COMMunitY AS SUPERPOWER
Resilience is a communal practice of care. From June-July 2025, across London, the Migrants Organise community came together in the spirit of creativity and solidarity.
This page is a snapshot, a creative memory, of the Resilience Festival 2024- a Migrants Organise festival of community, care and nourishment.
Across Hackney, East London we held dance, football, walking groups, gardening, sewing and storytelling groups.
In West London, Kensington and Chelsea, we ran women’s walking groups and special events.
We also created spaces for live music, picnics, painting, community walks and trips as well as parties and family days. Here are a few highlights.
DANCE IS RESISTANCE
Dance is Free! Dance is resistance!
Change can not happen on an individual level or a structural level without a strong connection between us- and for that we need to create spaces for our communities to come together- our dance sessions are a chance to come together to laugh, play, move and build solidarity.
During the festival, we ran two dance groups across Hackney, East London. Watch our dance group share in joy and creative self-expression.
JOY IN FOOTBALL
Football is often described as a universal language transcending communication barriers , and for our members it's been a powerful way to re-claim agency.
For our Migrants Organise members who are stuck in small hotel rooms, with little control or information of how their asylum case is progressing and with distressing news coming from home; having a moment to connect over a much loved game of football has been healing.
Our members football team- with players from Gaza, Sudan and beyond- met every week in Hackney during the festival. The joy of play and connection is a reminder of the better world we’re creating together. Watch our short football reel below.
RESILIENCE IS COLLECTIVE
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Nature heals
This summer, we faced multiple heatwaves, many of our members who were living in small rooms in asylum accommodation or shelters struggled to stay cool.
We came together for trips to areas of beauty, such as a day with our Palestinian members to Kew Gardens and encouraged each other into green spaces through our popular Walking Groups. Whilst our popular gardening group grew plants and food for us all to enjoy.
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Breaking bread
It all begins with food. Breaking bread together nourishes us. Many of our members are living in "hotel" sites. Not only are these places challenging to live in on a long term basis, but the escalation of far right activity is making things unbearable.
Coming together in our shared kitchen to cook a meal has been a welcome relief. From Onome’s jollof and Ameera’s Palestinian makloubeh to Elinor’s pasta al pesto - breaking bread together is essential.
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Stories, Music & Making
“Our community is built by those who came before us”
During the arts and storytelling session one of our members drew a shield with his ancestors on it to represent what community meant for him.
He explained that the stories and legacies of his ancestors formed part of who he is, and who he feels nourished by, today. This was a powerful reminder of where so much of our knowledge and power to resist injustice comes from – we stand on the shoulders of giants!
Below are some photos taken from our gardening, walking, creative storytelling, badge making, printing and mandala sessions.
Thank you to Hackney Council and Kensington and Chelsea Foundation for supporting our Resilience Festival.
Thank you for exploring the Migrants Organise Creates website. Our aim here is to share the create work of our community. Head to our main website www.migrantsorganise.org for updates and news.