The Gap Arts Project winners join the Birmingham Soup team after clinching the prize money for Beyond Borders (Photograph: Ming DeNasty)
City youth-led arts organisation The Gap Arts Project’s newest venture, Beyond Borders, has become the latest winner of SOUP, a Birmingham based community fundraising initiative.
Birmingham SOUP is a community lead fundraising event where people pay £5 on the door, in return for food and a vote. Four projects are then pitched to the crowd and a winner takes home all that is collected.
Guests dine on a variety of soups and homemade bread at the event held at Impact Hub Birmingham (Photograph: Ming DeNasty)
The latest winner, ‘Beyond Borders’, is a week-long project of events, talks, workshops and arts designed to bring people of all backgrounds together to share experiences, question their understanding of the named theme and learn from interactions.
By doing this, they hope to strengthen the network of individuals and companies that work with refugees in Birmingham and to start collaborations between them.
Organisers from The Gap Arts Project explained:
“We would like artists to critically and creatively respond to the theme of ‘borders’, in light of the project’s focus, but leave this open to interpretation. Contributions can be of any material or discipline, so long as they can be easily hung on a wall”
The money raised from the sale of the artworks will go directly to supporting young refugees and asylum seekers living in and around Birmingham, by providing bikes and cycling equipment in order to combat isolation and dependency. The Gap Arts Project also aim to host cycling events with a special invitation for ‘Beyond Borders Bikers’.
Here’s what the team at Beyond Borders had to say about their success:
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The Beyond Borders art events run from 9th – 16th April, and you can find out more and get involved with both projects here: www.thegapartsproject.co.uk
Twitter: @GAPBorders | www.facebook.com/birminghamsoup
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Paul Stringer
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