BECOMING FOREST - SOLIDARITY PRACTICE OF HEALING

Becoming Forest is a community-oriented healing project, aiming to build a solidarity circle of care specifically for Southeast and East Asian (SEA) refugees and precarious migrants, with a focus on mental health issues accelerated by Covid-19.

By far the most descriptor of immigrants in the British press is ‘illegal’, the Migration Observatory in the University of Oxford reported in 2013. They undertook a comprehensive analysis of more than 40 million words used by British national newspapers to describe immigration and migrants over the past three years. Considering this report was out even before the Brexit referendum in 2016, the public sentiment towards migrants would be much worse now.


How can you hold your life calm and root down with a sense of belonging when your existence persistently renders non-legitimate? How can we even begin to talk about the inner wounds and pain that has been so internalized, normalized and deepened that any possible measures cannot capture the full picture? What should lay the ground when talking of the diasporic healing process? Conceived in the pandemic era, the collective healing journey ‘Becoming Forest’ explores these questions collectively with a dedicated group of participants.

Becoming Forest opens and holds a space to gently unpack the stories of mental and emotional struggles amongst Southeast and East Asian refugees and migrants. Together we experiment with and discover the communal ways of care and recovery. Findings and proven methodologies will be packed into community healing tool-kits and circulated through a wide network of SE/E Asian communities, activists and allies who focus on migrant justice and postcolonial subjects.

*Becoming Forest is supported by Arts Council England Project Grant and a-n Time Space Money bursary, in partnership with Korean artist duo Breakwater (Youngsook Choi and Taey Iohe) and Kanlungan Filipino Consortium.

*Becoming Forest has been working on a series of radio programme as part of Radio Arts Catalyst Residency. The 1st winter episode is coming up soon!