Creativity as Resistance – reflections on our online exhibition

We know that the work of racial justice, mental health and abolition has a lineage rooted in our ancestors. They may have not used the term abolition, but they certainly did dream and build alternatives to carceral systems. This work was hard but also healing. At Synergi, our new Remembrance as Resistance exhibition is our way of building a digital archive of creative contributions from those who have lived experience of mental ill health.  

The call for creative pieces was announced back in 2023, and we really thought about what we wanted to showcase and who from. We specifically wanted creative pieces on abolition, racial justice and mental health, distress and trauma and wanted enough flexibility to allow a mirage of interpretations but importantly, we wanted to explore how abolitionary approaches sparks new possibilities, questions, and pathways towards change and liberation for racialised people.  

The themes were also broad, and we invited folks to think about areas related to: 

• Care work aligning (or not aligning) with carceral systems 
• Mutual aid and community organising as alternatives to institutions and carceral systems 
• Neoliberalism and austerity 
• Joy as resistance 
• Criminalisation of distress 
• Immigration detention and the hostile environment 
• Data and surveillance 
• ‘Policing’ in education 

We received paintings, photography, collage, illustrations, poetry, dance, and even original songs. We had a huge response, and it has taken much longer than we anticipated for the pieces to be live on our website, and we thank you for bearing with us. 

I want to thank everyone who submitted a piece, for trusting us with your vulnerability – we see you. 

I’ve personally been moved by what we received. The memorising voice of Vivienne Uchebuaku Isebor who in their words is ‘a love letter to self’ is a vulnerable auto piece about the reality of living in a world that doesn’t see us but is unapologetically grounded in ancestorial wisdom. I found myself revising Black Dog with Red Eye, one of two pieces by Rebecca Buckley a mixed media artist. There is something about isolation of the Black Dog as it roams the bleak landscape…. In contrast Joy by Esther Stanton Bene is an invitation to find joy in the everyday, be it star gazing, running in the streets or jumping on a trampoline.   

At a time when we our capacity to dream seems ever harder, a liberatory future may seem out of reach. The continual assault by the institutions that are meant to protect us, ones that we are paying for via mechanism such as the council tax. It seems incredulous that we are funding the ones we fear the most, the ones that are determined to erase us. At times things feel helpless, frankly most of the time at the movement. With so much to do it can feel impossible to rest, to pause and take a breath and to be still and listen to the teaching waiting for us. It feels timely that we are able to share with you the submissions we received. There is maybe pieces land in a way bring up feelings, one that you may not be able to name. We say, go gently as you view the exhibition.  

We hope that you are able, in some way, connect with the works on display. I know I did. 

In solidary,

Debbie