Songs of Hope and Joy

We are interested in exploring how a professional composer can collaborate with people seeking sanctuary (asylum seekers, refugees, and displaced people) to create new songs – which, whilst drawing on their testimonies, can be joyful and with hope. This collaborative/co-creation process will be delivered over a series of participatory songwriting workshops with the group – resulting in the audio recording of at least 2 songs, which will be published on our website and social media platforms.  

During the workshops, participants will be encouraged to share their experiences in a welcoming and supportive environment, and given the space to decide what testimony they would like to share with the world. Collectively, the group will contribute to lyric writing, and also to share any musical influences or styles of music they enjoy listening to or which are meaningful to their heritage. 

We anticipate that the group will bring different “song” languages, and use the song format to express their hopes and dreams for their present and future.

This project is a new initiative, building on our previous work with communities in York, and our wider artistic practice. We think it is valuable to use a range of artistic interventions in our work, expanding how people can access the arts for their own creative expression, for testimony, for provoking social change and for their own health and wellbeing. 

This project is led by Pilot Theatre, an international touring company based in York. Pilot Theatre specialise in making work for, by, and with young adults (aged 11 to 30) and disadvantaged communities, by introducing them to big ideas relevant to our lives right now. Their mission is to enable themselves, their audiences, and their participants to “think harder and feel more”.