IAS Early Career Researcher Hande Çayır facilitated audio-visual storytelling workshops

IAS Early Career Researcher Hande ÇayırLink opens in a new window facilitated audio-visual storytelling workshops as part of the UKRI-funded ‘Archive of Solidarity: Precarity, Creativity and Shared Future-Making Across Closed Borders’ project, held from 22 April to 9 May 2025 at SOAS University of London’s Brunei Gallery.

Reflecting on the experience, Çayır noted:

“Being part of the Archive of Solidarity project offered the chance to work within a diverse, interdisciplinary team led by Principal Investigator Zerrin Özlem Biner (SOAS, University of London), alongside co-investigators Özge Biner Derdoy (Collège de France), David Herd (University of St Andrews), Leyla Neyzi (University of Glasgow), Thomas Parkinson (University of Kent), and Sabine Strasser (University of Bern). Kat Lewis (Undertow CIC) joined us for the creative writing workshops, while colleagues Emma Efkeman (SOAS) and Amir Massoumian (SOAS) helped foster a thoughtful environment throughout. Learning and working alongside such engaged collaborators were a valuable experience.”

“The project combined creative writing, border ethnography, fieldwork, and oral history to explore solidarity, resilience, and migration through a multi-modal lens. Within this context, I facilitated workshops in audio-visual storytelling, including zine-making and filmmaking. Participants—who were also active contributors—brought insights from varied geographies such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, London, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.”

“A key aspect of the workshops was their collaborative nature. We collectively explored different ways of representing lived experiences through words, visuals, and sound. Rather than functioning as conventional teaching spaces, the workshops evolved into shared environments for reflection and dialogue.”

“As a practice-based scholar, I welcomed the chance to contribute through arts-based methods and engage in interdisciplinary, collaborative knowledge-making. These meetings were a first step in building our community, and I look forward to continuing this work with mutual feedback and exchange at its core.”