Freshly served!

In September 2024 Refugee Roots led a conference for the Art of Belonging Network and Consortium in partnership project with Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy. 

We cooked up a recipe for the future at the Art of Belonging Conference. Emily Webb from Take Note led us through this creative exercise and here's where we ended up. 

Recipe for the Future

By the people of Art of Belonging

Notice the first signs of spring, warm and earthy sweet.

The butterfly in your garden, the bright sun on your face.

Remember the smell of a ripe mango,

of shortbread baking in the morning,

the sound of tea being poured from a pot,

Nana’s roast on a lazy Sunday, mum’s beetroot soup.

Taste wild, noisy conversations and colourful skies.

Relive the cry of the seagulls, see fresh snow on the Alps.

Know that it means there is hope.

That you are alive – and that that is a kind of magic.

Live through the rush of diving from a huge rock into a pool of blue,

through trying that recipe for Ghanian jollof rice from your Uber driver,

through sailing, through learning to draw, through playing piano.

Make things with your hands – a vase for your mum,

Taylor Swift bracelets with your daughter,

a clay boat with your dad, a photo album for your friends.

Make a banner to support Palestine, speak out.

Bake cakes and give them to people.

Sing! Together with people, at football matches, at home,

make music, make laughter.

We may be afraid of fake smiles, but know we can find

people who smile with truth.

We are afraid of losing any of our five senses.

We are afraid of being stressed, of being too busy.

We are afraid of seeing young people’s opportunities narrowing,

of seeing someone struggling alone.

But even if society feels more divided than ever,

even if Twitter exists,

even if people don’t take seriously

the crises of the world –

know that there are people who want to foster.

Know that there are people who feel inspired to make change.

That there are amazing young people who are creative

and kind and thoughtful about the world.

So stand with those who bravely stand up for others,

give power and money to the people who need it,

be on the road marching for our rights to nature.

Change can come in the smallest of forms.

Kind words to support people who have lost their homes.

A seminar on decolonising our histories.

A return to photography, seeing Nottingham

through the eyes of a camera and seeing it anew.

So tell yourself: I will notice the new shoots.

I will feel the world with all my senses.

I will find the people who embrace a future

as bright as the sun.

Mix all these ingredients together.

Stir, serve round an old wooden table,

with friends, and those you do not yet know,

but will.

Know that change together.

That change is now.