Lifeline (Activation I)
Date:
2024
Matériaux:
Lifeline prototype toiles, hand-embroidered cushions, Lifeline zine, cotton toile, embroidery and drawing materials, questionnaire prompt sheet
Dimensions:
An installation of Lifeline objects and engagement materials, various dimensions
Catalogued:
Lifeline, ed. University of the Arts London, 2024 - ISBN 978-1-906908-87-4
Exhibition history:
2024 Refugee Week 2024, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Courtesy:
Lucy + Jorge Orta. Photography JC Candanedo
The activation of 'Lifeline' at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, during Refugee Week 2024 grew out of a collaborative workshop-action with refugees and asylum seekers held between 2 May and 6 June 2024.
Participants worked together to produce a small publication titled Lifeline Zine, which combines photography and personal testimonies. The creative results of the zine highlight both the challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers when arriving in the UK and the opportunities that help them rebuild their lives.
Presented at the V&A during Refugee Week, the activation marked the first in a series of public events designed to open conversations about migration and displacement. The aim being to challenge negative mainstream narratives surrounding people seeking refuge in the UK and to encourage a more informed and compassionate understanding of their experiences.
The installation created an informal space for dialogue and reflection. It included objects and discussion prompts used during the workshop-action, copies of the Lifeline Zine, and a series of embroidered cushions created by Lucy Orta to foster a welcoming atmosphere for conversation. The installation also featured a collection of Lifeline artefacts—soft calico objects developed as symbolic prompts to encourage discussion and exchange. Visitors were invited to handle the artefacts, read the zine, and respond to excerpts from participants’ testimonies embroidered onto the cushions, transforming the installation into a space for shared reflection.
Lifeline forms part of Lucy Orta’s contribution to the AHRC-funded research project Decolonising Fashion and Textiles: Design for Cultural Sustainability with Refugee Communities, in which she is a co-investigator. The participatory action research project explores cultural sustainability and community resilience through the lived experiences of refugees and asylum seekers.
The project also extends Lucy Orta’s long-standing artistic engagement with questions of migration, refuge, and collective responsibility explore how participation and artistic action can foster solidarity and imagine new forms of belonging.