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In late 2024, six women who are in the process of seeking, or have been granted, asylum in the UK came together at Autograph to create artwork about their experiences – and hopes for the future.
As part of the project, called New Home: Our Resilience, the participants received creative mentoring and developed new skills. Using photography and film to document their lives, the project aimed to amplify women’s often unheard stories through photography and creative storytelling, raising awareness and fostering a deeper understanding of their experiences. Keep scrolling to view the participants' final projects, featuring portraits produced with the support of lead artist Aida Silvestri, and poetry penned by Josie Carter, taking inspiration from the participants' images and texts.
This project is part of the programme Putting Ourselves in the Picture 2: Engaging with Industry, in partnership with Women For Refugee Women and Fast Forward: Women in Photography.
Through her project, Memory was keen to explore how she could become more comfortable in her own skin. She says: "I long for that deep connection with my own being, where I can be confident and content with who I am. This outfit and the head wraps I’m wearing— whether it’s the fabric, the style, or how it reflects my personality—grounds me and helps me feel a sense of belonging to my community. It serves as a bridge between myself and the world around me."
headwrap makes you twice as tall,
sets off curvaceous cheek, hugs close
womankind’s mind, rippling as silk, contains
she inside who owns all her satisfactions
and keeps them here. even in england, in
this impractical weather, her cosmic-body gravity
holds it in shape —
beauty is the tension in the knot.
Authentic
Content with who I am
Home within myself
For her project, Catty focused on arranged marriages in Uganda, the associated expectations and practices, and how these can infringe upon human rights. Catty states: "When I share my experiences, it often does not elicit strong emotions from others, even though I have lived through it. Many of us are shaped by these experiences, and I believe that if we had been given the choice and rights, our lives would have taken a different path."
shouldering her rights, she is yellow
expectations are the shape of a draped head
volitions obscure, but we look through
to where your hands appear, their lines
dancing, surfaces applying pressure
crossing distance with their command
‘stop. no more!’ —
grasp the threads of our gaze and pull.
Stop, no more!
Walking away
Unaware
Elise was keen to address issues of sexuality through her project. She states: "Lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals in my country are vulnerable to rape, attacks, violence, insults, and daily harassment in public spaces. We all deserve the right to live, to be happy, and to feel fulfilled - just like anyone else. No one should endure such punishment for their sexuality. Life is about choices, and it is essential that all choices are respected. We must put an end to discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation."
o this wide angle is a theatre of hurt,
and, flinching, you ask words to mark
the city-grey page, not her body. but picture:
your people catch you like a net, describe
you with their holding, head fortified on proud
shoulders. community is skin — is rest — is
how to heal —
with a changed world sparking in your eye.
Attack
Choose to take a bold step
We are all connected
Having experienced torture, DeeDee was forced to flee her country, leaving her kids behind. Through her project, DeeDee focuses on the highs and lows of her life, and the monotony of the immigration system. She states: "Everything feels overwhelming when you're not working. You spend a lot of time thinking about various things, especially how being with my kids would make everything better, and help me avoid getting lost in my thoughts... Without work, I feel lost, uncertain about when immigration will contact me, and unsure of what they will say or how things will turn out."
question is the mood of her face under an
embroidered petal. handiwork of braids
is poise, suspension, the past written on the
scalp, witness to your waiting-as-grace
in a blued room, still and unenterable
and photograph’s perimeter is a window
not a door —
cool transparency, achingly disclosed.
Uncertain
Independent
Daughter
In her project, Eunny explored her cultural identity through food. She says: "I love talking about food. It makes me feel connected to my family back home. But now that I am in London, my connection with my family and cultural connections to food are broken, which makes me sad and lonely."
her smile gleams tradition onto onion’s
glossing skin, haloes green bounty
of grown things, collected and embraced
like daughters, like you are a cultural harvest
the slow glow of seasons crossing your face
everything that turns in time with earth: mother's
grandmother’s hands —
continues as artificial phonelight, tooth-white
Sad and lonely
Mother and me
Connecting me with my family
Through her project, Jannat addresses her relationship with her adoptive family: "Upon arriving in the UK I didn’t know anyone and was unsure of where to go or where to stay. Eventually, I sought assistance from a charity due to my homelessness. The charity helped me find a new home, and I moved in with my host family. This is where I truly found my new parents. This relationship has been transformative. I never anticipated such positive changes in my life."
future is caught in the glare of her sunglasses
that shifts with difference. unconditional light
angled hands are screens that frame home
within the curve of your fingers. gets me wishing
suddenly, to be located and held in the lap
of not-yet-imagined love, wanting too much
to hope for —
the pink glitter of defiance on your lips.
Stronger
Bonding
Finding happiness
Find out more about the creative mentoring programme, designed to support a group of women from refugee backgrounds to develop visual literacy skills and document their lives through photography and film.
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Purchase the publication resulting from the first iteration of the project
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A selection of works from the project will be on display at Old Street Roundabout in February 2025
Find out more This project was delivered in partnership with Women for Refugee Women, with support from Fast Forward: Women in Photography. The project is part of a wider collaborative programme that includes national partners: National Galleries of Scotland; Women for Refugee Women, London; Work Show Grow, London; Creative Response, Farnham.
Putting Ourselves in the Picture 2: Engaging with Industry is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (grant number AH/Z505602/1), University for the Creative Arts and all their partners.
Banner image: Elise, We Are All Connected [detail], from the series Be the Change You Want to See, 2024. © and courtesy of artist.
Images on page: All images © and courtesy of artists.
Autograph is a place to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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