Art can be a brilliant way to engage people in social justice issues - as we see here once again
The Empty Plate Project in Wolverhampton is one of the fantastic art activities that was supported by Let’s End Poverty.
The concept was to invite people to make and decorate a plate, sharing their story of the lived experience of poverty.
Just asking “Could you help me with a free art project?” was all it took for folks to quickly move on, or slow down with curiosity.
Organisers expected people to be willing and able to speak about the negative impact of poverty – What actually happened was that people wanted to share messages of empowerment and encouragement: that what will be fragile plates hanging in the art installation hold message of resilience.
It’s such an important thing to hear, and organisers from the West Midlands Methodist Circuit say it is so characteristic of the area.
Even when there were stories of pain, bereavement, late diagnosis of neurodiversity, and struggles, this was only ever in the context of hope, community, and beautiful stubbornness to simply keep going.
Some walked past because they “didn’t have the time” but dozens of people took the invitation to stop for a while. Those who were persuaded to stop just for a quick moment were often those who chose longer and harder methods for decoration and who stayed for ages!
The clay vessels were then fired so they could form part of a launch installation at the forthcoming Bilston Oasis Project – where work towards a poverty truth commission will find a home.
