Hear Me Out

A Hear Me Out Practice Forum gathers together artists, people with lived experience, staff and trustees to share working methods in immigration detention spaces, hear about developments in the organisation, and be inspired by the creativity of our amazing artists.

This year, we were particularly moved to hear directly from people who had experienced our programmes, including Olu, a member of The Band From The Barracks, and two parents whose child has joined creative workshops in an asylum hotel. It felt important to be energised by these stories, which time and time again demonstrated the vital importance of music and other art forms as an escape from the isolation and heavy stresses that people going through the asylum system experience.

We listened to songs created in immigration detention settings across a range of genres, including ‘brainrot’, which is popular among teenagers we work with, but was new to some of the HMO family! We had two examples of kicking off songwriting workshops from our artists Kieran and Roshi, and even had time for a jam, masterminded by our artist Anna.

Events like this are important waypoints through our year – with immigration continuing to be a divisive subject in politics, a pause to reflect, learn, and creatively recharge gives us the energy to continue our work in difficult times, and express our core values. We believe everyone benefits when people held in immigration detention are listened to, given the space to express themselves, and celebrated. Our Practice Forum helps us refocus our work on the human beings at the centre of the storm.