“Why are people different?” is a common question for any child to ask. The right context for the answer is more difficult to create. With the support of the WOMAD Foundation, Urban Outdoors set up a Carnival project making headdresses, costumes and instruments leading up to the Kentish Town Carnival and Parade.
Many of the children involved in the project have family that do not originate from England and some were first generation migrants. Workshops leading into the created an open environment to discuss such issues as:
Through the arts and craft workshop Urban Arts were able to open up dialogue and conversation around:
• What is a migrant?
• What makes people migrate?
• What challenges do migrant communities face?
• How can we engage to integrate people from other communities and make them feel welcome?
220 participants were involved in the project exploring some of these questions, talking and working creatively together. Through making costumes that visually represented their differences the students were able to gain a great understanding of themselves and each other and celebrate their diverse community.
