Workshops with artist Tyreis Holder and South London Refugee Association explored how we can use textiles in a therapeutic way to explore pattern, creative freedom and make our own textile designs to inform a public artwork.
One young person from South London Refugee Association, said in response that, “the workshops allowed young people to express themselves using their creative minds, which they may not have been exposed to in the past.”
About Tyreis Holder
Tyreis Holder is an artist, poet, and visual storyteller, from south London with heritage reigning from Jamaica / St Vincent. Her diverse practice spans installation, textiles, performance, poetry, sculpture, and sound, all centered around themes of self-exploration and identity. Together with the South London Refugee Association Tyreis held workshops exploring the use of textiles in a therapeutic way.
Tyreis’s work delves deep into the complexities of the mind, especially in navigating colonial spaces. She views textiles as a poetic language, a healing tool addressing trauma experienced by Black women. Through her art, Tyreis sparks vital conversations about race, disability, community, class, sexuality, and culture, drawing from her own lived experiences.
About South London Refugee Association
South London Refugee Association works with young migrants, refugees and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people from many different countries. They have all had experience of the immigration system; some have been granted status, others are still in the process and some have been waiting for a long time. In terms of their living situation – we have a range of YP in care (with foster carers or in semi-independent accommodation), care leavers who now live independently and others who live in a hotel. A lot of them have experienced / are continuing to experience varying levels of trauma.
