Images and homepage image: Future Pasts, Henna Asikainen; photo credits: Simone J Rudolphi
Future Pasts
Future Pasts is D6’s latest commission with Henna, working with people and families with lived experience of migration and displacement and building on previous projects that explore nature, community and belonging. Spanning over three years, the project has grown and shifted in unexpected ways, taking all involved on new journeys. Together, we have discovered local landscapes along Hadrian’s Wall in a series of community walks - a shared act of connection.
The participatory project invites families and people with lived experience of migration and displacement, often new to the North East, to come together to discover and explore local landscapes. As Henna says: ‘The approach is grounded in the notions of friendship and radical hospitality and recognition - meaning to make welcome and to dissolve the barriers that prevent people from participating fully in their communities.’
Stories of connection along Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall as the site for the walks provides a rich location for reflection on what it means to belong and the interconnections between communities throughout time. The wall acts as a powerful reminder of the long history of migration to Britain - this year marks 1900 years since it was built. During the Roman Empire, many people from across Europe and North Africa lived, served and ruled along the wall, bringing with them local customs, plants and animals, for example, the carrot, celery and the sycamore, the rabbit and the pheasant. ‘All of these are now common elements of our landscapes and in many ways, they could be said to be a far more significant inheritance than the archaeological remains of forts and walls,’ says Henna.
By inviting and enabling participants to access the history and surrounding green spaces of the wall, Future Pasts aims to break down the known exclusionary barriers to these places of beauty and heritage – both physical barriers and also social and cultural ones around ‘who’ belongs in the countryside, which traditionally has been a white, homogeneous space, with socially conservative values.
The walks give participants the opportunity to discover new local surroundings, to amble, to forage for plants, to take time out, and to share the experience with one another. Speaking from experience, Henna says: ‘This ability to access and experience landscape and nature provides an important psychological and emotive link between countries of origin and destination, even when they present very different characteristics. Finding my way into the countryside, experiencing the landscape and nature that surrounds this city (Newcastle) helped me to put down roots – to begin to feel at home. My projects have been built around this experience and sharing what I have discovered about building a sense of belonging.’
It’s been a joy to see the walks expand to include creative workshops at D6 and Northern Print to make protest banners that capture some of the personal thoughts of the participants. Together in winter 2022 they returned to Hadrian’s Wall to enact a performative protest, which was filmed from above by drone cameras.
Exhibition in Newcastle
The many threads of Future Pasts have been drawn together in an exhibition at Gallery North this summer, celebrating the connections made through shared journeys, the long history of migration that has formed the UK, and the beauty and fragility of our local landscapes and ecosystems.
Find out more about Henna's commissions with D6 here.
Partners and thanks
Future Pasts has been a three-year long visual arts commission produced by D6 and delivered in partnership with National Trust. Special thanks to the National Trust for their partnership and generosity in the co-production of Future Pasts.
The programme has been supported by: National Lottery Heritage Fund; Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants; Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund; Newcastle University.
With kind generosity from: CPRE Northumberland; Northumberland National Park Authority; Northern Print; North East Solidarity and Teaching; Multilingual Conversation Group; Vindolanda Charitable Trust.
The exhibition programme has been developed with: Gallery North (Northumbria University) and the North East Climate Justice Coalitions's Mini Green Festival.
Special thanks to Ali Iravani and the community of participants who journeyed with us.
The participatory project invites families and people with lived experience of migration and displacement, often new to the North East, to come together to discover and explore local landscapes. As Henna says: ‘The approach is grounded in the notions of friendship and radical hospitality and recognition - meaning to make welcome and to dissolve the barriers that prevent people from participating fully in their communities.’
Stories of connection along Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall as the site for the walks provides a rich location for reflection on what it means to belong and the interconnections between communities throughout time. The wall acts as a powerful reminder of the long history of migration to Britain - this year marks 1900 years since it was built. During the Roman Empire, many people from across Europe and North Africa lived, served and ruled along the wall, bringing with them local customs, plants and animals, for example, the carrot, celery and the sycamore, the rabbit and the pheasant. ‘All of these are now common elements of our landscapes and in many ways, they could be said to be a far more significant inheritance than the archaeological remains of forts and walls,’ says Henna.
By inviting and enabling participants to access the history and surrounding green spaces of the wall, Future Pasts aims to break down the known exclusionary barriers to these places of beauty and heritage – both physical barriers and also social and cultural ones around ‘who’ belongs in the countryside, which traditionally has been a white, homogeneous space, with socially conservative values.
The walks give participants the opportunity to discover new local surroundings, to amble, to forage for plants, to take time out, and to share the experience with one another. Speaking from experience, Henna says: ‘This ability to access and experience landscape and nature provides an important psychological and emotive link between countries of origin and destination, even when they present very different characteristics. Finding my way into the countryside, experiencing the landscape and nature that surrounds this city (Newcastle) helped me to put down roots – to begin to feel at home. My projects have been built around this experience and sharing what I have discovered about building a sense of belonging.’
It’s been a joy to see the walks expand to include creative workshops at D6 and Northern Print to make protest banners that capture some of the personal thoughts of the participants. Together in winter 2022 they returned to Hadrian’s Wall to enact a performative protest, which was filmed from above by drone cameras.
Exhibition in Newcastle
The many threads of Future Pasts have been drawn together in an exhibition at Gallery North this summer, celebrating the connections made through shared journeys, the long history of migration that has formed the UK, and the beauty and fragility of our local landscapes and ecosystems.
Find out more about Henna's commissions with D6 here.
Partners and thanks
Future Pasts has been a three-year long visual arts commission produced by D6 and delivered in partnership with National Trust. Special thanks to the National Trust for their partnership and generosity in the co-production of Future Pasts.
The programme has been supported by: National Lottery Heritage Fund; Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants; Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund; Newcastle University.
With kind generosity from: CPRE Northumberland; Northumberland National Park Authority; Northern Print; North East Solidarity and Teaching; Multilingual Conversation Group; Vindolanda Charitable Trust.
The exhibition programme has been developed with: Gallery North (Northumbria University) and the North East Climate Justice Coalitions's Mini Green Festival.
Special thanks to Ali Iravani and the community of participants who journeyed with us.
