deal of interest and involved the participation of a large and diverse audience. Dip into the programme and discover more about this, more about Counterpoints Arts, and more about a similar collaboration between the OU and the Migration Museum Project.
Read nowUsing art and creative methods to interrogate identity, citizenship and migrationLevel: 1 Introductory
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The Who Are We? project
How artists and academics can work together to develop new avenues for exchange and influence
Read nowThe Who Are We? projectLevel: 1 Introductory
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How can I learn from Who Are We?
There's much to discover - here's a starting point
Read nowHow can I learn from Who Are We?Level: 1 Introductory
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From Conversations on co-production to participants’ engagements
Introducing the participatants in the projects, and exploring their ideas and motivations
Read nowFrom Conversations on co-production to participants’ engagementsLevel: 1 Introductory
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The ethics and politics of the migration and refugee crisis
We've shared some of the Who Are We project - but this isn't the first time the OU's academics have come together with artists. Discover some earlier collaborations.
Read nowThe ethics and politics of the migration and refugee crisisLevel: 1 Introductory
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Dive deeper with these extra articles
If the themes and art of Who Are have made you hungry for more, here's some other articles to explore
Read nowDive deeper with these extra articlesLevel: 1 Introductory
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