Anna Waters
(working under the name ArtISan Avenue)
The Wave of Welcome Project
The Wave of Welcome is an on-going multi-layered, participatory visual art project, initially devised in November 2022, to assist the mental well-being of my activist colleagues by enabling the expression our shared solidarity with all who seek sanctuary in the UK. It counters the negativity bred by misinformation about global migration, by gathering a positive, ‘collective visual voice’ of ‘welcome’ and opening an avenue for people unable to protest against hostile UK Government migration policy, to display their stance.
The project takes place remotely via social media and a digital noticeboard and also via ‘in-person’ engagements and ‘amplification’ events.
It is open to all who wish to express ‘welcome’ within an outline drawing of their own hand for incorporation into artworks. These artworks, the result of some co-creation, are then used to amplify our ‘collective visual voice’ in various ways and via exhibition in a wide range of venues and settings. The need to represent the ‘collective visual voice’ affectively, inspired developments in my arts practice from being predominately 2D based, into gaining skills with projection and the creation of moving image. A shoreline projection of the Wave of Welcome being a resultant project output:
In connecting participants nationally via the digital noticeboard and locally via events, the project also encourages the sharing of participants skills and contacts; thereby enhancing community cohesion and broadening the scope of our activism. As the project adopts a positive approach in countering negativity and aligns with Welsh Government Policy, we are invited into schools, colleges, and community events, to engage participation and exhibit project outputs. The pilot phase was first evaluated at the end of April 2023, following The Global Hopes Exhibition at Tenby Museum and Art Gallery which I curated to amplify our ‘collective visual voice’
