Belonging and the Transient Home (2016)

Belonging and the Transient Home was a public art project developed in collaboration with the Vicseg Asylum Seekers Social Health Persian Group. The project developed was a public installation of transformed suitcases which became 'Transient Homes'. The members of the group were involved in creating ceramic good luck charms, based on the custom of giving good luck charms to friends and family during the Persian New Year. In April, 2016 the group participated in the Broadmeadows (Victoria) Street Festival presenting the project to the local community, assisting these new Australians in building confidence and gaining further connections to the local community through the process of building a project together. Later in the day the group ran The Great Transient Home Race, an activity that involved the wider community and integrated play into the artistic process. The project continues on with my research on the role in which art can play in encouraging inclusive cities through creativity. 

Video and images below: 
1. Belonging and the Transient Home video, produced by Tammy Wong Hulbert
2. The installation of Transient Homes
3. Iranian children Setayesh and Maha have benefitted from the Belonging and the Transient Home program,
photo taken by Dennis Manktelow, sourced from The Hume Leader, May 9 2016.
4. Transient Home being pulled by children in the group
5. Families creating good luck charms for Nowruz (Persian New Year) celebrations
6.Good luck charms
7. At the Broadmeadows Street Festival with Mayor Stella Kariofyllidis, April 2016