Conversations From Calais is a project that documents conversations between volunteers and migrants in Calais and pastes them on the walls of our cities. It is a way of re-humanising the refugee crisis. We have now shared more than 260 conversations volunteers have submitted. These have been typed out in 12 different languages, printed as posters and pasted up on walls in 60 cities and five continents. This ever-growing collection of conversations focuses on capturing the diversity of experiences and moving away from categorising refugees as villains, heroic figures or hopeless victims.
The project is ever-expanding and is documented online and in a new book published in June 2023. For more details, please see: https://www.conversationsfromcalais.com/
In 2021 Mathilda was commissioned by SEAS to carry out an intervention at SEAS's exhibition "News From Nowhere" at the LGBTQ+ Ledward Centre. Below is a short video clip documenting the event.
Artist Bio:
Mathilda Della Torre is a French and Italian graphic designer and illustrator. She uses her practice to look closer for longer, bring people together through creative exchanges, and place marginalised voices at the centre of our stories. She is currently based in London and working for the charity Choose Love.