Mafwa Moments: August 2020
This Month in Mafwa
Refugee Week 2020
This Refugee Week we would have performed 'Cooking With Parveen' at the Holbeck. As we couldn't perform in person, we responded to this year's Refugee Week theme 'imagine' by creating a bite-size podcast where we imagined a world where food was free. 😊🍎
Keeping in touch
We've been really busy during lockdown. We've sent out 353 creative packs to Mafwa members and collaborators across Leeds and Yorkshire.
We've called 23 Mafwa members each week and completed 26 referrals for food boxes, housing and mental health support from organisations like Touchstone, RETAS, Hamara and Slung Low.
Beyond Measure Twitter Chat
On Friday 17th July we ran a Twitter chat for the University of Leeds Cultural Institute. This was part of their online programme 'Beyond Measure? Exploring Research and Evidence in Culture and Health'. We asked questions about how researchers can avoid alienating people in communities and what responsibility those in power have when it comes to advocacy. You can check out our blog about the experience here.
Upcoming
Pre-Order Your Recipe Book
Cooking with Parveen: stories from our kitchens is a unique collection of recipes, poetry and illustration, created by illustrator/designer Julia Syrzistie the women of Mafwa theatre. Vibrant and sensory, this is a recipe book whose secret ingredients lie beyond the kitchen cupboards, instead being found in culture, memory and family. If you pre-order the book you will receive a free copy of our 2019 zine 'To & Fro'
Behind the Curtain
Thank you to our volunteers!
We would like to say a HUGE thank you to all our volunteers that have helped us out over the last few months! 🙌 They have supported us by making phone calls, delivering creative packs and expanding our social media presence. We couldn't do it without you! 😃
Blast From the Past
As part of Refugee Week this year we took a trip down memory lane do review our 2019 project To & Fro which we performed at Migration Matters Festival, Sheffield, Journeys Festival, Leicester and Leeds City Museum as part of Refugee Week 2019. Mafwa members created a performance piece, photography exhibition and zine. We worked with film maker Hope Strickland to create a short film which you watch here.
Opportunities
A photograph of Lincoln Green from The High Rise Project.
Things we've been enjoying
Here are some artistic projects that we have been enjoying this summer:
The High Rise Project explores the links between architecture and social relations in highrise buildings and council-built estates.
Slung Low's website has links to their Cultural Community College and their new short film 'The Good Book'.
'Connecting Opportunities: a story of befriending'. This short film was made by a volunteer from the Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network. It celebrates the kindness and connections that mentors and participants experience through their 'Connecting Opportunities' programme.
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