Walking together/Walking apart

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How do we support each other and stay connected when we can’t be together? Walking Together/Walking Apart explores the invaluable relationships which exist between and within support networks.

Walking Together/Walking Apart has been produced by Claire Weetman collaborating with members of Refugee Women Connect, created just prior to and then during multiple lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the project explores and celebrates how the women connect and support each other.

  • A pen on paper illustration of art materials on an A4 envelope
  • A pen on paper illustration of objects including sun cream, sun print paper, pens, mirror with a chain, car with a heart cut out.
  • A pen on paper illustration of art materials on an A4 envelope
  • A pen on paper illustration of objects including a bottle of rose lemonade, a lemon, a tea bag, card which says 'send an invisible message' sachet of bicarbonate of soda, jar of turmeric powder and bottle of hand sanitiser.

Due to the separation from each other the project has taken the form of a series of ‘care packages’ designed for and with the women’s group. These boxes included items for self-care (for example nice teas and bubble bath), activities to do with children for mothers in the group and activities for the women to do themselves and to share in their WhatsApp group. Walking Together/Walking Apart explores four themes: ‘time for you’, ‘who we are’, ‘create’ and ‘share knowledge’. A final artwork package brought together elements from each of the care packages and 100 boxes were delivered to members of Refugee Women Connect and other women in the local community.

  • A stack of yellow gift boxes, tied with pink thread and a gift tag that reads 'Walking together, walking apart'
  • 'When live gives you lemons' is written artistically in black, surrounded by green leaf stems
  • To the right, an illustration of a hand about to throw a lemon. To the left, 'A group of women, linked by their involvement with Refugee Women Connect in St Helens, have exchanged gifts of knowledge, care, identity and creativity during 2020. This set of cards is a document of those Whatsapp conversations, of activity packs distributed by volunteers and completed at the same time in different locations, and a 'socially distanced' walk in the park on a beautifully sunny day. Refugee Women Connect exists because women asylum seekers and refugees face inequality and are denied social justice. Through their activities women can access a range of emotional and practical support and activities. Refugee Women Connect are proud members of the Sisters Not Strangers coalition who are fighting to bring an end to destitution and ensure the safety of all asylum-seeking and refugee women. The phrase 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade' is used to imply that we should make the best out of the unpleasant things in life. But what if that isn't enough? Women, united, together. Let's throw the lemons back'.
  • A watercolor painting showing a woman sat on a bench and another stood nearby, both wearing beautiful dresses and headscarves. They are in a park, with trees to the left, a boathouse building and lake to the right. Two figures are walking in the distance and two children are looking over the railings towards the lake. Text in bottom left reads: Taylor Park Boathouse, August 2020.
  • Reverse of a postcard. Reads: Let's go for a walk. Wear your best dress. Date. Time. Place.
  • A background drawing of green leaves is speckled with flower seeds embedded in the paper. To the left is an illustration of plaited hair decorated with a yellow dandelion and the words 'nature is love' is printed in handwritten yellow text.
  • A background drawing of green leaves is speckled with flower seeds embedded in the paper. To the left is an illustration of hands holding yellow dandelions and the words 'remember nature is love' is printed in handwritten yellow text.
  • Four images of blue skies with the text 'Take time to watch a blue sky', 'Are we all connected by the sky'
  • background image of four clouded skies with a conversation about the sky printed over the top. 'Where did you get the blue? It doesn't matter the color We can't have everything. Sun trying to break through. I was laying down and looking at the sky and I was thinking of the reasons, why we like the sky and feel comfortable. When I look at the sky it makes me think about freedom and I feel free. Now we are under the same sky. It feels special to be looking at the same thing'.
  • A black and white illustration of a hand holds two small wooden figures that have been decorated as a boy and his mother. in the background is a picnic blanket on grass with a selection of foods and a celebration cake that reads 'Thank you RWC'
  • Text reads: Draw the people you love in the figure shapes. Cut them out, hold them close and take them with you on a walk. Underneath are 6 simplified figure shapes outlined in dashes.
  • 'When live gives you lemons' is written artistically in black, surrounded by green leaf stems
  • Text reads: Drink lemonade with a friend. Serving suggestion: your best glass, salt on the edges, 1 bottle rose lemonade, a squeeze of lemon juice, mint. To the right an illustration of a hand squeezing a lemon over a glass of pink lemonade.
  • A card with a yellow background has instructions on how to 'send an invisible message' and to 'reveal an invisible message'
  • A card has the words 'strong women' visible on a transparent black backround. On the card can also be seen the message 'Thank you for caring'
  • A photograph of someone holding a mirror, onto which is engraved two hands making a loveheart and the phrase 'We are proud of you'
An edition of 100 gift boxes containing eight A5 artworks, and translations in Albanian, Arabic, Spanish and Punjabi. Each artwork serves both as a document of the exchanges that took place and, as an invitation to the recipient to join in with those actions.
  • Cards are being folded in pink tissue paper into a yellow box

Walking Together/Walking Apart is a continuation of Claire Weetman’s long-term collaborations with communities with experiences of migration.

Commissioned and produced by Heart of Glass in partnership with Refugee Women Connect.
Supported by Arts Council England through the Creative People and Places Programme

Additional photographs by Radka Dolinska.